What we learned about allergies in India

Nick-H · Sep 15th, 2007, 11:06

I have not yet found an antihistamine cream, but there are many tablets available. I think I have a selection of three in my meds box just now. Not hugely expensive.

Remember that India has a big pharmaceutical industry.

jareya · Sep 16th, 2007, 01:38

Thanks very much...

machadinha · Feb 4th, 2008, 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghummakadz

[*]A company called Select Wisely sells laminated allergy translation cards for use while traveling. These cards include pictures of the foods with a big red circle on them, as well as questions as to whether stuff has the allergen in it. You can custom order language and ingredient combinations. My card set includes Hindi and Tibetan translations for questions like "Does this food contain nuts or nut oil?" and statements like "I need a doctor".

That company brought up in post #1 of this thread has a website of course, looks very handy so I thought I'd leave the URL: http://www.selectwisely.com/

BlackEyedAngel · May 19th, 2008, 12:27

GREAT thread, thanks!

I have a legume allergy, with peanuts as my most severe allergy and only very mild allergy to things like lentils, chickpeas, soy, etc. I'm not so sensitive as to have a bad reaction if I'm near peanuts but if I eat any more than a pinky sized portion of something w/ peanuts, my lungs begin to close, my skin becomes inflamed and red hot and- **I'm actually very curious to know if anyone else has ever experienced this**- the worst part of my reaction is actually the excruciating abdominal pain I get when my body has an allergic reaction. I'm not exactly sure what this means or how it happens but I suppose it has something to do with my digestional system freaking out and perhaps due to the swelling I get something gets blocked, some blood flow or something. It is literally the worst pain I can possibly imagine- far far worse than the broken finger I am sporting right now.

I was on a student program in the south for 3 1/2 months, in Auroville, a very western little city in Tamil Nadu, right next to Pondicherry. I had four incidents during that time period, all in Auroville. I had been very careful, always testing tiny bits of my food before I indulged, even when they told me "no peanuts", but there were a few times when I forgot just how careful I really have to be. Two out of those four times it was a western dish I was eating; one was just some roasted veggie dish, another was pesto pasta. Both times were scary but I hadn't eaten enough for there to be too bad of a reaction. I just felt sick for a few hours and had to wait it out. The first time it happened it was an indian dish that i just took too large of a test bite of. The worst time, when I had to use an Epi-Pen for the first time in my life, was when I was eating a Tamil breakfast- the very same one I had eaten at least 20 times before and loved. I ate the whole thing before realizing it. The experience was a nightmare (mostly because of the physical pain), but my teacher helped me and brought me to the health clinic where they gave me a shot of anti histhamine, and a muscle relaxer to help stop what the doctor called a "bad cramp". So the lesson that I learned was to never be sure of anything, even if I've eaten something a hundred times, I still have to ask and test very tiny amounts of it before I eat.

Since then, I've had no problems.
Be careful my fellow travelers with food allergies!
Best of luck to us all~

machadinha · May 19th, 2008, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackEyedAngel

Two out of those four times it was a western dish I was eating; one was just some roasted veggie dish, another was pesto pasta.

Just leaving a note that a crucial ingredient of pesto is pine nuts... (a seed in fact I think, but I'm eternally confused about the precise classification of all that stuff anyway; possibly replaced by other nuts if unavailable or considered too expensive, leading to an inferior product but that's not the issue here. In fact I think cashew nuts and walnuts are a popular and cheaper replacement.)

It would seem difficult to me to get a convincing answer that what you don't want in your food is actually not in there yes (hard enough for something as simple as being a vegetarian out of your own choice -- though less so or hardly at all in India, of course), and then traces of anything can easily find their way in there through a variety of means, but so much the better that sufferers don't let it deter them from traveling

Sep 15th, 2007, 11:06	#31
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 23,107	I have not yet found an antihistamine cream, but there are many tablets available. I think I have a selection of three in my meds box just now. Not hugely expensive. Remember that India has a big pharmaceutical industry. __________________ . IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

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Sep 16th, 2007, 01:38	#32
jareya Looking forward to my first trip to India Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Nigeria Posts: 14	Thanks very much...

May 19th, 2008, 12:27	#34
BlackEyedAngel Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 4	GREAT thread, thanks! I have a legume allergy, with peanuts as my most severe allergy and only very mild allergy to things like lentils, chickpeas, soy, etc. I'm not so sensitive as to have a bad reaction if I'm near peanuts but if I eat any more than a pinky sized portion of something w/ peanuts, my lungs begin to close, my skin becomes inflamed and red hot and- I'm actually very curious to know if anyone else has ever experienced this- the worst part of my reaction is actually the excruciating abdominal pain I get when my body has an allergic reaction. I'm not exactly sure what this means or how it happens but I suppose it has something to do with my digestional system freaking out and perhaps due to the swelling I get something gets blocked, some blood flow or something. It is literally the worst pain I can possibly imagine- far far worse than the broken finger I am sporting right now. I was on a student program in the south for 3 1/2 months, in Auroville, a very western little city in Tamil Nadu, right next to Pondicherry. I had four incidents during that time period, all in Auroville. I had been very careful, always testing tiny bits of my food before I indulged, even when they told me "no peanuts", but there were a few times when I forgot just how careful I really have to be. Two out of those four times it was a western dish I was eating; one was just some roasted veggie dish, another was pesto pasta. Both times were scary but I hadn't eaten enough for there to be too bad of a reaction. I just felt sick for a few hours and had to wait it out. The first time it happened it was an indian dish that i just took too large of a test bite of. The worst time, when I had to use an Epi-Pen for the first time in my life, was when I was eating a Tamil breakfast- the very same one I had eaten at least 20 times before and loved. I ate the whole thing before realizing it. The experience was a nightmare (mostly because of the physical pain), but my teacher helped me and brought me to the health clinic where they gave me a shot of anti histhamine, and a muscle relaxer to help stop what the doctor called a "bad cramp". So the lesson that I learned was to never be sure of anything, even if I've eaten something a hundred times, I still have to ask and test very tiny amounts of it before I eat. Since then, I've had no problems. Be careful my fellow travelers with food allergies! Best of luck to us all~

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