I am Allergic to

Food AllergiesPage 8 n November 19, 2012

thekirkwoodcall.com

It can take a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days for a food to cause an allergic reaction.

Allergies occur when the body builds antibod-ies against a substance for unknown reasons.

The smell of a pizza baked to crisp perfection wafts over to the table, and as she stares at

the menu in front of her, Morgan Mechelke, junior, would like nothing more than to order a slice. How-ever, she knows she has to choose another option. Mechelke has adhered to a gluten-free diet since the end of seventh grade when a test revealed her allergy to gluten.

“I found out because my mom just happened to get the test done. When hers came back saying she had a gluten allergy, it was likely that I had it too be-cause it’s hereditary,” Mechelke said.

Before the test, there were few indications that Mechelke might have special dietary needs.

“I had some symptoms like awful stomach aches after I ate but we never knew why,” Mechelke said. After finding out about her allergy, Mechelke had to make significant changes to her eating habits.

“It’s definitely an inconvenience. At parties and things, everyone’s eating pizza and stuff I can’t have,” Mechelke said. “Bringing lunches to school can be tough because I have to come up with differ-ent ideas.”

A typical lunch for Mechelke usually includes tur-key wrapped in lettuce or hummus with rice chips along with various other snacks made from corn, po-tatoes, or other gluten-free foods. Still, it can be dif-ficult finding foods to fit such specific dietary needs.

“When I found out [about my allergy], there

My strange allergy

weren’t very many options that actually tasted good, but they’re getting better,” Mechelke said.

Many stores such as Trader Joe’s have a wide se-lection of gluten-free products, and restaurants often try to have at least a few gluten-free options. Mech-elke said that P.F. Chang’s has an entire gluten-free menu, and the food is great.

Mechelke’s other family members still eat gluten, as only she and her mother have the allergy. Despite its occasional inconvenience, she said her lifestyle does have some benefits as well.

“It’s a pretty healthy diet, and also since I’m not eating gluten I don’t have as many stomach prob-lems,” Mechelke said.

Even though passing up temptations can be frus-trating, Mechelke still finds ways to enjoy the foods she loves.

“A lot of things that do have gluten can usually be made gluten-free in some way, so that isn’t really a problem,” Mechelke said. “The only thing is that sometimes I’ll be out somewhere and see something and be like, ‘Oh wow, I really want that,’ and realize I can’t have it.”

Overall, Mechelke has learned to keep a positive attitude toward her gluten restriction.

“In the beginning when you find out, it seems like it’s going to be really difficult to adjust, but pretty soon it doesn’t even seem like it’s that big of a deal,” Mechelke said.

I am allergic to

When people ask what she is allergic to, the an-swer is never short, and although it is not the

truth, she responds with ‘everything,’ because that is how she often feels.

“I am allergic to apples, peaches, plums, cherries, peanuts, bunnies, cats, hay, grass and more, so pretty much everything,” Rachel Brand, junior, said.

The least of Rachel’s concerns is fruit because al-though she cannot eat the fruit itself, she can eat alter-natives such as applesauce or cherry pie. For Rachel, eating an apple would not be fatal, but she would usu-ally have an itchy throat afterward.

She often avoids animals she is allergic to, but if she accidentally encounters one, she usually experiences sneezing and itchy eyes. All of these symptoms can usually be treated with Benadryl, but she tries to stay away from animals as much as possible. Susan Brand, Rachel’s mother, said some circumstances are harder to avoid than others.

“It’s mostly a challenge when we go to parties and events like that because we don’t know the origin of the food,” Susan said.

On top of not knowing the origin of food, one allergy Rachel cannot easily avoid is grass because she plays field hockey.

“I usually just go home and shower right away to get

the grass off of me, but sometimes I still break out in hives,” Rachel said.

Because of the common allergies Rachel has, her tolerance for grass is very high, and her allergies do not stop her from playing field hockey.

Unlike grass, her most fatal allergy is peanuts. When Rachel has an allergic reaction to peanuts, her throat swells and it becomes difficult for her to breathe. When-ever Rachel accidentally eats a peanut or any food that contains peanuts, she needs her EpiPen to survive the allergic reaction. EpiPens are auto-injectors used to fight life-threatening allergic reactions in a short time. Most people who suffer from severe allergies carry EpiPens with them at all times in case of a surprise al-lergic reaction.

Although coping with her allergies is not easy, Susan said Rachel deals with them in a strong and healthy way.

“I admire her for still doing what she needs to do ev-ery day,” Susan said. “She is really responsible for her allergies and doesn’t let them get in the way of her life.”

Many people are unable to eat certain foods and must follow strict dietary requirements. The Kirkwood Call talked to five students with different restrictions to find out how their allergies affect their lives.

Bridget Randazzo features writer

Kelly Weber indepth editor

Ellen Heaghney indepth writer

gluten

everything

Lizzy Tatlow artist Nala Turner artist

IndepthPage 9 n November 19, 2012

thekirkwoodcall.com

Skin prick and blood tests are only about 50 percent accurate and often give false positives or negatives.

Only about 5 percent of children and 4 percent of adults actually have a food allergy.

Lauren Weyerich, junior, has a severe nut aller-gy, and any mishap causes her a to suffer from

uneasy breathing as her throat begins to swell up, her eyes water and her skin becomes irritated.

One time, Weyerich reached for a brownie her cousin baked for a family dinner at their grandma’s. However, those brownies contained nuts. The rest of the night Weyerich had to deal with a swollen throat. This is her lifestyle: living nut-free.

Ever since she was born, Weyerich has not been able to eat anything with any type of nut in it. This dis-covery was shocking for her since no one else in her family has this allergy.

Weyerich’s sensitivity to nuts is so severe that she cannot even touch them, though she can be in the same room with them. She said that being the only one in her family and friend group with this allergy is annoying.

Whenever Weyerich goes out to eat she must al-ways ask about the ingredients in the food she wants to order. Because of the peanut oil frequently used for

I am allergic to

I am allergic to

I am Allergic to

frying, Chinese restaurants are the hardest places for her to eat.

On one occasion, this allergy prevented Weyerich from participating in class when nuts were involved in the lesson.

“I remember in eighth grade we did this lab where we burned peanuts, and I couldn’t do it,” Weyerich said. “It is a nuisance.”

With Thanksgiving approaching, Weyerich said she usually can eat the same foods as her family. They try to avoid putting nuts in the food so she can enjoy eating without having to worry about her al-lergy.

A nut-free diet is all that Weyerich knows, but cu-riosity drives her to wonder what foods she cannot eat taste like.

“People tell me all the time, ‘You don’t know what you’re missing, especially peanut butter, it’s the best food ever,” Weyerich said. “It is annoying. It’s not like telling me is going to change the fact that I’m allergic to it.”

Got milk? For Patric Reinbold the answer is always no.

Reinbold, junior, is lactose intolerant, so he tends to avoid most dairy products. Lactose in-tolerance occurs when the body does not produce the necessary enzyme to break down the sugar in milk, according to The Allergy & Asthma Associ-ates.

While some people are born lactose intolerant, it is more common for the condition to develop or become more pronounced over time, he said.

“Even when I was a baby, I didn’t respond well to milk,” Reinbold said. “But we didn’t actually confirm that I was lactose intolerant until about fifth grade.”

Reinbold does not feel that his restriction greatly affects his life because he is still able to eat the majority of the foods he enjoys.

“I still eat small amounts of things with milk in them, but I just don’t drink plain milk, and obvi-ously I don’t eat cream cheese or yogurt or any-

thing like that,” Reinbold said.His family is accommodating, but it is not

particularly an inconvenience for them either. Reinbold said they prefer Silk soy milk to regu-lar milk anyway since soy milk has been shown to be healthier than regular milk due to its lower fat content.

Although his lactose intolerance is not typically an issue for Reinbold, there are still concerns for him to keep in mind. Foods with lactose contain important nutrients the body needs.

“One time I had calcium deficiency, so now I have to take supplements because most people get their calcium from milk and cheese and oth-er dairy products,” Reinbold said.

Although lactose intolerance is typically viewed as an inconvenience, it is simply a part of Reinbold’s life he has gotten used to.

“It isn’t really that much of a limitation,” Re-inbold said.

Stephen Bregande cannot recall the last time he tasted a melon.

“I really do want to try them. They smell good, but I know I can’t eat them, so I haven’t tried one in awhile,” Bregande, junior, said. “I’m not quite sure how it would affect me now if I actually ate one.”

Bregande is allergic to all types of melons. He has known about the allergy since he was a baby when his parents tried feeding him cantaloupe and honeydew.

“I would break out in a bad rash and they just didn’t really agree with me,” Bregande said.

Bregande believes his allergy has gotten worse as he has gotten older. He now notices he is extremely sensitive to even the smell of melons.

“I worked at the YMCA summer camp this year, and one of the activities had the kids cover a watermelon in oil and then try to pass it down a line, and one kid dropped his and when it broke even just the smell of it made my throat start to burn and swell up,” Bregande said.

Bregande is well aware of the consequences of eat-ing melons, yet he cannot seem to shake the urge to try a piece of the forbidden fruit.

“I guess there’s always that dark temptation inside me telling me to try a melon,” Bregande said.

melons

dairy

nuts