# What allergies do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776 "2016-11-13T05:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/1 "2016-11-13T05:44:42Z")
Simple poll, what do you have? Any exotic allergies do you have? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/2 "2016-11-13T06:25:01Z")
I need multiple choice for an accurate answer, the poll is only letting me make one choice. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/3 "2016-11-13T07:01:32Z")
You do realize than many of us have multiple allergies, right? I have no idea which to vote for… ---
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/4 "2016-11-13T07:36:44Z")
Oops. I didn’t put the option for multiple allergies- I knew I forgot something. Ah well, either pick other or the most common allergy. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/5 "2016-11-13T07:40:19Z")
Only to certain antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/6 "2016-11-13T07:41:08Z")
My only allergy is to WORK. I really don’t understand this rampant allergy thing happening to the recent generations. My nieces and nephews are allergic to every fucking thing under the sun. My siblings and I are not. Something weird is going on, and it’s getting worse. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/7 "2016-11-13T14:37:45Z")
Allergies have been documented throughout history. They aren’t something new, just more common. One of the more current theories is that we’re too clean - exposure to allergens early in life seems to train the immune system to behave itself better. Another one is the current lack of intestinal parasites - anywhere various worms have been eliminated from humans food allergies have raised their heads. In reality, there are probably multiple causes. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/8 "2016-11-13T14:55:04Z")
A long list of things. I think increased testing is also part of the “rise” in allergies. My mom developed a peanut allergy, as an adult, then she later took me and my sister to the same allergist who’d been treating her, in order to get help for our hay fever. We all got skin prick tests, and to our surprise, the doctor told us that we were all allergic to several foods. The lists was nearly identical to the list of our favorite foods; the doctor was telling us to limit, or stay away from things that we ate all the time, without having any sort of noticeable reaction. I didn’t cut everything out for good, and in the end, the doctor was right - some foods did eventually cause noticeable allergic reactions, but it took years. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/9 "2016-11-13T15:24:54Z")
None. People of my generation didn’t have any allergies. However, on two occasions, I spent more than a few days in a forested mountain region in July (in Colorado and Kyrgyzstan) and got flu-like congestion, possibly from the pine pollen, so apparently I have some allergic reaction to that particular agent. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/10 "2016-11-13T17:08:25Z")
I’m allergic to just about every antibiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/11 "2016-11-13T17:12:27Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > None. People of my generation didn’t have any allergies. > > However, on two occasions, I spent more than a few days in a forested mountain region in July (in Colorado and Kyrgyzstan) and got flu-like congestion, possibly from the pine pollen, so apparently I have some allergic reaction to that particular agent. What generation is that? I was born in the 1960’s and I’ve had allergies all my life. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/12 "2016-11-13T17:15:15Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > A long list of things. I think increased testing is also part of the “rise” in allergies. My mom developed a peanut allergy, as an adult, then she later took me and my sister to the same allergist who’d been treating her, in order to get help for our hay fever. We all got skin prick tests, and to our surprise, the doctor told us that we were all allergic to several foods. The lists was nearly identical to the list of our favorite foods; the doctor was telling us to limit, or stay away from things that we ate all the time, without having any sort of noticeable reaction. I didn’t cut everything out for good, and in the end, the doctor was right - some foods did eventually cause noticeable allergic reactions, but it took years. Allergy tests can generate false positives, they aren’t 100% accurate. Oddly enough, my initial list of foods I’m allergic to were all foods I absolutely loathed - of course, if every time you ate a particular item you’d have projectile vomiting, severe diarrhea, swelling of your mouth and throat, and difficulty breathing you probably wouldn’t like that particular item for very long. Also, allergic reactions aren’t necessarially dramatic or even very bothersome - it’s possible to have very minimal reactions that the person in question might well ignore as not bothersome enough to be worth doing anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/13 "2016-11-13T17:50:17Z")
Here’s the list from my allergist (he didn’t test for foods\*, only environmental): Dustmite F; Dustmite P; Dog ☹ Trees: Mountain Cedar; Pecan; Ash; Privet; Oak; Mesquite Weeds: Ragweed; Marsh Elder; Cocklebur; Pig/Careless weed; Sorrel/Yellow Dock; Russian Thistle; Sage Molds: Hormodendrum; Alternaria; Pullularia; Epicoccum; Aspergillus \*Food allergies do NOT respond to immunotherapy, and therefore are not included in the serum if you choose to go on allergy shots. [Quoted from the results sheet] ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/14 "2016-11-13T21:30:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > What generation is that? > > I was born in the 1960’s and I’ve had allergies all my life. Born in the 1930s. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/15 "2016-11-13T21:48:37Z")
Here is an article from the [_European Journal of Allergy and Immunology_](http://www.eaaci.org/documents/The-history-of-the-idea-of-allergy.pdf) discussing research into hypersensitivity disorders in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, what we now call “allergies”. In other words, there WERE people with allergies not only in YOUR generation but in prior ones. [Here](https://itchylittleworld.com/2015/06/23/three-lessons-learned-from-the-history-of-food-allergies/) is an account of a sea lion suffering from a food allergy in the 1930’s - it ain’t just humans who have this problem (I also once knew a horse allergic to timothy - providing hay to him required a lot of diligence to avoid it). From the ancient world - King Menses of Egypt died of a bad reaction to a wasp sting. Britannicus, son of Roman emperor Claudius, suffered from horse allergies so bad they’d make his eyes swell shut. English King Henry III broke out in hives after eating strawberries (he attributed the reaction to witchcraft). No one disputes allergies are far more common than they used to be, but the notion they didn’t exist in the past is a false one. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/16 "2016-11-13T22:39:15Z")
The only thing i’m allergic to is bee stings. I basically get an anaphylactic reaction and my throat swells up regardless of where I get bitten. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/17 "2016-11-13T22:58:04Z")
allergic to chicken (as food) yay me, first food allergy respondent in the poll. I really really wanted to say I’m allergic to bull-redacted too. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/18 "2016-11-13T23:02:49Z")
**burpo** you’re allergic to aspergillus? My poor poor doggy friend, your life must suck much if it is a particular sensitive allergy. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/19 "2016-11-13T23:06:57Z")
Most standard environmental triggers but I’ve gotten very good at managing them. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/20 "2016-11-14T00:50:43Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > **burpo** you’re allergic to aspergillus? My poor poor doggy friend, your life must suck much if it is a particular sensitive allergy. Appreciate the concern, **chaz** ; getting the dustmites allergy under control :rolleyes: was like the heavens opening up and THE BIG MAN UPSTAIRS saying **Course it’s a good idear!** 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776.md?page=2)