Please explain to me why people think this is weird?

[sherichance]

Ok. Maybe I am just not seeing it, but why do most people think it weird that I am allergic to oranges? I go to the doctor to for a visit and they ask what I am allergic to, I say oranges, the MA's or nurses look at me like I am nuts or like they have never heard of that before.

People have allergies to weird things but whats so weird about oranges.

Also, can anyone answer this for me because I keep getting 2 different answers:

1 pediatrician has told me that my allergy to oranges will be passed to my son, the next pediatrician says that there is no chance.

Who should I believe?

I am believing my motherly instinct and not letting him have oranges until he can tell me that he does not feel well after eating an orange. If I ingest any type of orange, I break out in severe hives, get an excruciating migraine, vomit, pass out, the works. So of course I am going to be protective of my son. Sorry, I had to vent about that, I am just frustrated because nobody seems to believe me about the allergy to oranges.

[Sunnydaz]

I understand how you feel. I am allergic to Metamucil! My PCP actually told me there was no way. Do you believe that?! I kept having problems so went to an allergist. He said it was common in LTC nurses and that it could even be life threatening! I can't be around it (can't even pour it because that creates a dust) so the patient or another nurse has to mix it for me. I think, though, that people are starting to realize how many allergies there are out there. I am also allergic to cantaloupe, bananas, poppy seed and..........mustard. When I went to the allergist they explained to me what is in the mustard family. It's amazing! Many salad ingredients!

[tweety__9510]

i feel the same way, ive got an allergy to banana, and they all laugh at me, they think that its weird but, its scary on my part.The first thing that i would feel is the itchiness of my throat and eventually got swollen that i cant breathe.This allergy to banana just started when i reach the age of 40.weird ha? Now im just afraid to eat fruits that is high in potassium just being careful, i just dont wanna die just because i eat banana.Theyre right we are just unique in our own special way.

[tweety__9510]

I know how you feel, I had an allergy with banana, and they all think its weird, but for me its scary. I develop this allergy when i reached the age of 40. First its just and ithchiness in the throat but eventually it becomes swollen that i cant breathe, its scary ha? I dont wanna die just because i eat banana?yeah theyre right were special:uhoh3: tweety

[anichols]

not allergic to tomatoes...but allergic to the plants themselves. nasty case of hives. dad always thought i'd gotten into poison ivy (not allergic) when i was supposed to be staking up the tomato plants, so took forever for him to accept i really was allergic to those dang plants. thought i was allergic to my husband, but it turned out to be a detergent he'd used. and green soap...especially irish spring--will get me in hives even through the wrapper (i am *so* glad i found that out with the wrapped bar in my hand before i washed my whole body with it!)

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

I think the wide use of pesticides on fruit and vegetable farms and the antiobiotics in animal feeds are the true culprit to a lot of allergies. Where I work we designate sensitivity vs allergy to many antibiotics due to the increasing sensitivities among the elderly. After you have lived 90 or more years and have been exposed to just about everything you will probably have a few allergies.

[ORaddict]

Ok. Maybe I am just not seeing it, but why do most people think it weird that I am allergic to oranges?

I don't think that your allergy to oranges is weird, but I do think that the reaction that you're getting from care providers is odd. Don't you just get the urge to tell them, "Yeah, bring me an orange and I'll rub it on my skin if you don't believe me!". Oy!!

What nurses and doctors needs to realize is that many people can be allergic to many different things mainly due to, as my niece's allergist says, auto-immune deficiencies. My 5-year-old niece is severely allergic to oranges as well as a multitude of other things. It takes 2 hours to shop at the grocery store because we have to avoid processed sugars, wheat, soy, pineapples, apples, onions, garlic, beans of any kind, peppers of any kind, gum (found in most processed foods), red #5 and all red dyes, chicken, eggs, most juices, kiwis, potatoes, olives, vanilla, peanuts, anything that lists the analgous "vegetable broth" or "vegetable oil":o . All of this came about because of an immune deficiency that wasn't recognized at birth due to their health insurance keeping them bouncing from one primary to another. The only thing she absolutely isn't allergic to is coffee and lemons.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, be glad your list is short and ignore the incredulous stares of disbelievers.

Becca

[Annabelle57]

I grew up with allergies as part of my life - but they weren't my own, only my brother's. His allergies: nuts, yeast, chocolate, cheese, yogurt, a whole handful of spices, MSG, caffeine, pork, sugar (no, not a diabetic), and any artificial sweetener. Most of those foods would cause severe reactions requiring hospital stays. To this day, he still gets these incredulous stares when he tells people he could never eat pizza, ice cream, chocolate, cola, etc. I will say he has the healthiest diet of anyone I know! Plus, he's got a bunch of environmental allergies: pollen, mold, dust, ragweed, oak, etc.

Thankfully, I bypassed most of those allergies. I have some seasonal allergies (I have a mild headache now as I write this), some lactose intolerance (just straight milk on an empty stomach, nothing to write home about) and a curious reaction to pseudoephedrine (sp? It's Sudafed): my lips puff up and I look like a clown. I discovered it in college and was mercilessly teased by my roommate, who called me Bozo for weeks afterward.

[Melissa4nursing]

I totally understand. I have a weird allergy as well that illicits weird reactions also. I am allergic to temperature change. Also known as Cold Urticaria. I get in a pool I break out, I go from outside to inside (warm to cold like in air conditioning) I break out. I excerise, I break out. You can only imagine when I am out in public. I am a student nurse and I wear long sleeves so my patients don't have to ask if I am ok. It is a nuisance more than anything, the only time I have to really worry is in the winter. then I can't leave without my Epi pen.

melissa

p.s. I think it was passed down to my youngest son.

[dbsue1954]

just do not let it bother you i am allergic to watermelon and no one can figure that one out

[pedsRN121]

I think you can be allergic to anything. I am allergic to Vitamin E, the gel but only topically.

I had a foot surgery, put some vitamin E gel on the scars. My feet swelled up so fast and so bad.

Yikes.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

On the inheritance side, in my family it seems that the tendency toward allergies is inherited, but not the specific allergy. I have anaphylactic reactions to all tree nuts. My sister got hives from strawberries until she reached puberty, since then it anaphylaxis to "red shell fish" or put another way, "shellfish that can walk or swim" ie lobster and shrimp. I have a daughter allergic to sulfa. I've a nephew who has a bunch of environmental allergies, all with mild symptoms. Hope this helps.

[MQ Edna]

I used to love Kiwi, ate it all the time. Then about 5 years of nursing started to have just scratching of my throat, now if I even nibble a piece of kiwi, almost had to call 911. Of course, my daughter loves Kiwi. They did allergy testing on my daughter, I brought a kiwi in to test on her and me. I reacted very strongly to it. Kiwi is from a rubber tree apparently just like latex. If I get latex anywhere near my face, I start to get the same symptoms so of course, no latex gloves for me. Don't want to take the chance. The children's hospital I work in is latex free now so it hasn't been a problem unless I have to go into the main hospital. By the way, I am also allergic to morphine, don't know if there is any connection to the two. I used to be allergic to cats, eyes would swell but I adopted a kitten 3 years ago and so far no problems.