Imagine having to trust the waiter at a restaurant with your life. Imagine going to a potluck with an empty stomach only to find out the food available will make your eyes swell shut the next morning. For the two percent of Americans with a food allergy, these scenarios are a reality.

According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), a nonprofit agency dedicated to helping the people and families living with a food allergy, it is estimated that as many as 150 to 200 people in the U.S. die each year from food allergy reactions. In a food-allergic reaction, the immune system mistakenly thinks a food item is harmful to the body. The body creates specific antibodies to the food and then attach themselves to mast cells. Mast cells hold inflammatory mediators like histamine and serotonin. When a person eats the specific food, the mast cells explode releasing chemicals and histamines throughout the body.

Most people don’t find out they have a food allergy until they have a severe allergic reaction and then see an allergist to get diagnosed.

“In junior high school I was sick all the time and the doctors kept doing tests on me but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong,” said Ginger Budrick, a SF State student majoring in creative writing. “They thought I was going to die.”

Budrick went to an allergist and did an allergy scratch test. The doctor put enzymes of 50 different things in scratches on her back to see just how allergic she was to the items. The doctor then used a ranking system of zero to four to determine how severe her allergic reaction was to the specific item.

“I found out I am allergic to 32 things and eight of them are food,” said Budrick.

The foods that cause her to have an allergic reaction are apples, bananas, wheat, corn, chicken, onion, egg, and shrimp. Wheat and shrimp were ranked as a level four reaction by the allergist -- the most severe allergy.

According to FAAN, symptoms of a food allergy range from swelling of the throat and eyes, hives, difficulty breathing , vomiting, digestive problems, loss of consciousness, to death.

“When I found out what I was allergic to I stopped eating that stuff immediately and lost 35 pounds and all the swelling in my body went down,” said Budrick.

Although the SF State junior tries to never eat the eight forbidden foods, she said it is sometimes hard when people don’t understand just how serious a food allergy is.

On a recent trip to the restaurant Butterfly, she asked the waiter if the noodle entrée was made with rice noodles. Budrick said without a second-thought the waiter responded yes. Only a few minutes after eating the entire meal she felt sharp pains in her stomach. The next morning her eyes were swelled shut and her face was puffy. Budrick later learned the noodles were made with wheat flour, not rice.

Budrick said she is lucky her allergies aren’t severe enough to cause death. According to FAAN, peanuts are responsible for the most severe allergic reactions in people.

Rian Jeong is a SF State senior who is allergic to peanuts. He carries an EpiPen with him in case he accidentally ingests a peanut product. An EpiPen is an auto injector of epinephrine, also called adrenaline, which helps control an allergic reaction. Just smelling or touching peanuts can also cause a reaction in Jeong.

“My most recent allergic reaction was when I drank a smoothie on campus,” said the English literature major. “My friend offered me a sip of the smoothie and it looked like it only had chocolate in it so I tried it, it was both our faults because I shouldn’t rely on my friend to know if peanuts were going to be in it,” he said.

Jeong’s allergy was diagnosed when he was just three years old.

“My mom gave me peanut butter and crackers and after I ate them she thought I looked a little purple,” said Jeong. “ She calmly discussed with my father whether I should go to the emergency room. When they decided I should she calmly drove 25 miles per hour through the residential area, stopping at every stop sign. Once we got there and the doctors saw me they rushed me away. When she asked what was going on they told her I was going to die,” he said.

Jeong’s mother then started crying. Luckily the doctors were able to save him.

“Now to keep it [the allergy] under control it’s just a matter of distinguishing between the foods I can and can’t eat,” he said. “You also have to let people around you understand your allergy. You can’t come into my room with a Snickers Bar, you stoned bastard.”

There is no cure for food allergies. The only way to prevent an allergic reaction is to strictly avoid the foods that cause a reaction.

“At the grocery store I can just read the food labels to make sure I’m not allergic to anything but going out to a restaurant or eating on campus is a little harder,” said Budrick. “I’m the most high maintenance diner in the world,” she added.

Budrick said she gets a lot of jokes about being on the Atkins Diet when she asks if there is wheat in a meal.

“Sometimes it’s hard to deal with the jokes or not be able to eat the staff meal after work when I’m starving but it’s a lot better than being sick all the time.”

For more information about food allergies visit The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network,
a nonprofit site, or National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
a government site.