food allergies - the emotions

For those that live with food allergies there is always a concern of having a reaction to something that we ate. I am one of those individuals that grew into all my food allergies whereas a lot of people have had them most if not all of their lives. I have what is called Adult Onset Anaphylaxis as I grew into my allergies as an adult.

Food allergies always mean we are double and even triple checking ingredient lists and talking to staff and management in restaurants to make sure we stay staff. Even the best of us can have reactions to something even after all the checking and double checking that we do. I know as I have had a couple of those reactions and got really upset when they have happened.

Now the reactions that I think are even worse then the known food or medicine reactions are the reactions that we get and don't know why. I have been dealing with that issue lately and have to admit that it is a major concern. I have been watching everything that I have been eating and still have had a couple of reactions that I am not sure why. For me, I have a number of food and one medical reaction and I grew into each of the items at a different time. With having this reactions lately I am now thinking am I now developing yet another food allergy.

The emotions you go through after having a reaction are very difficult to explain. In some cases there is a fear of food, especially if you don't know what caused the reaction. I have been dealing with the fear of food for the last little while and it does really effect a lot of what you do on a daily basis. I have been fearful of even going into a grocery store because I don't want another reaction.

The reaction that I had a week ago was when I was eating two hard boiled eggs and had taken my vitamins like I normally do. Now, I know that I have some issues with what they feed chickens to help with the egg production and that is ground oyster shells. Normally I can have eggs without feeling too bad but this time I had the reaction where my face swells up and I don't feel that great. No, I don't have the problem breathing but it does take a lot of my energy away as my blood pressure does drop. The other thing about this reaction was it happened within me having a couple of mouthfuls of the egg so now the issue starts. Is it the egg that caused the reaction or was it a combination with the vitamins that I took. Later on during the week I decided that I needed to get back to taking the 3 vitamins that I had been taking for over a month without any reactions so I took them and had another mild reaction. As you can see it is rough when you aren't sure what is causing the reactions.

So for now I am eating a lot of very basic foods: salads, fruit and meat without a lot of extras because I am very afraid of having another reaction. I am not happy not knowing that has caused these reactions because I am still not sure if I now have an allergy to eggs.

Food allergies always are a challenge and they don't just effect the person that suffers the reactions as they impact the family as well. I know this as my husband worries about each of my reactions and is there to watch over me while I deal with them. He also tries to make sure that everything we have in our house is safe for me.

If you suffer from food allergies know that you aren't alone and having a great support system is very important. So now, I continue to see what is causing the reactions and hopefully soon I will be back to eating foods and not being nervous every time I put something in my mouth.