Allergies and dealing with them

I am one of those individuals that deals with allergies, asthma as well as anaphylaxis. So for those that don't know what anaphylaxis is, it is the severe allergic reaction that could cause death if not treated. Anaphylaxis isn't just for food it can be for medication as well. I am anaphylaxis to some foods as well as codeine so it is something I deal with every day of my life now. I wasn't allergic to much growing up but the food and codeine allergies seemed to develop once I was an adult.

With regards to the food allergies I do have problems as sometimes people don't understand what I am saying to them. Here are some of the things that I deal with:

• When you ask if you can bring me something for lunch and I say no due to my allergies please understand. It's not that I don't appreciate the offer it's just with the life threatening or even allergies to things it makes it difficult for me to enjoy different foods.
• I know what I can and cannot have and sometimes even a small change in a diet can cause a bigger impact than it is worth. Please don't try and tell me what I am allergic or intolerant to because you will probably be wrong.
• The food itself may not cause me problems but it could simply be a combination of what I normally have and this new item could result in me having issues.
• So often people have offered to bring something for me and it is difficult to say no as I don't want to hurt their feelings, but I have to say no and explain why.
• The nicest thing you could do for me is understand that I have allergies and know that the best thing you can do for me is understand.

Recently a couple of us were discussing going out for a lunch and I had to say no because of all the food allergies and intolerances that I deal with. Of course, if you don't live with these reactions it can be harder to understand why I have to avoid some restaurants or meals. I have learned how to deal with my issue myself and thankfully I have a wonderful husband who assists me in dealing with them when I get too tired of dealing with them.

For me, I think one of the biggest challenges is that I was able to eat most of the stuff that I am now allergic to when I was growing up. Finding out that I was allergic to foods like pineapple and raspberries were very hard as it meant that I had to give up some of my favourite foods. I know that these foods taste like and having to walk away from them has been hard.

Allergies especially to food can be a challenge at the best of times. Of course it means you have to always be checking and double checking ingredients and even then you may miss a change.

Please understand I appreciate the offers of going out for lunch or you bringing me something as a treat but I can't take the chances. If you really want to get me something that I would like maybe an African violet plant as it doesn't cause me issues and I do like them.