People who think that allergies aren't real / a problem / get over it and man up already... an American thing?

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mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
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My wife listens to a lot of "am I the arsehole" type content. To those that aren't aware, there's a reddit channel:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com www.reddit.com

Where people present a situation they're involved in which often they're doubting their reaction about. It is a surprisingly common thing seemingly whereby the OP has an allergy and people around them are in denial about in in various ways, including actively poisoning the person in the hopes of saying, "hah! you just ate a meal with such-and-such in and you were fine!", but probably continues to downplay the incident while an EpiPen is used or a visit to A&E/ER ensues.

My question is, have people here who live in the US encountered this attitude towards allergies encountered this and what would you say its prevalence is? I personally have not had a life that involves knowing lots of people well enough that I would say with confidence that I would know something like this about them, so from my limited experience living in the UK I can say I haven't encountered it at all but I'll happily acknowledge that doesn't mean much.
 
highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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When I was a kid, the weak were weeded out with PB&J. Kids these days....sheesh.


And, nope, I've never encountered that and I'm almost as old as Boomer.
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
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Depends on the situation. I've met people convinced they had a gluten allergy because they get sleepy after eating a pound of pasta. We've probably got more people with a somatic symptom disorder than we do people claiming fake allergies.

I've never seen someone claim a true allergy was false though, that's dumb.
 
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pete6032

pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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It's pretty common in any situation for someone to believe that something they can do can also be done by others. You eat shellfish so how could someone else not be able to eat them? You ran 5 miles so your cousin could too if they just put their mind to it etc.
 
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thestrangebrew1

thestrangebrew1

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Dec 7, 2011
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Allergies in general seem weird to me. I have a nephew that since about 2 years ago started being allergic to water. My daughter when she was a toddler all of a sudden developed an allergic reaction to milk and we had to switch to almond milk or some other alternative. After a year or two, she was no longer allergic and can drink regular milk. Heck, even I suddenly started to have an allergic reaction to certain types of deodorant about 10 years ago. Makes no sense...

But I've never been in a situation like OP described. If someone tells me they're allergic to something, it's duly noted and I move on. I've never tried to splash my nephew with water just to verify lol.
 
dullard

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
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I've seen many people misuse the word "allergy".

1) They use it as a conversation simplification tool. Instead of going into yet another long conversation about how you dislike the taste of X or that Y might give you gas, you can simply cut the whole conversation short by claiming to be allergic. I have an in-law that does that constantly. Always claims to be allergic to dairy. Waiters, family, and friends then don't give her dairy. But, I'll watch her eat bar after bar of milk chocolate or douse everything in butter. Not much of a dairy allergy if you can eat all kinds of dairy. When you press her on it, she'll admit that sometimes she has gas after dairy and is just too much of a Karen to deal with that.

2) They often don't understand the difference between a sensitivity, an intolerance, and an allergy. To them it might all be an allergy. But an allergy requires medical attention while an intolerance might just be painful.

3) They often are following the latest trend, fad, whatever it may be (i.e. the sudden spike in MSG allergies whenever China is in the news, or the sudden gluten allergy that few people had before then suddenly 41% of Americans think they have it). Those aren't usually allergies.

With so many fake allergies, it is no wonder that some people have had enough and want to prove that they aren't actually allergies. That said, for those with true allergies, that are life-threatening, they should not be subjected to that type of behavior by others.

I do know one thing though, if I had true allergies to food, I would be doing exposure therapy so that someone can't accidentally kill me. Peanuts are a great example, peanut allergies are deadly but can be overcome. So, why don't they do it more to avoid the accidental peanut death?
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

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Feb 26, 2006
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biostud

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
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Obviously allergies exists, but on less you have been tested by a certified MD, I will remain sceptical to your claim.
 
repoman0

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
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dullard said:
With so many fake allergies, it is no wonder that some people have had enough and want to prove that they aren't actually allergies. That said, for those with true allergies, that are life-threatening, they should not be subjected to that type of behavior by others.
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Who cares though? Why not just let them have their conversation simplifying tool and move on? Why be the person who feels like they have to prove something or prod people about what they eat?
 
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dullard

dullard

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May 21, 2001
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repoman0 said:
Who cares though? Why not just let them have their conversation simplifying tool and move on? Why be the person who feels like they have to prove something or prod people about what they eat?
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Apparently some people dislike being lied to repeatedly and being forced to make separate dishes for no true reason.

I've never forced dairy on my sister-in-law even after well over a decade of making special meals for her made up allergy. But, her repeated screams that people are poisoning her with dairy every time she eats out (and is clearly being given non-dairy items when you can see the person making the food/drink*) does wear on all the rest of us. Especially when we see her eat dairy repeatedly on her own.

* Of course, her counter argument is that Starbucks saves money by pouring actual milk into used containers of soy milk.
 
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Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,852
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www.anyf.ca
I consider myself lucky to have like no allergies, at least nothing that I know of. Depending on what the allergy is, it can really screw with basic things, like having to worry about restaurant food, or suffering with cold like symptoms all summer long etc depending what the allergy is.
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,174
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dullard said:
Apparently some people dislike being lied to repeatedly and being forced to make separate dishes for no true reason.

I've never forced dairy on my sister-in-law even after well over a decade of making special meals for her made up allergy. But, her repeated screams that people are poisoning her with dairy every time she eats out (and is clearly being given non-dairy items when you can see the person making the food/drink*) does wear on all the rest of us. Especially when we see her eat dairy repeatedly on her own.

* Of course, her counter argument is that Starbucks saves money by pouring actual milk into used containers of soy milk.
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It wasn't allergies, but my mother made a huge production out of not liking cheese. Well... aside from the numerous instances where cheese was fine. Annoying...
 
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Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
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MrSquished said:
she's better than Mariah Carey, so I understand why it bothers you.
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Mariah Carey is a part of Beethoven's tree and her subsequent emulators do not know they are influenced by Herr Beethoven. .

It was very good thing back then that keyboard instruments had no sustaining power. That's why composers were forced to compose melismatically.

She brought classical music writing back into "pop" and no one knows it.
 
Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
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igor_kavinski said:
If Taylor Swift's voice also bothers you, it might indicate a pattern.
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BoomerD said:
:eek:
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Mariah Carey's voice is not the main attraction when it comes appreciating what she brings. She sounds like a woodwind instrument, which is not naturally attractive to me(and probably why I did not notice her for about 30 years.

Belinda Carlisle is what I like the most so far when comes to pure aesthetic and a being naturally pleasing. Olivia Newton-John is also quite nice, but not as pleasing as Belinda's. (I wouldn't want to meet or know Belinda personally, it's only her singing I like.)

Or in the world of opera, I like Judith Blegen's singing.
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
16,816
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repoman0 said:
Who cares though? Why not just let them have their conversation simplifying tool and move on? Why be the person who feels like they have to prove something or prod people about what they eat?
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Personally, I care because I have to cook for the fuckers.

You know how complicated Thanksgiving is in my household? I'm close to telling everyone to get Chinese so I don't have to think about how to feed them all.
 
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sdifox

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
99,012
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[DHT]Osiris said:
Personally, I care because I have to cook for the fuckers.

You know how complicated Thanksgiving is in my household? I'm close to telling everyone to get Chinese so I don't have to think about how to feed them all.
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You are welcome
1000008812.jpg
 
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