What are you allergic to?

Dis · December 8, 2003, 23:46

It seems like most people are allergic to something, but I can't think of anything I'm allergic to. Cigarrette smoke bothers me, but I can't say I'm allergic to it. I work in cigarrette smoke filled environments everyday at work.

KrazyHorse · December 8, 2003, 23:50

Pennicillin. I get springtime allergies sometimes, but not too bad.

molly bloom · December 9, 2003, 00:14

I used to be allergic to strawberries when I was a child. Luckily that seems to have passed.

I am allergic (or at least I have an allergic response to) dentist's etching acid.
Also, days when the pollen count count is very high, and when there's significant amounts of dust or air borne pollution, my eyes itch. But I don't get hay fever.

Jon Miller · December 9, 2003, 00:17

in oregon I get allergies real bad
out here I do not

not really sure what I am allergic to (not penicciline)

Jon miller

Sava · December 9, 2003, 00:24

Erythromyecin... maybe cat hair, but I've grown quite tolerant having had 7 cats throughout my life... 3 currently...

Dr Strangelove · December 9, 2003, 01:02

Cats, cigarette smoke, burning wood, certain grasses and trees, certain molds, ragweed, certain perfumes. When I was a kid I was sick almost all of the time. When I moved away from the cat my allergies virtually resolved. It is known now that allergies can synergize. Continuous exposure to one allergen can increase the sensitivity to other allergens which otherwise the person would have a very weak response to because the continuous exposure to the primary allergen sort of stokes up the system. It can also produce an esagerated non-specific hypersensitivity. Certain things like smoke and other strong odors will produce runny nose and sneezing in most of us once the offending agent reaches a certain concentration in the air. Chronic allergies crank up the system, causing the sufferer to react at lower concentrations.

connorkimbro · December 9, 2003, 01:12

tetracycline

mrmitchell · December 9, 2003, 01:17

I'm not "allergic" to anything, but one thing that makes me want to vomit (preferably all over the cancer-stick-consumer) is cigarette smoke. I can't stand the filth.

connorkimbro · December 9, 2003, 01:22

i'm not allergic to it, but i don't like smelling piles of poop.

Shogun Gunner · December 9, 2003, 01:28

peanut butter when i was a kid

trolling threads when i'm an adult

MrFun · December 9, 2003, 01:53

I'm allergic to Republicans.

Jethro83 · December 9, 2003, 02:35

Every type of grass.

I also used to be allergic to wheat, yeast and potatoes, even though they invoked very little reaction (especially when compared with grass).

Adagio · December 9, 2003, 06:37

School

Gangerolf · December 9, 2003, 06:47

Commies

Dry · December 9, 2003, 07:09

Pepper.
It's not really an allergy, because I will not be sick or ill, it is more like hyper-sensitivity.
Put pepper in my food and I'm totally unable to tell what I'm eating.
Today if you put a very little bit of the gentle one (white?), it's OK, but when I was a kid even a pinch in 50 liter soup was too much.

Bosh · December 9, 2003, 07:23

Used to be allergic to chocolate

Now just ragweed and cats...

CerberusIV · December 9, 2003, 07:43

I've recently developed a reaction to dairy products. This is a real pain. I have never really had a problem with anything before and at 42 I wasn't expecting to develop one.

I can't drink cow's milk - even a small amount in a mug of tea makes me shake and feel dreadful. I ate a small piece of cheese last Tuesday evening and was off work for 3 days.

All the butter, cheese and cow's milk has been thrown out and the fridge is kind of empty - apart from a jug of soya fake milk and a tub of dairy free soya spread (which doesn't really taste of anything at all).

I'm now terrified of developing an allergy to alcohol. If that happens I think I will have to consider suicide.

alva · December 9, 2003, 07:59

Nerofen/brufen but not a 100% certainty.

-
allergic people.

Mr. Harley · December 9, 2003, 08:36

Dust Mites - I have to wash all my bed clothes at 140 degress farenheit. Pain in the a**, can't leave the hot water at that temperature, have a nine month old.

I'm mildly allergic to dogs, no problem with cats. My wife, the resident cat person, chortles over this. Some molds, grass, and cockroaches. Luckily those three are easy to control.

Dr. Stranglove, thanks for the nice post on allergy synergies. My allergist didn't bother to explain that, it explains why once I got control of the dust mite issue, everything else eased off.

For other posters, there is alot of popular misconception of what is an allergy, and what is a sensitivity. Allergies are specifically caused by certain over reactions of the immune system to certain substances, often protein based. Usually if an anti-allergy medication relieves the symptoms, you have an allergy.

Sensitivies are when your body has a non-immune response to various substances, which can include proteins. I am highly sensitive to copper, as I found out when I drank apple cider out of a brass mug. It had set for about two hours, and in less than thirty minutes it felt like somebody had kicked me in the gut, literally. I crawled over to a phone and called a poison control center. It's not a poison, I'm just sensitive.

molly bloom · December 9, 2003, 08:42

Quote:

Originally posted by CerberusIV
I've recently developed a reaction to dairy products. This is a real pain. I have never really had a problem with anything before and at 42 I wasn't expecting to develop one.

Have you tried goats' milk? Much tastier than soy milk. And goats' milk cheese is so much better than soy substitute cheese.

Also, you might want to investigate slippery elm bark- worked for a friend of mine who was lactose intolerant. It's available at Holland and Barrett and most other independent health food stores.

duke o' york · December 9, 2003, 10:13

I've found that a combination of two popular allergies works quite well for me.

Basically if you smoke then that will drastically reduce the effects of hay fever. Maybe this is because the smoke kills all of the pollen, but I don't know. It does work though.

Keep killing yourselves kids,
Nick O'Tine.

[edit] I've just come across another allergy I have. Speaking to answering machines! Normally I would be able to talk my way out of pretty much anything and have a vocabulary the size of Belgium, but they reduce me to a stuttering gibbering oaf. Something in the fact that you have to say something and will not get a response to whatever you say just throws me completely.

[/edit]

Cruddy · December 9, 2003, 11:01

Hypocrisy.

General Ludd · December 9, 2003, 11:26

My relatives.

Seriously, I don't know what it is, but every time I spend a week with relatives my sinuses go crazy.

Bas · December 9, 2003, 11:31

Tulips. If I touch them, I get all kinds of sores on my fingers after a couple of hours. Strangely enough, I didn't always have this. I used to be able to handle the flower bulbs without any problem, but they suddenly showed up and from then on I can't even touch a tulip or a tulip bulb without an allergic reaction.

Theben · December 9, 2003, 12:04

Quote:

I am highly sensitive to copper, as I found out when I drank apple cider out of a brass mug. It had set for about two hours, and in less than thirty minutes it felt like somebody had kicked me in the gut, literally. I crawled over to a phone and called a poison control center. It's not a poison, I'm just sensitive.

I've heard that certain acidic compounds will react with copper or copper alloys and create a poison for humans. FE, u can't drink orange juice out of a copper/brass vessel.

Spec · December 9, 2003, 12:05

I'm allergic to Albert Speer and Fez.

Spec.

Mr. Harley · December 10, 2003, 07:51

Theban, thanks. The chemistry had always disturbed me, but the poison control people said no problem. Should know to do my own research (though no WWW when it happened). Wonder if it's the copper, or other compounds in brass like tin or zinc?