# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/21 "2016-11-14T02:30:47Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > 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. but hey that would keep you from getting called to go to war so… there’s that. I actually knew soldiers who right before deployment were taken off the deployment due to bee allergies. Cause you wouldn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere and not be able to get to a hospital if you’re stung by bees. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/22 "2016-11-14T03:09:52Z")
mine are “seasonal,” but I don’t know what exactly triggers them so I selected “pollen.” basically from mid-spring through mid-summer, if I spend any significant amount of time outside I had damn well better kept up on my daily Claritin. a couple of times last year I was on Belle Isle without having taken a “prophylactic” antihistamine, and by the end of the day I don’t know which was worse, the congestion which I was trying to spew mucus through, or the constantly itchy eyes. ---
**Author:** ![kim\_okla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kim\_okla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_okla)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/23 "2016-11-14T03:54:22Z")
I used Carpet Fresh before a blind date (he wasn’t a smoker). While waiting for our table for dinner, I started mass producing snot at an incredible rate. I took two 12 hour allergy pills and fell asleep soon after dinner. I was a fun date. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/24 "2016-11-14T07:10:15Z")
I have two allergies, but both of them are to medicines, so this poll suits me fine. I’m allergic to cephalosporin antibiotics, which I blame on persistent ear infections when I was a small child, and the eye dilation drops, which I blame on my body’s secret revulsion to cheap sunglasses. Maybe if I grew out a big beard… Anyway, cephalosporins make me break out in a rash and the eye dilation drops give me serious flu-like symptoms. Neither are a huge problem. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/25 "2016-11-14T14:18:35Z")
Multiple choice would be nice… I’ve got a few sensitivities that I hesitate to term ‘allergies’- cough up a lung when there’s too much pollen, form hard/itchy crust on skin when using excess topical anti-inflammatory; also burst out into dozens of insanely itchy blisters on hands if I touch lotion and sunblock. (Technically that’s dishydrotic eczema with a very clear trigger. Makes going to beach towns in summer a nightmare, since every door handle’s been touched by someone with sunblock on their hands.) ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/26 "2016-11-14T16:11:53Z")
I don’t have any allergies but I have a couple of reactions that I’ve been instructed to refer to as allergies by my doctor. I have a sensitivity to morphine. It’s not an allergy but since it causes me pain and discomfort I’m happy to call it anything that will ensure I’m not given it. THC is a huge migraine trigger for me. I not only can’t use it, I can’t be near other people using it and particularly heavy smokers can cause a reaction just from their clothing. Given that medical marijuana is now legal here my doctor has entered it on my records as an allergy. Now the really sad part about this is I’m being forced to lie in order to ensure people take it seriously - thus increasing the resistance of people to taking allergies seriously. Apparently the next step will be for us to be required to identify the outcome so the people we’re dealing with can decide how seriously they will take you. Oh, it’s going to make you sick and stuffy for a day - well I won’t bother to actually check ingredients. If it makes you stop breathing then maybe I’ll stir myself to look at a list. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/27 "2016-11-14T16:17:30Z")
Also need multiples. Latex Medications - Either they work fine or I’m the 1 in 1000 who gets the nasty side effects. Have many years of experience in telling doctors I’m not taking Drug X anymore for reasons Y and sticking to my guns when they act dismissively. I seem to be particularly sensitive to black mold. Strong perfumes Industrial solvents ---
**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 14, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/28 "2016-11-14T16:50:16Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > 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. That was the point that I was making - the rise in allergies might not be as dramatic as it appears to be. More thorough and proactive testing can result in people finding out about allergies that they possibly wouldn’t have otherwise discovered, and some of those sensitivities might not ever develop into full-fledged allergies. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/29 "2016-11-14T17:04:49Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > but hey that would keep you from getting called to go to war so… there’s that. I actually knew soldiers who right before deployment were taken off the deployment due to bee allergies. Cause you wouldn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere and not be able to get to a hospital if you’re stung by bees. That’s very interesting, especially considering that far more people are allergic to bullets than bees… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/30 "2016-11-14T17:26:17Z")
Just pollen. Traditional hay fever. It rarely gets very bad, just sometimes if something particular is in bloom, otherwise just some red eyes and stuffy nose. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/31 "2016-11-14T18:08:25Z")
I’m allergic to my dogs, which sucks, because they are my only friends! ---
**Author:** ![Emergency911](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/43a26b/32.png) [@Emergency911](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emergency911)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/32 "2016-11-14T18:51:58Z")
Grew up with ‘hay fever’ but it’s more of a nuisance than anything. The strangest one for me was when I discovered I was allergic to kiwi fruit. I was at a family gathering that was a pot luck style dinner. Nothing on the table was new to the menu, but as the evening progressed, I started feeling sick to my stomach. I ended up stepping outside for some fresh air and vomiting into the in-law’s bushes. I figured I had a stomach bug, so I grabbed the family and made an early exit. Halfway home, I realized I was scratching everything, turned on the light in the car and found I had hives everywhere. The hospital was on the way home, so we stopped in. The doctor suspected a food allergy, but since I had never had one before and there wasn’t anything new, the doc had no clue what it was. Fast forward a month or so and I had picked up some kiwi at the store and sliced it up for a snack. As soon as I started eating it, I felt funny and had a repeat of my symptoms. When I followed up with my own doctor, I told him of my discovery. He then told me that kiwi and strawberries are from the same family and to watch out for them as well. To this day, I have never had an issue with strawberries. After doing some reading, I discovered that it may not be kiwi that causes my reaction, but the pollen on the kiwi. Most kiwi in our midwestern markets are from Mexico or South America. We happen to buy our strawberries from a local farmers market, so the idea that I’m actually allergic to some kind of pollen that is in Mexico/South America makes more sense since I have no reaction to the local strawberries. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/33 "2016-11-14T23:15:31Z")
My mom says I broke out in hives after she gave me aspirin when I was a baby. I’ve taken other things you aren’t supposed to take if you are allergic to aspirin, with no problem, but I haven’t tried aspirin to see if I am still/was ever actually allergic. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/34 "2016-11-15T00:50:12Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > My mom says I broke out in hives after she gave me aspirin when I was a baby. I’ve taken other things you aren’t supposed to take if you are allergic to aspirin, with no problem, but I haven’t tried aspirin to see if I am still/was ever actually allergic. yeah, I wouldn’t be too cavalier about trying it. my aunt found out she was allergic to naproxen (Aleve) by going into anaphylaxis the first time she took it. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/35 "2016-11-15T00:51:01Z")
> [@Emergency911](#): > > After doing some reading, I discovered that it may not be kiwi that causes my reaction, but the pollen on the kiwi. Most kiwi in our midwestern markets are from Mexico or South America. We happen to buy our strawberries from a local farmers market, so the idea that I’m actually allergic to some kind of pollen that is in Mexico/South America makes more sense since I have no reaction to the local strawberries. That’s some fine detective work, but I love your username/post combination. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/36 "2016-11-15T04:28:12Z")
Bees, which was rather horrifying to discover after I got stung. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/37 "2016-11-15T04:34:41Z")
Marijuana makes me drop a barf. But since that’s not an option, I chose Bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/38 "2016-11-15T16:50:12Z")
Mine is sort of an allergy/sensitivity thing. I used to have no problems taking OTC pain killers, now I do. It started with Aspirin. I took those Aspirin crystal things that came out around 2009 and became photosensitive and had a weird tingly feeling that would go up my front and down my back. Next to go were all NSAIDS. I developed a condition that caused my digestion to slow and was prescribed an NSAID with a special coating to protect my stomach. It ended up almost burning a hole in my stomach and irritated my whole entire digestive system. Gastroenterologist told me it was safest just to stay away from all NSAIDs. Last year I developed Acetaminophen Induced Hypotension. Basically, Aceaminophen (Tylenol) caused my blood pressure to drop drastically. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/39 "2016-11-15T17:10:51Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > That’s very interesting, especially considering that far more people are allergic to bullets than bees… Imagine the scenario, a Ranger company is on a 20 mile trek across country to surprise an Al Qaeda stronghold. Suddenly Johnson gets a bee sting and blows up like a balloon. The mission is put on hold and Johnson is medevac’d by helicopter back to base. An Al Qaeda spotter sees the helicopter and the rest of the company is ambushed… This isn’t a scenario that should happen. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776/40 "2016-11-15T17:42:27Z")
As a child - nothing. As an adult - some hair dyes cause hives, discovered a certain blood pressure med causes anaphylaxes, cat dander swells my eyes shut and my nose to leak like a faucet, as does pollen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-allergies-do-you-have/771776.md?page=3)