For the first few years of my life, my darling (and long-suffering) mother struggled daily to ease the pain from a new rash or food allergy that had appeared overnight. After endless trips to the doctors and some horrible scratch patch tests, it was announced that I was allergic to eggs, nuts, kernels, milk, tomatoes, soya, yeast, wheat, animals, pollen, dust and detergent.
After getting over the initial shock of having a child that was softer than cotton wool, my mother started me on a suitable diet and kept me out of harms way for as long as she could. But this didn’t last long, as over 30 years ago, the food labels were not so clear as they are today.
The inevitable bit of egg, milk or yeast was added to my diet and slowly, in time, I was able to tolerate them. But I continued to live with allergies, eczema and asthma. I was the original problem child.
Growing up, it was always tricky going to friends’ houses to play or for sleepovers as they all had pets and used detergent that made me red and blotchy. After a few attempts of trying to suffer on in silence, I started to decline the offers and stay at home, feeling glum that I was missing out on all the fun. My friends just thought I was unsociable.
My poor brothers had to endure a life growing up without a pet dog – it’s all they ever they wanted, but my allergies stopped them having one. As soon as the older brother bought his first home, he got a dog!
Attending parties was always fun when the dreaded bowl of peanuts got knocked over or contaminated the rest of the party food. Once, when I was eight, I remember being at a party on Christmas Eve. I was sitting next to someone who was cracking walnuts and some small pieces of shell dust got onto my hands and then into my eyes. Big clumps of clear jelly started forming around my eyes and they turned bright red and burned. I cried hysterically, but only because my dad wanted to take me to hospital and that meant Santa wouldn’t know where I was! Luckily, Mum came to the rescue and put me in the shower for half an hour, the swelling went down, I went to bed and Santa arrived as per usual!
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Eating out is always a cautionary affair, the menu is read thrice over and the a quick double check with the waiter is made before ordering. I’ve been caught out so many times with a cheeky swirl of pesto in my soup or salad. I do tend to order the same food time and time again when eating out as you get to know what is safe for you. Beauty products are also a minefield, with almond and argan oil now being the popular base in a lot of products. I have a selection of products that I have approved for myself, and I stick religiously to them!
It has only been in the last year that I have taken myself in hand and started on a vegetarian clean eating regime – no meat, dairy or bread. The effects have been great – my skin has cleared up, rashes are not a daily feature on my body and I am no longer plagued by such severe allergic reactions to animals. I don’t know why it took me so long to actually listen to my body and respond to its needs. I thought that having all these allergies and rashes was who I was and that was my life.
Oddly, the removal of dairy has had the biggest impact. It took a while but now I am used to drinking tea and coffee without milk and using oat or coconut milk in cooking. I take recipe inspiration from Thug Kitchen Deliciously Ella Whole 30 websites and my Instagram feed of yummy clean-eating foods helps to keep me inspired and motivated, check out Clean Eating Alice Mind Over Munch Live Green Healthy
I’m so happy that having allergies today no longer means you are considered to be weird, strange, unsociable or fussy and that people are sharing their stories and not feeling isolated.
So let’s get our there and have fun with the rest of the world, just as long as we have our secret stash of sanitising hand wipes, epiPens and emergency safe snacks!
* (Now, the NHS says children with even severe egg allergies can have the MMR jab as the vaccine is grown on chick cells, not the egg white or yolk. Flu vaccine is grown on hens’ eggs and is capable of triggering an allergic reaction. Children and adults with egg allergy are therefore advised to have an alternative such as an egg-free inactivated flu vaccine. If you have concerns, talk to your GP)
Guest blogger: Jemma Woolley, allergic to rather a lot of things