Not a nutty buddy

As some of you may or may not know, I've got a peanut allergy. More specifically, it's a nut allergy, since I react to walnuts, almonds, cashews, the whole she-bang. It was first discovered when I was about three, as my mom was hosting a baby shower for one of my aunts. My little hands went up to grab some snack nuts from the table and...I don't remember a thing but I'm sure my mom was petrified. I imagine I put a bit of a damper on the baby shower.

Over the years I've been able to control it pretty well by being careful, reading labels, sticking with foods I know are safe. Having Benadryl on hand usually tempers symptoms without needing extra medical care. (I'll talk more about my more severe reactions shortly.) Some products, and restaurants, you may not suspect would set a nut allergy off include:

Plain Chex Mix-due to the cross contamination factor. Someone's not cleaning the equipment very well at the Chex plant :(. I used to be able to eat this without a problem but no more. Bummer.

Plain M & Ms-again, due to cross contamination. I love the M & M characters and the commercials, but not the candy.

Coldstone Creamery-At the locations I've visited, they don't have separate boards for nut-free mixing. Wiping the boards down just doesn't cut it. However, their ice cream cakes sans nuts still appear to be just fine.

The Cheesecake Factory-I had a minor reaction just a bite or two into a Santa Fe Salad a couple of months ago, which, at the time I visited, was not labeled on the menu as having a Peanut-Cilantro vinaigrette. (Perhaps the glass of wine and Flying Gorilla drink I had beforehand helped me not to panic.) I see according to their website their menu has now labeled that. Ya know, I like to feel like I can change the world somehow, but an allergic reaction is not the method I had in mind. However, I still love this restaurant, but will stick to safer stuff like meatloaf :). I think they label their cheesecakes well, as I've eaten them there with no problem. YUM.

Red Robin-Their "Ensenada Chicken Platter" and its vague "zesty Mexican blend of seasonings" had me searching for my Benadryl in my purse. I am really not a burger lover (unless it's fresh off the BBQ) so the fact that I try to make healthier menu choices, but can end up reacting, is getting extremely frustrating. This reaction just happened on Saturday, again a very minor one because I knew a bite or two in that I shouldn't continue. I just emailed Red Robin to let them know about this, as finding nut allergen information on their website is next to impossible. In fact, in their section on wheat/gluten allergies, there is this advisory:

"AS WE COOK, PREPARE, AND SERVE YOUR MEAL, THE LISTED
MENU OPTION MAY COME IN CONTACT WITH THE ALLERGEN YOU
WANT TO AVOID. FOR EXAMPLE, WE MIGHT COOK THE LISTED
MENU OPTION ON THE SAME BROILER AS A MENU ITEM THAT
CONTAINS THE ALLERGEN YOU WANT TO AVOID. THAT’S JUST THE
WAY OUR KITCHEN IS SET UP. RED ROBIN CANNOT GUARANTEE
THAT ANY MENU ITEM WILL BE PREPARED COMPLETELY FREE OF
THE ALLERGEN IN QUESTION."

That's just the way our kitchen is set up. Really. Well, then, my pocketbook is set up to go spend my dining dollars at a restaurant with better customer service.

I just read that statement a few minutes ago and now I am pissed off. I need a minute grrrrrr.....OK.

I really feel for those with wheat/gluten allergies, and with celiac disease. Their search to find something they can eat is far harder for them than me. My grandpa has celiac disease, so I know simply from observation that it's incredibly frustrating.

The more severe reaction happened at work recently. In May, every year for our team month, they send boxes of their special coffee cake around to the various departments as a thank you to their employees. Now I swear I have eaten this cake many times without an issue, so I didn't do my usual snooping around if this is OK for me to eat. (And those of you that work with me often know I will pass by food I don't know anything about.) But this time, I hit a walnut. The boxes weren't labeled as having them-we checked. I work in an ER, so I was in the right place for a reaction, but this was really not the way I wanted to get a break from work. My airway wasn't blocked, but I was having swallowing trouble, and very red and itchy. This one scared me a little. A shot of Benadryl, a steroid, and four hours of sleep later, I was fine. (WOW does that Benadryl shot work fast. Damn. God bless pharmaceuticals.) Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was in the work cafeteria, and they were selling individual slices of the coffee cake, and I noticed they were labeled as having walnuts. I don't remember that being labeled before. Yes, you're welcome, again. Saving the world one reaction at a time.

So, if you find yourself craving snack peanuts on a plane trip, and find that it's a peanut-free flight, maybe now you have a better idea as to why you're eating pretzels or crackers instead.

Just order a drink and you'll forget about it at least until landing.

As for the question, do I carry an Epi-Pen? The answer is not at the moment, although that is a conversation I will have with my doctor at my next checkup, as I think the tree nut allergy is the most concerning. I do plan on consulting an allergist too, but I have to check my insurance coverage for that first.

For more information on peanut allergies, visit http://www.peanutallergy.com/. For tree nut allergies, more information is at http://foodallergies.about.com/od/nutallergies/p/treenutallergy.htm amongst other places on the web.

P.S. I do know what a paragraph is, I swear, but Blogger insists on running my text all together above. Argh! Sorry if it's not as easy to read that way.