Besides environmental- tons of people are allergic to grasses, trees, pollen, etc. I’m talking about medicines, household products, foods, etc.
My own list is growing. Today I found out that I’m allergic to baby oil. I’d been using it for a few days, applying it all over right after my shower, really appreciating the fact that it soaks right in and doesn’t need to be rubbed rubbed rubbed like lotion does, which can be exhausting depending on your body size. (heh) Woke up this morning with a red, angry, itchy, hot rash on all my creased parts- elbows, groin, behind the knees. Who knew you could be allergic to fragranced mineral oil?
Sulfa drugs. I took some antibiotics for a staph infection a few years ago and it was a bad scene. My doctor told me, “This is the worst skin reaction I’ve ever seen! I wish I had a med student in here!” Uh, great?
Zinc - which wasn’t a problem until my mid-20’s when I was prescribed it for dermatitis.
Ouch.
I know someone with the same allergy, she was prescribed it for a much more personal area than her hands! Double ouch.
I’ve developed a nickel allergy as I’ve got older.
Me and the kid rediscovered our cat fur allergies while volunteering at the animal shelter yesterday. We looked like we’d spent the afternoon beating each other up!
I’m allergic to half a dozen antibiotics. If I come in with a bacterial infection, my doctor gives me a very pained look. I’m also allergic to a variety of insect bites and stings. I’m sensitive, at least, to wool.
Nothing serious. Strawberries have given me hives for years, but it’s so mild that I have to eat a bunch for it to make me uncomfortable. If they’re good strawberries, it’s still worth it. The last time I had a cold I discovered that guaifenesin (found in anti-mucous cold medicines) gives me a nastier case of hives. It makes buying cold medicine a bit of a hassle, but I usually just take a cough suppressant anyway.
Apparantly not shellfish, as any time I am near seafood I attempt to see if I can get iodine poisoning by ingesting as much crab and shrimp as possible. So far so good; apparantly it takes more than just a couple pounds of crab legs to do me in.
I may have somewhat of an allergy to steroids; all I know is that when a hospital injected me with cortisone to deal with a VERY bad case of poison oak, the cortisone made it much, much MUCH worse.
And the last time I took antibiotics, I had an odd reaction to it the first couple days, in that I was flushed bright red <hands and everything> and felt like I was both amped up and zoned out at the same time. Might have been a normal reaction to the first double-dose, however.
Nothing’s ever made me not able to breathe, though.
Non environmental? Probably chicory root, aka inulin (not insulin). We weren’t able to narrow it down with a skin test, but those have a high false negative rate. My reactions kept getting worse, so my allergists said it was likely dangerous to try an oral challenge (essentially, eat a pure sample of it and see if you react) and just avoid the stuff.
You’d be surprised how many high-fiber processed foods contain chicory root fiber/inulin these days.
I have a mild allergy to pecans and walnuts (hate walnuts, so that’s okay). But I love pecans and will eat those until my mouth is absolutely done for.
Feathers and morphine. Apparently morphine isn’t actually an allergy just a sensitivity but I’ve been instructed to call it that to ensure I don’t get it again
