What Happens?

What happens when you eat something you're allergic to? 

It's always the first question someone asks after learning about your allergies

Wellll, it depends. Great answer, right?

It depends on the food, the quantity, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

I have different sensitivities to different allergens. Everyone does. If I eat a cashew it's going to be a lot worse than if I accidentally eat some cheese. The response can vary. In my experience, eating something I'm not super sensitive to might make my throat or hands itch a little bit. If I have something I'm deathly allergic to, my throat can close up, my lips and double in size, and then I might need an Epipen.

So sensitivity matters, but so does the amount. This might sound intuitive (if you're allergic to cashews, eating 2 is worse than eating 1), but it can be more complicated than that. Most of the time when there's something I'm allergic to, it's something with a thousand ingredients, and 1+ of those will be an allergen. Say I want to have some chili, but there's some soy protein or butter in it. In cases like this, it's important to understand how much of the allergens are in the dish.

So what's this all mean? For me, it's knowing my limitations and using them to gauge risk and reward. 

If there's something I really want to try but I'm slightly allergic, I'll probably have a bite (maybe take allergy meds beforehand to be cautious). Buttt if it's something I'm really allergic to, I'm probably going to steer clear, even if it means missing out on something.