I want to call shenanigans!

[sweetsleep28]

Ok this may be a little silly but I thought I would ask some fellow nurses here on AN.

Say you are allergic to mushrooms? Is it possible to have an allergic reaction from just being in the presence of a "cooked mushroom." Even if you have not ingested any of it or even touched it, in any way shape or form. It's a long story that accompanies why I am asking,it's mildly humorous in itself. But I am no way shape or form saying that food allergies are not serious. Just that I personally have not heard or seen anyone who had an allergic reaction just from being in the presence of a food that they were allergic too. Has anyone ever witnessed this?

[Isabelle49]

I have an RN friend who cannot enter a seafood restaurant. If seafood is being boiled, she can have a reaction just inhaling moisture in the air that might contain molecules from the cooking.

[churchsgirl]

My dad and brother are allergic to shellfish. They cannot even step into a resturant that serves seafood. My brother went into anaphylatic shock once when he kissed his girl friend after she ate shrimp several hours before. I don't know how common this is, but maybe it could be the same with the mushroom allergy...

[grownuprosie]

I can't answer your question, but i think i know what you are talking about. I have a friend that is "allergic to cooked fish". He says this while eating sushi.

I think "allergic" is one of the most misused terms in the english language. Many people just use it to mean "I strongly don't like".

[littlerayofsunshine, BSN, MSN]

I know that there are people with severe allergies to all sorts of foods. This means they don't have to ingest or even touch the food in order to have a bad reaction. I don't specifically know about mushrooms, but I have know several people who have severe peanut allergies. Haven't you?

[sweetsleep28]

Well to clarify a little. My brothers girlfriend freaked out last night because we brought a pizza into the house that had mushrooms on it saying she is allergic. She promptly began to claw and scratch at her neck saying she was breaking out in hives. She had not eaten or touched any of the pizza. I know what hives look like she did not have hives. I asked her if she was having difficulty breathing, chest pain feeling funny? No on all accounts. She seemed fine didnt become diaphorectic her neck was red but that was be she kept clawing at it. And literally 5 mins later she was fine. But as soon as my brother came home the hives were back! and she started frantically itching again. So I want to think that in her case it was for attention, seeing as she no s/s of an allergic reaction of any kind.

[honeykrown, MSN, NP]

My thought is "it might just be in her head" as in Pavlov's dog.

[Summers_Off]

I worked with a guy that freaked out when he saw bananas. He said he was highly allergic. I had a coworker (not in a health care setting, FWIW) that chased him down the hall waving a banana at him. Dude was seriously distressed. I know it shouldn't have been funny, but we almost wet our pants. A lot of inappropriate stuff went on in that workplace, but man did we have fun.

[rn/writer, RN]

Yes, people can develop an allergic/anaphylactic reaction from merely being in the presence of substances that trigger an allergy.

My husband is super sensitive to most powdered soaps. He can become itchy and feel agitated just walking down the detergent aisle in the store. I can tell within minutes of walking into a house I've never been to before if a cat resides there. If this can happen with non-food items, why wouldn't it also take place with edibles? In fact, cooking a substance would increase the likelihood of releasing molecular amounts into the air.

Because of this, people with severe peanut reactions sometimes have to notify airlines when they are traveling so the flight can be made peanut free. It isn't enough for just the allergy-sufferer to avoid the food. No one around them can indulge either.

But in the case you mentioned, it sounds like this girl is using dramatics to avoid future mushroom contact or she really believes her own hype. In either case, it might be easier for your brother to find a new girlfriend than for you guys to change her mind.

BTW, I always thought that Shenanigans would be a great name for a bar.

[kenyacka]

It sounds like she just wanted attention or it was just in her head. However, yes, just being in the presence of food can cause a reaction. My friend's daughter can't fly on most airlines because they serve peanuts. Just being on the same plane that they are being served can put her in the hospital. (She's only 7.)

[CrimsonAlchemist]

The high school I graduated from had to stop serving cinnamon rolls and couldn't use cinnamon in ANYTHING because one person was allergic. I don't know how severe her allergy was, but I guess it was enough to deprive me of my cinnamon rolls

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

BTW, I always thought that Shenanigans would be a great name for a bar.

Miranda, my uncle owns a bar and grill called Shenanigans in New York :)

and there are several establishments (bars, restaurants, night clubs) called Shenanigans in Connecticut.

To the OP, my daughter has a good friend who CANNOT be anywhere close to peanuts. She doesn't have to ingest them in order to have a severe and life threatening reaction. The entire school district is peanut/nut free due to prior students having the same life-threatening type of allergies. Most kids are ok as long as they didn't eat peanuts/peanut products, but there were a couple who couldn't be in a room where peanuts were.