hello!! yes, I know this is another "cactus talks" project that is probably unnecessary, but it was just today that I realized not enough people have awareness to fully understand food allergies or other allergies. first off, what is an allergy? no one's exactly sure what causes it. if we knew, there'd probably be thousands of easily accessible treatments for it. the unknown aside, an allergy is basically when you are exposed to something that your body thinks is dangerous. it typically reacts as if you were sick, and can cause chest pain, a sore throat, headaches, stomachaches, rashes, and even trouble breathing. like many things, allergy severity /is/ a spectrum, and not everyone experiences their bodies' reactions the same way, much like with autism or ADHD or something else. some people find their allergies a mild inconvenience, while it could be life-threatening for others, and there are countless people in between those two sides. personally, I have only experienced an allergic reaction twice, and thankfully neither were life threatening, but they both did earn me a hospital trip, which was reallly enjoyable. /sarc I find my common symptoms to be a pretty severe sore throat, as well as stomachaches, hives, and just that general sick, uncomfortable feeling that we all know and hate. what triggers allergic reactions? allergic reactions can be triggered by many substances, ranging from foods to medicine. when someone is allergic to something, that's called an allergen. common allergens you have probably heard of people having are a variety of nuts, eggs, shellfish, and wheat. however, there are things called seasonal allergies, which I will explain later, that do not fall under these categories and are often less severe than food allergies. (key word=often.) however, there are many allergens that aren't as common as the ones you've likely seen. some people have allergies to milk, which can be wrongly perceived as simply lactose intolerance. I know that there's a kid in my class (not anymore, school's over, but for reference he's in my class) that is allergic to penicillin, which is often found in medicines. my younger sister's friend is allergic to latex, so they have to get special bandages that don't have latex to prevent allergic reactions. how do you get around allergies? the most common way to avoid an allergic reaction is simply by avoiding whatever you're allergic to. personally, I'm allergic to peanuts, and so I need to avoid them, since if I don't, it causes an allergic reaction. however, it's actually a lot more complicated than you're probably thinking. "cactus, how can you have an allergic reaction twice when you're avoiding peanuts?" the first allergic reaction I had was actually to eggs, an allergy I have since outgrown. yes, you can outgrow allergies, for anyone wondering. the issue with avoiding your allergen is that food companies are not legally obliged to put "may contain peanuts" on their labels. yes, they have to include all of the product's ingredients, but there's a thing called cross-contamination that can easily be problematic. take the cereal brand Cheerios. yes, the cereal that I do enjoy eating for breakfast when I actually eat breakfast. the cereal my brother is obsessed with. as mentioned above, they are not required to put may contain information on their products. what I'm getting at is that Cheerios are manufactured in a facility that handles peanuts, and there is a small chance that peanuts make their way into the supposedly peanut-free cereals I eat regularly. everything has this risk since there is no obligation to tell people what allergens the product may have been produced in, which is definitely something I hope is changed as I manage my allergy alone without the help of my parents. since I'm running out of space (i think), here's a quick summary of seasonal allergies that I said I would provide: they aren't coming back in certain seasons and going away, they're mostly just allergies to trees or plants. I have seasonal allergies, unfortunately, to the two most common trees in my city, which makes spring and summer not fun. the fact that trees and plants are more prevalent in certain seasons gives it its name. if there is anything I didn't explain well here, feel free to ask me questions in the comments!! I did happen to forget mentioning this therapy-esque technique in which someone gradually eats or is exposed to more and more of their allergen, which doesn't make it go away, but the threat of cross-contamination is nearly eliminated. anyways, be educated!! love and sparkles, -cactusshade
