Say hello to...Chef BoyarDoom.
Posted on 12/22/2004 8:48:11 PM PST by ijcr
A woman with a severe allergy to tomatoes died after opening a tin of spaghetti bolognese, it emerged yesterday.
Raya French, 37, a part-time receptionist from Tankerton in Kent, was preparing dinner for her four children two weeks ago when the tomato sauce in the can sent her into anaphylactic shock.
She was taken to hospital, but never regained consciousness. She was allowed to die four days later after her family decided that she had no chance of survival.
Mrs French developed an allergy to raw tomatoes three years ago, and would come out in hives and suffer asthma attacks. Recently the reactions had become more severe.
Her husband, Stephen, said yesterday that despite what had happened, his wife would still want their children - Alexandra, 15, Tom, 10, Maddison, six, and Louis, four - to enjoy the festive season.
"It's been a very difficult time, but we're working towards Christmas," he said.
Canon Patrick Sales, the vicar of All Saints church in nearby Whitstable, said that more than 300 people had attended her funeral last Wednesday.
"She was a governor at the local school where her children were pupils.
"She knew a lot of people in the community and there was a big response to her death."
Mr Sales said of Mrs French's husband and children: "They have been very brave and positive about all this."
I developed an allergy to Dawn dish detergent that worsened very gradually. I couldn't figure out what was making my hands swell up every so often and at first thought it was a food allergy because it always happened after dinner. Then, one day, it dawned on me. Switched to a different product and all is well.
She may have felt save with cooked tomatoes since previous allergic reactions were to raw. A canned bolognaise sauce can be highly processed. She might not have realized that the allergic reaction could become that life threatening that quickly. Or that the severity of reaction could increase so dramatically over such a short time, 3 years.
A case in point: A few years ago, my sister developed a wierd allergy to raw fruits like apples and pears, after years of enjoying them raw. She can eat them canned, baked, jammed, but not raw. I will alert her after reading this story.
I am allergic to coffee. I don't even like going down the coffee aisle in the grocery store and smelling it. But I don't know whether it bothers me because I associate bad things with that smell or if the odor really can make me sick.
You bad, but I love ya.
If she had an extreme allergy, what was she doing opening up a tomato-based sauce? It's like a person with a bee allergy going out with the honey-gathering crew.
The smell of flavored coffee in the grocery stores make me feel nauseous. Especially halzelnut. It's such a cloying smell....feels like it coats my lungs.
If you get a chance, you might want to google latex-banana allergies...it's eye-opening.
One of the things that you might want to talk to your doctor about. Allergies like these can become more serious as minor exposures take place, even if you don't notice the reaction much at the time, can occasionally lead to anaphylaxis.
Say hello to...Chef BoyarDoom.
There are a lot of serious allergies; I know a woman who, like you, had a problem with certain scents...ruined her social life, she couldn't go anywhere without running into someone wearing something she was seriously allergic to.
LOL
Good idea. I wonder if perhaps your sister may have some sort of allergy to some common insecticides or chemical treatments used on apples and pears, etc?
There are a lot of strange allergies. My son is allergic to xanthan gum, a food thickener. I am surprised at how many foods it is in. We figured out what the problem was by comparing ingredient lists. What do chocolate syrup and taco sauce have in common? Xanthan gum. The allergist tested him and that was indeed the culprit.
LOL! Good one!
Good ideas. I'll definitely look into it now that I've been alerted to the likelihood that this is what's going on.
>Even then, there's usually a tomato or a little Italian dude on the label...kinda like a pictogram.
That's why I refuse to buy this stuff... yuck...
I don't know about a connection between menopause and allergies...best wishes to your wife, though. The combination is miserable, I'm sure.
and this year's
"Darwin Award" goes to.........
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