What does an Allergy look like?

Have you had an allergy or know someone who has had an allergy? Maybe you know a few people who have allergies, maybe many different allergies. What is something that you probably noticed if you have allergies or know people who do...

ALL ALLERGIC REACTIONS LOOK DIFFERENT!

There are many reactions one may have and they can range from GI distress and mood changes to not being able to breathe. Many people don't realize that there is even a range for what is considered an anaphylactic reaction. There is what you typically see which is constriction of the throat and not being able to breath, quick heart rate, etc. However, an anaphylactic reaction, at its minimum is a reaction that causes issues with more than two systems at the same time. For example: GI distress and hives is considered an anaphylactic reaction because it impacts both the gastrointestinal system and the circulatory system.

DIFFERENT ALLERGIES CAN ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF REACTIONS.

My son has dairy, corn, and peanut allergies and each reaction is different. For him, a corn reaction is severe mood swings, which we call corn rage, rashes and eczema, and sometimes diarrhea. His dairy reaction is immediate head cold symptoms, coughing, sneezing, sniffling, and GI distress. While his peanut contact reaction is hives and itchiness and I hope to never discover his ingestion symptoms as we are pretty sure it would cause a severe anaphylactic episode.

Not only does every reaction look different but what causes that reaction varies from person to person as well as the timing of the reaction in each person.

There can be two people at the same table that each have a corn allergy. One may instantly react to hidden corn with rashes, corn rage, or anaphylaxis while the other person appears fine for a few hours and then they end up in the bathroom with GI distress and extreme exhaustion for days after the event.

Two people can each have allergies to dairy but one can have a small bowl of cereal with organic milk or a small homemade ice cream and be okay while another cannot have any milk without it causing a reaction.

Many times doctors as well as society have told people with allergies that there is one specific way a reaction shows up, or that to have a reaction it must appear in this amount of time or be because of eating/touching this specific thing. The one thing they can agree on is that the best way to truly test for an allergy is to take it out of your diet and see if the reactions stop; add it back in and see if there is a reaction. However, when we do this, we are told that what we discovered cannot be true or could not have happened, or is super rare and there is no way that is the problem.

So remember this when you look at allergies...

ALL ALLERGY REACTIONS LOOK DIFFERENT!

Take people at their word unless you have empirical proof that they are being untruthful. Most people are not going to lie about a restricted diet that no longer allows them to enjoy food their family makes or go out to a restaurant with friends.

Allergy Conscious Clothing aims to help out in the specific area of clothing. Taking out the corn and latex and making clothing with 100% organic cotton is a first step in relief for many who are just longing to heal and be heard. Subscribe at the bottom of the blog page for weekly updates and to see how things are going!

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