#brought to you by the minute but possible chance of reacting to the ham stock I'm currently making

[tohrinha]

Allergy Gothic

You have a tree nut allergy.

You go to summer camp. They provide a special, allergy-free lunch, despite the normal lunches not containing nuts. Their field trips include a pistachio farm.

Your friend offers you tea. You spend hours researching the chocolate used for allergens. Your results are inconclusive.

You do not buy baked goods.

You go out to eat. The restaurant has a website, including a full online menu. You search through and plan your order, discarding entire categories likely to be contaminated.

You do not buy desserts.

You carry around life-saving medicine. The medicine does not cure allergies. The medicine merely gives your body the strength to continue until help arrives.

You go out to eat. The restaurant does not have a website.

You visit family. The visit runs long and they order lunch. You are quite hungry by the time you get home.

You go to university. Your college has two giant dining halls filled with world cuisines, including kosher and halal stations, meticulously marked for vegetarian, vegan, and allergens. The only station without a cross-contamination marker is the salad bar.

You do not go to diners.

You take a skin test and discover you have lost an allergy to almonds. Entire culinary worlds open up for you.

The only safe brand of bagels adds an allergen warning. You have not seen the store brand in months. You do not eat bagels.

You take a skin test and discover you have lost an allergy to almonds. Your allergist says to keep them in your diet so it doesn't return. All almonds in your store are processed in a facility that also processes tree nuts.

Girl Scout Cookies now distribute with an allergen warning for tree nuts. You ask them to specify which nuts. The next year, they distribute with an allergen warning for tree nuts.

You ask the parent company of Girl Scout Cookies which nuts they use. They tell you to check the packaging.

You buy soy sauce/a ham/oatmeal/graham crackers. Upon reaching home, you see it was processed in a facility that also processes tree nuts. You return it/trade it to family/eat it anyway.