Wine, bandages, peppers how I survived my bullshit allergy

Aspirin, shellfish, bandages... six people tell us about their allergies, from the most dangerous to the funniest.

We all have this friend for whom spring is hell, handkerchief taped to his nose and tears in his eye. If they can be painful, even downright dangerous, allergies are far from a cakewalk. Hypochondria, socialization, change of habits... they impact the daily lives of those who support them in sometimes unsuspected ways.

Frédéric, 46 years old, Lille: allergic to grapes

"One day I was drinking wine, the same as I've been used to for years, on the terrace with friends. Suddenly, I didn't feel very well and I felt my skin move under my pants. I went then eat at a friend's house and she had a scared look when she opened the door to me. I got scared when I saw myself, my face was puffy. I looked under my pants, I had like giant bites.

It happened again a few days later, still drinking wine, and more violently. I had to be taken to the pharmacy because my eyes were so swollen that I couldn't open them. It was a bit creepy. At first I didn't know what it came from and then I ended up suspecting the wine.

I've had seven or eight seizures in eight years. Initially, it scratches the palms of the hands, the palate, you feel the body crumpling, like an old man's body. I always felt like I was going to choke to death if I didn't take something. And then one day, I said to myself that it had been a long time since I had had an attack, when I was certain that I had come across a fishy vinaigrette [Frédéric was allergic to reason, whatever the way from which it was prepared, so also vinegar, raisins, etc. Editor's note]. With my friend who is a doctor, we thought that maybe it was gone as it had come. So we wanted to test with a good Burgundy. I was drinking my drink and my friend was preparing for a reaction at any moment. In the end, nothing happened and since then, I have nothing."

Can you become allergic overnight?

According to Habib Chabane, allergist, it is quite possible to become, one day, allergic to a food that we used to eat. This is a breach of tolerance. "It's a cross-allergy. When you're sensitive to a respiratory allergen, you can become allergic to something else that contains the same protein. If you're allergic to birch pollen, for example, it can cause a break in tolerance to vis-à-vis certain food allergens", explains the allergist. According to him, an allergy can also go away as quickly as it came if you completely change your living environment.

Auberi, 22, Dijon: allergic to peanuts and nuts

"I've been allergic to peanuts since I was little. It's painful because I can't eat what I want. I have to read the instructions for industrial products, check the products in pastries, snacks... In cafes Starbucks, for example, I don't know what's in there. Sometimes there are signs in the windows, but in practice, it's a little more complicated. You don't know if people have washed their hands, if things are touching. It's not always reassuring. I don't take the risk even with products that say "possible traces of nuts". find it a little reckless, it almost becomes a mental burden, although it is natural to do so.

It's also quite complicated to be able to eat at a restaurant. It seems to me that it is mandatory that they have an allergen card, but that said it is not always the case. It sucks but you're used to it. In middle school and high school, it was difficult to socialize, because I couldn't eat with everyone. I had to take my meal, I had my assigned table. Even today when you meet someone, you can't really eat out."

What are the factors for becoming allergic?

Heredity increases the risk of developing allergies according to allergist Habib Chabane. "A child whose one parent has an allergy will have a 50% chance of being allergic in turn. If both parents are, then he will have a 75% chance of developing allergies," he comments. .

But some children will be allergic without the parents being. For Doctor Chabane, this is due to food and living conditions since early childhood. "The structure of our society has changed, we live more in the city, in apartments, everything is cleaner. Births take place in greater hygienic conditions, infant food is sterilized. This is the theory of hygiene. There are fewer good microbes around us and, on the contrary, more visible and invisible pollutants. All of this promotes the development of an allergy". The final condition for becoming allergic is exposure to the allergen in abundance.

Tu Ha An, 28, Dijon: allergic to bandages

"I was still living in Vietnam at the time and everyone travels by bike or scooter. So that day, I was on a bike with a friend and we passed near a scooter with a stem of protruding iron. It made a hole in my knee, I must have been 13. Our first instinct was to put a bandage on the wound.

It scratched me a lot, so I thought it was an infection. We went to see the doctor who told us that it was not serious, but no one thought of an allergy. And then I started having itchy fingers. My knee was swollen, not from the injury but from the irritation. With my parents, we finally thought of that.

After this incident, several years passed without me having an injury. Around the age of 15-16, I hurt my little finger and I had completely forgotten about this episode. Suddenly, my finger swelled again because of a bandage. Now I am careful not to manipulate it. The problem is when I'm unconscious! One day I had surgery in Canada, the doctors had forgotten that I was allergic. The bandage had caused me a swelling which remained for two months.

On the same subject ⋙ Itching, paranoia and nocturnal anxiety: my hell with bed bugs ⋙ Health: Don't hold back your sneeze, it would be dangerous

Fabien, 38, Paris: allergic to aspirin

"I have Fernand Vidal syndrome. This combines an allergy to aspirin, with a tendency to asthma and naso-sinus polyposis, inflammation of the sinuses.

I realized this in 2005 or 2006, when I was a student. One afternoon, I went to lunch with a friend and I had a headache. She gave me an Aspegic and an hour later, when I came back to class, I really felt like I was suffocating, only being able to breathe through the tiny hole of a needle. People saw right away that I was not well. I went to the infirmary which called SOS Médecins. And I was told that it was a kind of allergic shock and that I shouldn't take any aspirin in the future.

When I grew up I always took paracetamol, Efferalgans, Doliprane… I couldn't even tell the difference between that and aspirin. For me, it was effervescent cachet so I mixed everything up a bit.

Everyone around me is aware and I am very careful at home to only have doliprane. But I always have this fear when you ask a colleague a little off the cuff "hey, do you have a doliprane for me". I get flip shots once I've ingested the stuff because I haven't checked the packaging for example.

When I take a drug that I don't know, even if a doctor prescribes it to me and I tell him, I always have to repeat it. It created hypochondriac reflexes in a way, or rather a fear of taking medication."

Romane, 25 years old, Paris: allergic to shellfish, peanuts, dust mites, pollen…

"A few weeks after I was born, when I drank cow's milk, they saw patches appear on my face. When I switched to soy milk, it went straight away. Then at 8 months they understood that I was allergic to egg yolks. It's restrictive because they are everywhere, in cake mixes, pasta, mayonnaise... When I was 2 years old, I ate a peanut while my parents were making a appetizer and I got angioedema. In fact, I don't know what it's like not to be allergic to something. I've acculturated myself to always having to watch what I eat. My allergy milk stopped at the age of 2 and I was able to eat egg yolk from the age of six.

But it didn't stop there! At the age of 15, I had a very serious allergic reaction to a langoustine on a fishing port in Morocco. At first, it causes tingling on the lips or the palate, sometimes the nose, but also respiratory problems, eczema all over the body, even under the feet.

My shellfish allergy is the hardest thing to live with because I used to eat them, I loved them and I don't know when I will be able to eat them again. I'm also allergic to cats, dust mites, pollen from a lot of trees… I live with it pretty well because I grew up with it, it's a matter of habit. Although most of the time I keep a first aid kit on me in case of a reaction."

Can you be desensitized at any age?

It is possible to be desensitized by an allergist from the age of five. "The earlier we start, the better. After 14 years it becomes complicated", explains Habib Chabane. The process involves ingesting doses of the allergen mixed with other foods in an increasing manner. “We are going to give a tolerated quantity to induce tolerance to the food, explains the allergist. Every two weeks we are going to increase this tolerance, and after a year, it is possible to be able to ingest a glass of milk to someone who was allergic to it." Desensitization is possible for severe allergies, allowing patients to subsequently be able to ingest it without risking their lives.

For adults, it is also possible to start this process, although it is "more difficult to reverse" in their case, according to Doctor Chabane. "There is little demand among adults, so you have to find a center that can do it."

Jean, 38 years old, Paris: allergic to the inside of peppers

"I'm a cook so I realized that while cooking 15 years ago. The skin of peppers is something you can't digest, so I peel them. Touching the inside creates a reaction, as if I had passed my hand through nettles, with small vesicles under the skin. It can sometimes swell and itch a lot. Surprisingly, I am not allergic to other vegetables of the same family such as tomatoes or eggplants And above all, I have no reaction when eating peppers, only when touching them.

I just have to put on gloves and the problem stops there! Since it's only cutaneous, I don't need to take an antihistamine."

It is always strongly advised to consult an allergist to make sure of your allergy, which is not to be confused with an intolerance.

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