I don’t understand the controversy here.
If people were saying, “I don’t like onions, so I tell the restaurants that I am allergic to onions,” I could see why people would be upset.
But, the posters on this thread are
not saying that; they are saying, “I can’t eat xxxx without becoming ill. Since Disney doesn’t have a category for ‘food intolerance’, they told me to say it’s an allergy.”
That‘s not telling a lie. It’s not cheating. It‘s not abusing anything. It’s doing what they have been told to do to avoid being served something that will make them sick.
This thread seems to have some misconceptions about food allergies. NOT ALL food allergies cause severe symptoms or anaphylaxis. Some can look very much the same as food intolerances- the difference is the mechanism that creates the symptoms in the body.
I’m going to add some information about food allergies from the
Mayo Clinic Food Allergy website.
Quoting from the website (my bold and underline):
Food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs soon after eating a certain food. Even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can trigger signs and symptoms such as digestive problems, hives or swollen airways. In some people, a food allergy can cause severe symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis….
It's easy to confuse a food allergy with a much more common reaction known as food intolerance. While bothersome, food intolerance is a less serious condition that does not involve the immune system.
For some people, an allergic reaction to a particular food may be uncomfortable but not severe. For other people, an allergic food reaction can be frightening and even life-threatening. Food allergy symptoms usually develop within a few minutes to 2 hours after eating the offending food. Rarely, symptoms may be delayed for several hours.
The most common food allergy signs and symptoms include:
- Tingling or itching in the mouth
- Hives, itching or eczema
- Swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat or other parts of the body
- Wheezing, nasal congestion or trouble breathing
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
I have a close relative with anaphylactic reaction to almonds. He had a very severe reaction once when someone brought a birthday cake for him to work with what was reportedly ground walnuts. They were almonds and his small taste of his birthday cake meant a trip to the hospital. When he comes with us, he does talk to the chef - it’s amazing where almond extract, almond milk or almond flour may be added as ingredients.
One of my nieces thought she was gluten intolerant because she assumed allergies would be anaphylactic and hers were abdominal pain, etc. She turned out to actually be allergic to wheat.
Another niece is lactose intolerant and also gluten intolerant. Some lactose intolerant people can eat yogurt or certain cheeses which have less/more digestible lactose, but she can’t. She’s very intolerant, but does feel safe using the allergy menus.
I personally used to eat fresh pineapple with no problem until one day at a party, I ate a couple pieces of fresh pineapple and felt really itchy. When I went to the bathroom to look, my skin was covered with hives and soon after, my mouth started itching. Same thing happened when I drank chamomile tea. After those reactions, I’ve never had either camomile tea or fresh pineapple/pineapple juice again - I have no desire to find out how severe of a reaction I might have. Neither are common ingredients, so I can usually just ask.
We‘ve also been to WDW with family friends whose son had anaphylactic allergies to multiple things - milk, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish. It was a challenge sometimes to be ordering food with them, but the chefs were all excellent and his family felt very safe. That’s as it should be.
