Joci's Story
I’m a young artist who grew up with food allergies. Here is my journey from discovering I had food allergies as a baby, dealing with multiple exposures, living with allergies, and finally to how I am conquering my allergies!
About Me and this Website
I’ve had multiple food allergies since I was a baby. At the age of 11, I participated in a food allergy study which helped me towards “Conquering My Allergies!” In addition to this website, which my older brother, Ethan, created for me, I wrote and illustrated a book titled “Conquering Allergies” in hopes that both this website and my book will be useful resources for others to learn about what they can do for their allergies.
Eczema and Food Allergies
As a baby, I’ve always had eczema. I have pictures showing me with eczema as early as 6 months of age. Aquaphor was my best friend. For some harder to control flareups, my pediatrician prescribed me Desonide, a steroid cream, which I used sparingly. The other thing my parents knew about me at an early age was that I had a sweet tooth and loved desserts. This made growing up with food allergies (especially to peanuts and treenuts) particularly challenging!
When I was a toddler, the recommendation from the American Association of Pediatrics was to delay one’s exposure to peanuts or treenuts until an older age. This was mainly due to the growing peanut allergy epidemic in the U.S. They have since reversed this recommendation.
At the age of 2.5, I ate my first 2-3 pistachios at around 7pm in the evening. I had no symptoms that evening. According to my parents, at around 1am, I woke up crying. My parents found me in bed with my eyes and face swollen and my body in hives. After vomiting an hour later, I felt much better. My parents monitored me that night and the swelling took a few days to resolve.
My 1st Visits to the Allergist
During my first visits to the allergist, I went through several diagnostic testing. The first test was an allergy skin prick test, in which my skin was pricked with different allergens. As a toddler, this was done on my back (since my arms were too small to have enough space). The initial tests was inconclusive as my skin also reacted to the control (saline injection).
After that I saw my allergist and also did blood labs, which came back with high IgE numbers for peanuts, walnuts/pecans, cashews/pecans, and hazelnut. My IgE numbers came back low for salmon, almonds, macadamian nuts and pine nuts.
What do IgE numbers mean? What is considered high? What are numbers low enough to challenge? Over the next few years, I would with work with my allergists to find out.
1st Exposure to Pistachios
My first exposure at age 2 with moderate symptoms was strangely a delayed reaction. As I was told many years later by my allergist, most allergic reactions are more immediate and occur within 2 hours of exposure. At one point, it was even brought up that pistachios may not have caused the hives and vomiting that woke me and my parents up at 2am that morning.
Whatever the case, the lesson learned here for us all that multiple systemic reactions should prompt a visit to the ER. Anaphylaxis can be quick. Luckily, my symptoms subsided on its own the following morning.
1st Exposure to Peanuts While Traveling Internationally
At age 6, I went on my first international trip to Asia. The first flight was a direct flight on Singapore Airlines to Singapore. Since my peanut allergy diagnosis, I had just been avoiding ingesting peanuts. As I told my IgE numbers did not tell me exactly how sensitive I was to peanuts, I did not know how being exposed to peanut dust in an enclosed space would cause a reaction.
About an hour into the flight, the entire plane was served bags of peanuts. My mom was worried for the rest of the flight but luckily I did not have any kind of reaction. My reactions occur only if I ingest the allergen versus some more sensitive individuals can react even when inhaling the allergen.
For future flights, we wondered if both US or Int’l airlines had any rules about serving of nuts on a flight. As it turns out, the US government can’t impose peanut restrictions for airlines. Some carriers have developed their own policies for allergy sufferers. Some no longer serve peanuts and may create peanut-free buffer zones. One of the lessons learned is to check airline website to see what kind of policy they have implemented to help nut allergy sufferers. Though it seems they can’t guarantee a nut free plane, the different airlines have different accommodations. You can check the different US airline policies on the US Department of Transportation website here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/nuts-airlines-policies
Before flying or traveling, it’s always to do some research and communicate to those you will be coming in contact with regarding your circumstances
2nd Exposure to Peanuts While Traveling Internationally
On that very same trip, we were visiting Vietnam. Many SouthEast Asian countries have peanuts and cashews in their dishes. Since my family is familiar with many ingredients of the different dishes, we thought we could navigate ordering food that did not have nuts in it.
In Da Nang, Vietnam, we ordered a grilled pork rice vermicelli dish and asked that no peanuts to be sprinkled over the vermicelli noodles. They brought out the noodles with peanuts sprinkled over it. We explained again that I was allergic to nuts, so they took the dish back and brought out a “new” noodle dish. The new noodles looked like it merely had the peanuts rinsed off as we could still see some small remnants of the peanuts. It looked suspicious but communication seemed to be a bit of a barrier. I ate the noodles anyway, and ended up with itchy and slightly swollen lips, which went away with a chewable Benadryl.
Another lesson learned is that when you are not sure about eating a dish while you’re out, don’t take the risk to eat it. Communication is difficult when traveling to different countries and before we travel now, we always make sure we have GoogleTranslate functioning on our phones. Also, we make sure we know how to ask “Are there nuts in this dish?” and also “She has a severe allergic reaction to eating peanuts or treenuts”
Snacking on Honey Nut Cheerios
During that same trip, my friends and I were snacking on their honey nut cheerios from a ziploc bag. I ate it without checking to see if there were any allergens as I’ve always snacked on cheerios as a toddler. I assumed it was the regular Cheerios.
When we realized that it was honey nut cheerios, my mom became worried. But I never reacted. When we got home and checked the label on box, we found out that honey nut cheerios is made with almonds, which luckily I am not allergic to.
The lesson I learned here is that there are many snacks that may look the same but have different flavors or variations, so I should always ask or make sure before I eat anything (whether it’s the same or new). One good example is Oreo cookies… they have so many flavors that look the same. One example is the mint flavored creme oreo and the pistachio flavored creme oreo. They both have green colored filling, and I learned never to assume which it is before eating it.
Exposure to Walnut Sauce In a Burger
For 3 years, I did a good job of being safe while going out and avoided any accidental exposures. At age 8, my dad took me to a local burger restaurant. I ordered a fancy burger and didn’t think of asking whether or not there were any nuts in it because after all, it was a burger. Who serves nuts with burgers?!?!
After just one bite, I immediately didn’t feel good. My stomach was upset and I felt sick. I told my dad that I didn’t feel well but he didn’t believe me. My body started to break up in hives and after taking my meds, my dad immediately took me home. I vomited before I stepped into the car. Luckily, no matter where I go, I have my allergy medications including epipen with me.
Another lesson I learned is again don’t assume certain cuisines or foods won’t have nuts in it. Don’t afraid to ask if anything you are ordering has nuts in it. In this case, the burger had a walnut sauce in it. Its better to JUST ASK! And if you or the server seems unsure, it is better not to take the risk.
Exposure to Peanuts in a Sandwich
I managed to stay without another exposure for another 2 years. At age 10, I traveled to Los Angeles to visit some family and friends. That afternoon, we were having a family picnic/BBQ where we ordered take out Vietnamese sandwiches. I ordered what I usually order – a grilled pork sandwich.
Since this was a type of sandwich I ate all the time (just from a different restaurant), I bit into it without asking about nuts or looking inside of it. Immediately, I spit out the contents of the sandwich, as I knew there were nuts in it. I was afraid at that point, knowing I had eaten peanuts and cried as I waited for my body to react. My lips got itchy, and swollen, and roughly 20 minutes later, I vomited.
Lessons I learned from this accidental exposure?? Always check for nuts, even if it’s a dish, that I eat all the time. You never know!
Exposure to Cashews in a Pesto Dish
My last exposure before I decided to take the next step towards conquering my allergies. I was almost 11, and was on a cruise in Croatia. The kitchen crew was aware of my allergies. One afternoon, there was a pesto pasta being served. Amazing! I love Pasta and I’m not allergic to pine nuts. I took one bite and immediately reacted. But why did I react if I was not allergic to pine nuts and pesto sauce is usually made out of pine nuts. It turns out the chef used a jarred Barilla sauce, and when we finally ready the label, this is what we saw………..
CASHEWS! Another lesson learned, watch out for those pesto dishes at the restaurant, If they are using a jarred pesto sauce, it most likely has cashews in it!
