Allergies

[Hawkshot99]

Now I am only 26, so I am not even looking back to far into the past, but were there all of the allergies "back in the day" as there are now?

For instance, when I was in elementary school 70% of the kids ate PB&J sandwiches for lunch. Now my mother who teaches says the kids who bring that have to sit at a table in the corner not to get the ones allergic to peanuts sick.

You also have all of the people allergic to wheat, or in the News of the weird thread we learned that suntan lotion is banned by schools in 49 states as people are allergic to it.

In all the years I went to school, I never remember any of these diseases. No they are everywhere with kids. Where did they come from, or were they there all along, just not in any kid I went to school with(I graduated from a large school btw.)

[deadheadskier]

Combination of evolution and better diagnosing are two driving factors. I think the former potentially has a lot to do with the Genetic Modification of our crops.

[bigbog]

Have to realize that only with the blossoming software revolution of the 80s...came the ability to visualize=understand what drug/chemical interaction was...and get some drugs to market quickly(or even at all)...for better or worse...sensibly or corruptly(for profit only) = thus more reactions. Add to that there simply wasn't any reporting except for the three major news networks....no cable networks till CNN in early 80s.
My $.01 is that the food supply, provided on a mass scale since throughout the 50s, has still yet to be tested fully. I mean you can only test what a company/Government wants to test for...or knows what to test for. I never noticed anything during the golden decade of chemicals, the 60s...till the early 70s' establishment of the EPA, for what fluff standards that has brought us.
I'm wayy off by what our science of today makes public...but I still have reservations as to what the gifts by our ingenious Dept. of Energy's 100+ above ground nuclear detonations did to our DNA combined with the non-tested multitudes of preservative chemicals into the food supply of the late 50s/early 60s, when we post-boomers were young. You take a look around the planet and not very many countries have the degree of health problems that this country does.....or probably more acccurately put..than what my parents, me...and my offspring have.
$.01

[Riverskier]

Without doing any research, I suspect the san tan lotion and peanut restrictions are reflective of our increasingly over protective and over regulated society. I doubt that the instances of these allergies is that much higher than when we were young, but then it was more of a personal responsibility issue, and now our society has more of a "protect the children" mentality.

I do believe the wheat allergy (glutone intolerance) is something that has come to light in the medical field recently, and is now better understood and better detected. I think this was more commonly undiagnosed in the past.

[ctenidae]

A lot of allergies are popping up now because of better diagnosis- kind of an "Oh, so that's what causes that. Interesting" kind of a thing.
I thik the hype around many allergies is inflated overprotectionism. There aren't any more people with peanut allergies now than there used to be, I think, but everyone knows about them now. And though the instance of severe reactions is really really small, the effects are bad enough to freak people out.

Making kids eat their PB&J at a seperate table is just stupid. It's really a wonderful idea to segregate kids who have parents who are involved enough in tehir kids lives to give them something other than school lunches, with an extra helping of ketchup to satisfy that vegetable requirement. Let's make those kids the weirdos. That's a good plan.

[snoseek]

Not really trying to start an argument here but realize how easily someone with severe allergies could die, seconds really. There seem to be way more kids in this day and age with these allergies. As a society we need to adapt.

[snoseek]

Combination of evolution and better diagnosing are two driving factors. I think the former potentially has a lot to do with the Genetic Modification of our crops.

Some also beleive better hygeine may be a contributing factor

[ctenidae]

Not really trying to start an argument here but realize how easily someone with severe allergies could die, seconds really. There seem to be way more kids in this day and age with these allergies. As a society we need to adapt.

Adapt, yes. Overreact, no. Peanut allergies seem to affect between 0.4% and 1% of the population. Fewer than 150 deaths per year from food allergies in total. Compare that to 10,000 kids hospitalized for sports injuries, 2,0000 drownings, etc etc.

[snoseek]

Adapt, yes. Overreact, no. Peanut allergies seem to affect between 0.4% and 1% of the population. Fewer than 150 deaths per year from food allergies in total. Compare that to 10,000 kids hospitalized for sports injuries, 2,0000 drownings, etc etc.

I bet those numbers are over the entire population. I also bet the percent is much much higher in our youth, its a growing trend IMO and many others Not just rashes but anaphylactic reactions.

You have a point about about overreacting however and I honestly don't see why there can't be a designated area for food alergies. Then again that would suck to have to eat your lunch all by yourself or with those two other kids that hate your guts.

[Hawkshot99]

Not really trying to start an argument here but realize how easily someone with severe allergies could die, seconds really. There seem to be way more kids in this day and age with these allergies. As a society we need to adapt.

Im not saying that these thigs are made up, just wondering where they came from, as I never noticed it at all growing up.