I have to write something out of my heart this morning. I've been embroiled in a discussion in the comments of a video. As a crafter, before being diagnosed with food and environmental allergies, I would never have thought of this myself, but now being aware, I see why the FDA has mandates for labeling products. And it's a good thing for people like me and I will advocate for myself and the others like myself.
Side note: Did you know that food allergies are considered a disability?
I was watching someone make buttons out of avocado seeds. It was a interesting upcycle, that's why I stopped to watch it, cause my readers know that I'm ever into recycling, however, I read most of the comments and nobody had mentioned allergies to avocadoes. I just so happen to have an allergy to avocados and have learned through experience that if you have an allergy to a food, it can also affect your skin. It can affect your breathing, if you have an asthma like I do. I've had asthma all my adult life. I didn't take it seriously as a young adult, until I learned you can die from these horrible diseases.
I couldn't believe the callousness of some of the responses I got when I mentioned I was allergic to avocados. I was told I could have left that negativity off the comments and that allergies is not a societal thing. Yes, it's a societal thing, because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person out there with an allergy to avocadoes. And it shows love, respect and compassion to those of us with allergies, if you make a garment as a gift for somebody with stuff that doesn't cause us to break out in hives. And if you are making a garment to sell to the general public, it should come with a label that explains what it was created with, so those of us with allergies will steer clear.
I've learned since my diagnosis, there are some strange allergies out there. And yes, you can even be allergic to water and sunlight. There is one I'm sure I have, but I wouldn't know how you would test for it except by demonstration in the allergist doctor's office.
Most of my allergies were tested on the skin of my back with little pricks of the allergen put under the skin. There is also another test they can do with your blood to see if you are allergic to something. It's called an IgE test. The skin test I had was 75 skin pricks with a sharp pointy thing on my back the day I was tested and let me tell you, I had some itchy wheals or hives pop up. And some were surprises.
It's an allergy to vibration. I sometimes get hives on the top of my arms when I crochet. At first I thought it might be an allergy to the yarn, but the yarn never touches that place on my forearms. Allergies are caused by the immune system thinking that food particle or environmental thing like pollen is a foreign invader like germs, so it's out to kill it by overwhelming it to snuff it out.
And yes, I carry epi pens. I've gone to the ER with breathing difficulties before. I'm not real fond of needles, but I like breathing and living. I'm not ready to die just yet. So please, remember, if you make something, please label it with what it's made from, so that I don't itch or have my skin burnt from an unknown ingredient. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
