Food is an escape for many of us and a way to share a celebration with loved ones when the occasion is right. Regardless of how we use it, it’s a critical part of every season. Halloween, in particular, is a food-focused season. But it also raises this question: can you do Halloween with food allergies? Or do children and adults with food allergies have to avoid this holiday after their allergy testing results return positive? The answer is below if you are brave enough to read it!
What are common ghoulish ingredients?
Many people don’t realize they have allergies or intolerances to common ingredients until they take a test. This is because mild allergies can be hidden easily, as we’ll talk about below. What are the most serious, ghoulish ingredients that could be hiding in your Halloween treats? The biggest ones are usually soy, egg, wheat, and milk. Not only are these among the most popular allergens, but they’re also common in Halloween candy and treats!
While allergies and intolerances are different in risk factors, don’t underestimate the potential of an undiagnosed food intolerance! If you eat something containing gluten and have gluten intolerance, for example, the reaction could be severe. In this case, severe doesn’t mean dangerous. However, severe food intolerance symptoms can be extremely painful and disruptive to your life.
It’s scary enough to know that you have a food allergy or food intolerance. But what about if you did not know you did and ate something dangerous? This is why intolerance and allergy testing is so essential as part of your health regime! It’s always better to know than not know!
Top signs of hidden allergies
So, how do you know if ghoulish allergies are haunting you without your awareness? What are signs that you have an allergy that may pop out unannounced at Halloween time and spook you? Here are some of the ones you may experience.
Tenderness in your face
If you have an allergic reaction, your body creates an inflammation response. This may cause your skin to become sensitive and inflamed. One of the most common places is tenderness around your eyes, forehead, or cheeks. It could be a food allergy if you have sudden tenderness and discomfort in those strange places.
Food aversion
Have you ever had that one food that you just hate thinking about? Let alone smelling or tasting? Sometimes, food aversion can indicate an undiagnosed food allergy. This is most common in infants and children, but it can also be an unusual allergy symptom in adults. This would refer to a food aversion so strong that it makes you gag even thinking about it. Typically, the smell or taste of it would give an allergic reaction of some kind that is so mild you might not notice it. It also may have been an experience so long ago that all you remember is the aversion, not the reaction.
Feeling sick
If you feel after eating something — sniffling, sneezing, fatigue, etc. — this could also be a food allergy symptom. If a food type constantly makes you feel sick after eating it, it’s never a good idea to continue doing so!
Reluctance to try new foods
While it’s normal for children and picky eaters to be reluctant, you may notice a slightly heightened reluctance in some people. Sometimes, these people have started connecting the dots between new foods and bad reactions. They understandably blame new foods for these reactions when it is one problem ingredient hiding (or haunting) them from one food to the next!
Celebrating Halloween with food allergies
This season, take the time for allergy testing so that you know what’s what. Those results can help you determine what is safe and symptom-free and what you should avoid. However, Halloween with food allergies to those major allergens can still be very tricky.
When eating out, be careful to avoid complex dishes. Those major allergens (or others) can often be hidden in complicated recipes and create a reaction that you wouldn’t expect.
Also, be careful in accepting homemade treats or meals from even those closest to you. Unless they are used to cooking for someone with the same allergies, many wouldn’t think to check the packaging for cross-contamination or manufactured ingredients that could cause you to react. After all, an unplanned reaction will always be spookier than someone’s hurt feelings. And you can always explain the situation to them!
When you need clear and precise data, testing for food allergies and food intolerances will be the way to go. It will help you enjoy your Halloween season and give you the freedom to get creative in your candy selection, treat baking, and more. All you have to do is call out those food ghouls and send them off to the next world, never to return! Grab your test from us here!
