When most people think of food allergies they think of the most common ones, eggs, peanuts/nuts, milk, but not many people think about other things. Like mine, I'm allergic to capsaicin. Most people don't even know what that is.
Capsaicin is the stuff that makes chilis hot! I am allergic to hot peppers. Along with a number of other things. I know many people think that this is an easy allergy to work with because, unlike milk or eggs that are in almost everything, peppers aren't used a lot. Well, that's wrong! The chemical that makes them hot is used in everything from medicines to makeup. Many of the medications that are used to relieve pain, such as muscle rubs, contain it as well as weight loss treatments. Some nose sprays contain it as well.
My biggest fear is buying organic produce! Especially locally organic grown produce. Chili powder and oils are a great pest repellant. However, when I touch these things that have it on them I end up with a huge red,, swollen, and blistered rash! I have to bag them without touching them and then wash them as soon as I bring them home. Sometimes when the oils are used I can't even eat something as simple as lettuce because those plants absorb a little of the oils used. Things like bell peppers that are usually safe for me to eat contain small amounts of capsaicin in them. While it's not enough to cause a full allergic reaction it is enough to cause irritation to my mouth and throat.
There is also a new fad with restaurants now too that worries me. Adding chili powder or red pepper flakes to commonly non spicy foods has reached a new popularity with people. I know when I go to a restaurant that serves salsa that it probably contains jalapenos and not to eat it, but when I order something like lasagna or anything that contains a common tomato based sauce I'm not usually expecting it to be hot. Many restaurants think this is a great thing and don't even let you know in the menu that it contains "heat". As simple as it would be to put the little pepper symbol that many restaurants use to denote an exceptionally flaming item they don't see these small recipe tweaks as important enough to note. But for someone like me, knowing the exchange of simple cracked black pepper for crushed red pepper could mean the difference between life or death.
It sucks having to ask when I eat at a get together if there is anything hot in the foods. Being southern I get a lot of stupid comments like "what's the matter, can't handle it" or "it's just a little bit" or even the beloved uncle telling me that it will "put hair on my ass". Sure it's all funny but I'd rather not spend my day in the emergency room getting steroid shots. Not to mention when these things touch my body I blister. If you have ever had a fever blister you can know how painful one blister on the mouth is. Now imagine your entire mouth, lips, cheeks, tongue, and throat coated in them.
I have heard others who don't want to try a food say "I'm allergic" to try to keep from even tasting it. I often wonder how they would feel if they were really allergic to something and had to check everything before they eat to be sure it's not something they can't eat. I know of one person who won't eat anything healthy, professing allergies, but you can't claim to be allergic to corn and then down Cheetos by the ton or milk and eat ice cream by the gallon! Food allergies are not selective to things you want to eat and things you just may not like. I wished these people understood that their flippant use of "I'm allergic" makes it harder for people with real allergies to be taken seriously. I have never met another person allergic to capsaicin before, though my doctor tells me he treats 3 others with it. I'm sure there are others out there somewhere but it's not as common, as say, nut allergies.
I know there have to be other allergies, too, that don't get taken seriously. I have seen others with allergies to things like hard water or cotton. Those people understand having an allergy to common everyday things. I have to live with an allergy that makes me have to ask "does this have anything hot in it" only to find out later that the person doesn't consider Texas Pete to be "that hot"! You should always take it seriously when someone says they are allergic no matter how crazy it sounds. If you are someone living with an allergy don't be afraid to request food you can eat. It's not rude to ask if a dish contains something you can't eat. I've eaten at a friends and asked only to be told that a simple dish like mac and cheese contained peppers.
Food allergies suck, having an uncommon allergy to common things really sucks! But if people would take allergies a little more seriously life can be better for those of us with them. We aren't weak because our bodies can't handle something, we can't help that we get sick from these things. Giving us those things to see if we are "really allergic" to it or to play a joke on us is not right. Saying you are allergic to something you have never even tried is not cool either, if you don't want to eat something just say so, don't lie. Hell just try it, you might find that it's not as bad as you think. There should be nothing wrong with saying that you don't like something.
One thing I want to make very clear. My reason for posting this. I had a waitress think that "picking out the offending pepper" made it ok to eat. Olive Garden's soup, salad, and breadsticks is a great deal for lunch. But they include a Pepperoncini pepper in the salad. I know this, so when I order it I ask them not to add the pepper and state that I have an allergy to them. This particular time I ordered as such, but the girl forgot to take the pepper out. When we asked for another she seriously reached over and picked the pepper out of the salad and asked if that was ok. No! It's not ok! That pepper came into contact with the rest of the food and it could contain something that could make me sick. Yes, she acted like we were the assholes when we asked for another salad and took her sweet time bringing us another (sadly my husband asked to keep the old salad on the table until she brought another because she seemed like the type to bring the same salad to us). Never assume that someone can just pick out the stuff they are allergic to. If it comes into contact with the rest of the food then there is a risk that it will hurt them.
Love,
Mom
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