SNL last week had a great commercial parody that I think addresses a problem we're beginning to see with people that falsely claim they're allergic to certain foods (nuts, wheat, milk products, etc).
I've personally witnessed this with an employee at a retail shop where I'm friendly with the staff. One new employee claimed he was allergic to almost everything under the sun. The rest of the staff went to great lengths to limit their consumption of many foods on the premises, to protect this individual. It was discovered later, quite by accident, that the liar was ingesting all sorts of things to which he previously claimed to be allergic.
There is a hazard in this. If you've claimed to be allergic to nuts (for instance), you will be assumed to be safe around others that are allergic to nuts. If you lied, however, and frequently munch on nuts, you might cause quite a problem that would be hard for experts to identify. That is, you'd be the last person they'd suspect of causing a problem for someone with a genuine allergy.
I was talking to a doctor about this and mentioned that it would seem unlikely that someone that says they are allergic to nuts (for instance) because they just don't like them, would later be found to be consuming nuts. But nuts are a common ingredient in many foods we eat, and someone may not like the type of mixed nuts we eat around the holidays, but may enjoy a food where nuts are an ingredient. So imagine being the guy that claimed you were allergic to nuts showing up to a party (also attended by someone that is truly allergic to nuts), and you've brought a desert bar with nuts in the crust (true story, from my doctor friend).
I also know of a family where they told their kids they were all allergic to chocolate. None of the kids seem to be truly allergic to chocolate. I've seen them consume the stuff. In front of the parents. Who were also eating chocolate.
Many others are no claiming a gluten allergy. Now, my mom's side of the family (and one of my daughters) have celiac disease. True celiac (had the blood tests, had the biopsy, don't eat the wheat).
Many restaurants seem to be attempting to cater to people with "wheat intolerance," because so many people are claiming to suffer from problems relating to gluten. But I have observed a pizza restaurant placing a gluten-free crust on a board covered with wheat flour. When I commented "hey, you can't do that" the reply I got was "hasn't been a problem."
And it probably hasn't. Because many of the people claiming celiac or gluten intolerance are just imagining it. They can consume the pizza with wheat flour all over it no problem. But a true celiac will be in the bathroom for hours after eating the same pizza.
I know some people are going to post about the recent stories of people going overboard on allergy precautions (like the woman that wants the oak trees cut down around a school so the kids allergic to nuts won't be traumatized by the acorns). Yes, that is crazy dumb.
But the more important point is that, falsely claiming an allergy desensitizes others to the hazards. If everyone cries wolf, soon nobody will take true problems seriously.
RANT OFF.
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Originally Posted by Dan Hintz
