For those who have a food allergy...?

Question

How do you respond to people who act as if you've made it up? I'm allergic to eggs, chicken, and basically anything else that ever came from a bird; I get treated as if I just made it up to get attention and be difficult. My favorite is, "It's not like it's poison." Well, not for *you*, maybe....

A friend of mine, who is lactose-intolerant, has a great one. He says, "It's too bad I have an adult man's digestive system, and not a baby cow's."

So what are your good comebacks? Snide, polite, whatever?

Answer 1

My come back is;
Are you prepared to deal with the consequences of my having an allergic reaction or worse anaphylactic shock, that may mean you have to do CPR and call an ambulance.

This usually makes people take the food/drug or chemical away very quickly.

My other come back is if its a food that I have mild reactions too, that cause shocking stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting etc, I will say;
If I eat this, do you want your loo back any time soon.

Answer 2

My son is severely allergic to tree nuts. He just turned 6 so he hasn't really had to deal with the stupidity of people yet, but I have. I was discussing this with my friend the other day and told her of a little boy that went into anaphylactic shock and she kind of got a blank look on her face, so I asked her if she knew what I was talking about and she said no. I had to explain to her that anaphylactic shock is the severe reaction that could end in death from the allergic reaction. I consider my friend to be pretty smart, and that made me realize that all of us that know the danger, maybe need to use more common words like "my throat will close" "I will die" and statements like this. My only hope is that the rest of these people just aren't understanding because if they actually understand that people with food allergies can die, and then not care if their kids bring peanut butter sandwiches to school, that's a whole different ball game, and it isn't one I want to participate in...especially with my child. Good luck and stay safe.

Answer 3

I do not actually have an allergy per say, I have Celiac Disease, the inability to process gluten so when I eat it, all heck breaks loose! Literally!! LOL! So when eating out I call it an allergy to make it sound more serious. They actually make dining cards for ppl with CD and allergies to hand to the server to make it more serous so they understand. The way I see it, I explain I'm HIGHLY ALLERGIC to gluten and if u dont want me passing out in your place of business, please help me have a gluten free meal!! You could use your own allergy similarly!! Bust out the epi pen and ask do they really want to see u use it! That would certainly kill other diners appetities!!
LOL!