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Why Do You Have Allergies?

Your immune system is designed to defend your body against dangerous invaders like bacteria and viruses. But sometimes it overreacts to harmless things like grass, dander, or pollen. When this happens, your body is having an allergic reaction. Things that cause allergic reactions are called allergens and vary from person to person, like bee stings, medications, shellfish, or peanuts.

Once your immune system recognizes the allergen, it triggers your white blood cells to release antibodies. These cells release chemicals called histamines that produce the symptoms of an allergic reaction, like sneezing, wheezing, itchy eyes, or hives. Allergies are very common and usually pretty minor. But sometimes a reaction can be sudden, severe, and potentially life-threatening. This is known as anaphylaxis.

For minor reactions, try over-the-counter treatment like antihistamines, anti-inflammatory steroid creams, eye drops, or ice packs to ease your symptoms. For more serious cases, your doctor may prescribe allergy injections, epinephrine, or corticosteroids. Allergies may be irritating, but they're nothing to sneeze at!

What It's Like To Live With A Dangerous Allergy

I don't want to just be seen as the person that has food allergies. I want to be seen as me, and that I have other things to offer.

I am allergic to milk, eggs, shellfish, and tree nuts. So the milk, eggs, and shellfish I found out when I was three. So I had a lot of problems when I was younger. I found out that I was allergic to tree nuts, like pecans and almonds and walnuts, when I was 18.

The most challenging part of handling my allergies is planning. You have to plan ahead of time. You can't just show up at a party or show up at a restaurant and just expect to eat. You have to plan. And you have to ask ahead of time.

One of the things I think that's gotten easier for me is the internet, because I'm able to research a lot before I go to places, especially if it's a new restaurant.

How I avoid things that I'm allergic to is reading ingredients, asking questions. I think just being aware of what you're putting in your body.

When I was 18, I had a really severe reaction that I didn't even know that I had ingested something that I had eaten. And it was at a graduation party. My eyes started really itching and swelling. And so my dad took me to the hospital immediately. They took me right back, because my oxygen level was really low. And obviously, I was in pretty bad shape. The doctors came in. They were just like, you better start praying, because we can't give-- we've done everything we can at this point.

I went through a really difficult time, especially after my anaphylaxis episode. That was just a big turning point for me in my life. And I really did some serious soul-searching to figure out who I am and what I'm about. And it really was several years later that I realized, man, this is part of my life. But I have so many other things to offer.

I would just encourage people to remember that allergies are not the end-all, be-all for everything. And yes, it's part of your life. And yes, you do have to plan. But you are bigger than them. And there's so much out there in life for you to experience. And don't let that hold you back. ","publisher":"WebMD Video"} ]]>

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AIMEE HUGHES

I don't want to just be seen as the person that has food allergies. I want to be seen as me, and that I have other things to offer.

I am allergic to milk, eggs, shellfish, and tree nuts. So the milk, eggs, and shellfish I found out when I was three. So I had a lot of problems when I was younger. I found out that I was allergic to tree nuts, like pecans and almonds and walnuts, when I was 18.

The most challenging part of handling my allergies is planning. You have to plan ahead of time. You can't just show up at a party or show up at a restaurant and just expect to eat. You have to plan. And you have to ask ahead of time.

One of the things I think that's gotten easier for me is the internet, because I'm able to research a lot before I go to places, especially if it's a new restaurant.

How I avoid things that I'm allergic to is reading ingredients, asking questions. I think just being aware of what you're putting in your body.

When I was 18, I had a really severe reaction that I didn't even know that I had ingested something that I had eaten. And it was at a graduation party. My eyes started really itching and swelling. And so my dad took me to the hospital immediately. They took me right back, because my oxygen level was really low. And obviously, I was in pretty bad shape. The doctors came in. They were just like, you better start praying, because we can't give-- we've done everything we can at this point.

I went through a really difficult time, especially after my anaphylaxis episode. That was just a big turning point for me in my life. And I really did some serious soul-searching to figure out who I am and what I'm about. And it really was several years later that I realized, man, this is part of my life. But I have so many other things to offer.

I would just encourage people to remember that allergies are not the end-all, be-all for everything. And yes, it's part of your life. And yes, you do have to plan. But you are bigger than them. And there's so much out there in life for you to experience. And don't let that hold you back.

Family Of Diner With Shellfish Allergy Who Died After Eating Pesto At Beauty & Essex Inside Cosmopolitan In Las Vegas Files Wrongful Death Suit

man with shellfish allergy dies after eating pesto at beauty & essex in vegas

The family of a man with a shellfish allergy who allegedly went into shock and died after being served contaminated pesto at a Las Vegas resort is suing the restaurant over his wrongful death.

Abraham Kenneth Ezra Williams was on vacation with his family in April 2024 when he unsuspectingly ordered spaghettini with pesto sauce at the Beauty & Essex inside The Cosmopolitan.

He had told the restaurant in advance that he was allergic to shellfish before ordering the dish.

Traditional pesto doesn't include shellfish, but some store-bought brands can contain traces of anchovies, sardines, tuna and mussels.

Abraham Kenneth Ezra Williams died after he was served a dish at Beauty & Essex that contained shellfish.

Williams went into anaphylactic shock after just one bite. He reportedly bolted to the bathroom, and Beauty & Essex staff failed to act quickly to try to save his life, the lawsuit alleged.

He was carried out of the restaurant by friends while one person called 911.

"Employees of Defendant Cosmopolitan and/or Beauty & Essex created a barricade around the Decedent and refused to let anyone through to perform any life-saving techniques," the lawsuit said, according to 8NewsNow.

The staff at Beauty & Essex allegedly made no attempts to perform CPR on Williams. Bloomberg via Getty Images

When paramedics with the Community Ambulance and Clark County Fire Department arrived, they allegedly didn't follow regular procedures for someone suffering anaphylactic shock either, the filing claimed according to the station.

The paramedics allegedly delayed administering medication, didn't properly monitor Williams' condition and allowed his state to decline by the time he arrived at the hospital, 8NewsNow reported.

Williams' doctors performed a cricothyrotomy, cutting his neck to create an open airway. He couldn't be incubated due to the severe swelling on his neck when he arrived, according to the lawsuit.

He was placed on a ventilator before he was eventually taken off and died four days later.

Store-bought pesto can contain traces of shellfish like anchovies, sardines, tuna and mussels.

The lawsuit demanded a jury trial for the defendants and is seeking general and special damages of over $15,000, as well as unspecified punitive damages.

Accidental deaths caused by allergic reactions aren't uncommon.

Most notably this year, a New York University doctor died at the Walt Disney World Resort after consuming a meal that unbeknownst to her contained dairy and nuts, which she was allergic to.

In early November, a 19-year-old Wisconsin college student died when she took a bite of a gluten-free brownie that contained roasted peanut flour as a substitute for wheat flour.

Another college student in Texas died after suffering an allergic reaction on a first date at a restaurant that had recently added peanut sauce to one of her go-to safe dishes — but hadn't updated the menu to reflect the change.

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