Don’t Think About Other People’s Food Allergies
In the truly disgusting issue of Ask Polly this week, the letter writer casually describes what amounts to multiple attempts on her life by her relatives. Not only do they refuse to admit her deadly mushroom allergy, they seem to enjoy serving them every time she comes to dinner. Almost everyone who read this column had the same reaction: damn it. Are these people really?
The answer, which is quite scary, is yes. While food allergy sufferers are more likely to tolerate stinging comments and eye-rolling than outright attempted murder, the letter writer Ask Polly is not alone. Many people either underestimate the severity of a food allergy or completely assume that anyone who says they have a food allergy is faking it.
We can also start with facts. A 2008 CDC study explains that any parent of school age knows this is true: Children’s food allergies are on the rise. According to this study, approximately four percent of all children under the age of 18 reported food or digestive allergies in 2007, and hospitalizations for food allergies increased by 18 percent between that year and 1997; today the numbers are probably even higher.
Unbeknownst to many people, food allergies in adults are as serious and potentially even more common than the stereotypical peanut allergy in children. A 2019 JAMA network survey of over 40,000 adults found that 10 percent of respondents had at least one food allergy diagnosis, and half of them developed allergies in adulthood. The survey results also showed that food allergies that occur in adults are often life-threatening: a quarter of adults with food allergies wear an Epi-Pen, and 38 percent report at least one visit to a food-related emergency department in the course of your life. In addition, the survey found that 19 percent of the respondents themselves reported food allergies that had not been diagnosed.
But you might be wondering, what about people who say they are allergic to gluten when they really mean they just don’t want to eat it? Isn’t this a real problem? Based on the flashy headlines published in response to a JAMA poll, only 1/4 of Americans who say they have food allergies have any medical evidence ; Half of the people who think they have food allergies don’t study ; Many people who claim to have food allergies don’t actually do it ; One in 10 adults in the United States has a food allergy, but nearly one in five thinks they have one ; Millions of Americans mistakenly think they have food allergies , research results – you are certainly not alone. People seem to love to hate the concept of “false allergies,” so everyone stuck with the self-reported allergy share and ignored the rest of the statistics. (Personally, I am much more concerned that 24 percent of adults with food allergies must wear an Epi-Pen.) If some people interpret ” eating this stuff makes me shit for a few days ” as an allergy rather than an intolerance – especially in a country where visiting Allergists and immunologists are prohibitively expensive and rarely covered – that’s their right and really none of your business.
I can’t believe I have to say this, but when someone says that he (or their children) cannot eat something because of a food allergy, it’s not up to you to test that statement. They are not trying to get attention or sympathy, or set in motion some elaborate evil scheme to ruin your dinner party – they just don’t want a social event to end with a trip to the hospital and communicate this very reasonable expectation of you in no uncertain terms. expressions. More specifically , other people’s food allergies have nothing to do with you. They are real, potentially very dangerous, and won’t go anywhere anytime soon. So stop being such a jerk about this.