Could someone explain this to me? (TMI, be warned)

[Dug720]

This.

Do be aware though that sometimes you get false negatives on the tests (false positives too). A few years ago when we were at the beach, I noticed that my chin and mouth area got sort of itchy-burny and all broken out. I figured it was some kind of weird reaction with my face stuff and the salt water, so we got me some Aveeno sensitive skin face wash and things cleared up. I was a little more wheezy than usual, but it was more humid and stuff than what I was used to, so chalked it up to that. The change of face stuff happened towards the end of the week when we were running out of the food we'd bought - including peanut butter.

Got home and a couple of days later went for a run. Came back and made my usual peanut butter and banana smoothie. Within a few minutes it was itchy-burny chin area with little bumps popping out and more wheeziness. The only common factor between that and the beach was peanut butter.

Found an allergist who did the scratch test for environmental stuff but opted for blood testing for foods because he didn't want to trigger anything. Scratch test proved what I already knew. Blood test showed negative for peanut but positive for milk, wheat, and egg. I asked the woman if it was possible the lab had mixed up my blood with someone else's because that made no sense. Just that morning I'd had a bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll and had ZERO issues (can still eat milk, eggs, and wheat and have ZERO issues even six years later). She said that there was no chance the blood was mixed up - honestly I still have my doubts on that as it was collected out of the office and sent to a big generic processing lab.

My allergist said that false results can happen on both sides. There is a test that costs in the thousands and is not covered by insurance that is much more accurate if I wanted to do that. I'm opting for avoiding peanuts from now on. And carrying Benadryl for just in case.

There are definite cases where using the term "allergy" rather than "intolerance" is necessary. Travel abroad is definitely one. I have been looking into a trip to Thailand (where peanuts are used but not as prevalently as they are in American Thai restaurants) and everyone has said to get an allergy card saying in Engligh and Thai "I am allergic to peanuts. Please do not use them or their oil in my food. I will die." because they get that but think of "intolerance" as "I just don't like them" and may not be as careful.

 

[Lothlórien]

I am sorry to hear about your horrible reaction to shrimp. I love the stuff and cannot imagine not being able to eat it.

To answer your question directly, yes, that is absolutely possible. My husband had no issues with milk until about 10 years ago. Even the lactaid milk gets him if he has too much of it. For me, I developed a gluten intolerance in my 30s and now milk at 40. I think a lot of it is the junk they are putting in our foods, but some is how our bodies change as we age. I only drink Horizon Organic milk and it still causes some issues for me.

 

[powellrj]

Just a heads up before someone types out an answer to Lindseys question. The thread is from 2007 and Lindsey hasn't been around since 2013. I use to enjoy her posts and always wondered what happened to her.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

This is the second time this thread has gotten bumped in 6 months.