My Origin Story: A Journey

One day in 2020, a friend reached out to Alana Roshay. The QPOC (queer People of Color) advocate and co-host of The Consciousness Salon Podcast. The purpose was to share fresh baguettes that a restaurant had just given her children’s Dairy allergy test kits. Roshay enthusiastically accepted the offer. But not expecting her body to react to the gift. “I brought it home, cut it up, toasted it, ate it, and I was so congested,” says Roshay.

“It was pretty instant. It was within 10, 15 minutes, and I went for a walk. And I thought, ‘Why do I feel awful?'” Then she woke up the next day with “full-blown symptoms.” Roshay had stopped keeping bread in the house around 2018. And I wasn’t eating much of it. “So here I am with all this bread, and it messed me up,” says Roshay. “When I met with a children’s allergy test doctor, we talked about it, and she said, ‘Look, you can try having a piece [of bread], but if your body reacts that way, you know you have your answer.'”

Roshay shares that discovering her new weakness in wheat was a bummer.

“I would eat bread like it was going out of style growing up,” she says. But Roshay adjusted. She was no stranger to frustrating allergies. Wheat wasn’t the first major allergy, nor the fifth, she’d been diagnosed with in her lifetime. O’Shea notes that another Dairy Allergy test for food allergy that can develop later in life is sensitization to certain meats, which occurs after a tick bite. This is called alpha-gal syndrome. “This presents as delayed (3–8 hours after eating) anaphylaxis to meats,” explains O’Shea.

Severe symptoms

Additionally, O’Shea explains that some people with seasonal allergies may develop pollen food allergy syndrome. “This typically presents mouth itching with uncooked fruits and vegetables with cross-reactive pollen-related proteins. Symptoms do not occur if the fruit or vegetable is cooked.” Growing up with allergies, Roshay’s first allergies began as a baby. “Immediately, my mom could see that my skin would start to break out when she would start to breastfeed me,” says Roshay.

Her mom had to do an elimination diet so that she could continue to breastfeed. “I remember being in third grade, and my mom accidentally gave me something with nuts in it, and I threw up in the administrative office,” says Roshay. “As early as I can remember, the smell of peanut butter made me nauseous.” Roshay discovered that she had a tier system for nut allergies. “Cashew and pistachios are EpiPen statuses, and then for pine nuts, almonds, and peanuts, I have a less extreme reaction,” she says.

Faucet nose

Regarding her nut allergies, Roshay’s symptoms include an itchy throat and nausea. She also has a dairy allergy. “With dairy, my sinuses become inflamed, my nose turns into a faucet, and I sneeze constantly,” says Roshay. O’Shea shares that the most common childhood food allergies that people outgrow are egg and milk. “If there is evidence that someone is outgrowing an allergy, your allergist may recommend what is called an ‘oral food challenge,’ where the patient is closely monitored in the office while they consume the food to ensure that they have truly outgrown their allergy,” says O’Shea. It’s not just foods that brought on Roshay’s childhood allergies. Dogs, cats, and horses also cause reactions. “What’s crazy is that until this day, I can be around puppies because something about them going through puberty is what I’m allergic to.

Treatment options

They then start to produce a different type of dander,” says Roshay. Other childhood health conditions that Roshay continues to deal with include asthma and eczema, which seem to flare up in a trifecta with some of her allergies. O’Shea anticipates that the landscape of food allergies will change drastically in the next 10–20 years, with food allergy management and treatment evolving fast. One of the biggest breakthroughs in recent years for managing food allergies has been oral immunotherapy. In January 2020, the Food and Drug Administration Trusted Source approved Palforzia, the first product that appears to reduce risks of adverse events for those with peanut allergies.

“This product is an oral treatment that must be taken every day for children’s allergy test needs and helps to lower the risk of an allergic reaction to peanuts from accidental ingestion,” says O’Shea. “Currently, research in the field of Dairy Allergy Tests. Food allergy is growing rapidly.

There is global interest in understanding the increased incidence of food allergies as well as improving clinical testing and treatment options for people with food allergies. “Creative and innovative Dairy Allergy Test for food allergy are being studied, including biologics, vaccines, and different forms of immunotherapy,” O’Shea adds.

In May 2021, Roshay met with a new doctor, a board-certified MD, FACEP, with a background in Western and Eastern medicine, to better understand her allergies. “I agreed with myself,” she says. “By turning 40, I will know what is wrong with me. I will get to the bottom of my health and be in control.”

Control of my body

After some Nuts Allergy tests, including a stool test and discussing her experiences with the doctor, Roshay went on a strict diet. She cut out triggers like sugar, gluten, dairy, and foods high in histamines. Roshay learned about which foods contain histamines, and it turned out that meant eliminating many things she loves, like avocados and fermented foods. “Let me tell you, I’ve never been healthier,” says Roshay. “My skin cleared up; my eczema went away. I was so hydrated. I had no allergies, and I wasn’t taking allergy medicine.” It was the first time in her life that Roshay can remember not needing allergy medication for 2 months. “It all came down to what I was eating,” says Roshay.

Regarding Dairy Allergy Tests, oat milk alternatives have been a game-changer for allergy testing. “Dairy has been so much easier to navigate with oat milk. I can have oat milk ice cream, I can have it with my cereal, they have pizza,” says Roshay. This gives her a new world of possibilities because she can’t have almond or cashew milk due to her nut allergies. “It saved my life regarding dairy alternatives,” she says. For Roshay, like many others, living with allergies has been an evolving journey.

She explains that there’s a certain empowerment around taking steps towards greater awareness with the Dairy Allergy Test and her body. “I may not be able to solve it or completely heal,” says Roshay. “But now I have the tools, understanding, and awareness to navigate my allergies better.”

 

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