The Dangers of Food Allergies

I have many allergies. I have seasonal allergies, but I am also allergic to peanuts, treenuts, and shellfish. This makes eating out very difficult because I have to talk to the server or chef personally to make sure that everything I eat will be safe to eat. I am very paranoid just as anyone with food allergies would be, but when it comes to taking  a risk I will not, and do not. I am sure many people are familiar with the restaurant Five Guys, I am too, but I am no judge on their food because I cannot eat there. They use peanut oil for all of their fried foods. When I went to Sanibel, Florida for spring break, we decided to go to a burger place called Cheeburger. Turns out it is a Sanibel version of Five Guys, meaning they serve the same food as Five Guys, and that means they too use peanut oil. At first I did not care and just thought I would get something else off of the menu because they informed me that there were salads and wraps that I could have, but I just decided to leave and go back to the condos. It was a very good thing that I did because while at the beach, a woman was talking to my mom about Cheeburger and said that the manager told her that they cannot guarantee that peanut oil will not touch your food. I completely understand that, and am glad that I had made the decision to leave! However, this got me thinking more about food allergies and how they come to be. 15 million people in the United States have food allergies, and 1 of 13 children have them. Food allergies happen because the body thinks that the certain food or its protein are a harmful thing to the body, and the immune system attacks it. If you have a food allergy, your body releases histamine and it causes the symptoms of an allergic reaction: hives, headaches, adn the closing of the throat. I have never had an allergic reation, and am very thankful. But, I think it is very important for people to take allergies very seriously as they are life threatning and it is not always guaranteed that you will be safe.
Lindsay B