Hi, I’m Elliott. This is Mental Floss on YouTube, and today I’m going to talk about
some misconceptions about allergies.
Misconception #1: Blood tests are the best way to determine food allergies.
Actually, 50-60% of blood tests will give a false positive result when it comes to food
allergies. The best way to find out if someone is allergic to food is through a test called
an Oral Food Challenge. Which I know sounds like a challenge that some YouTuber made up,
but I promise it’s real! In an OFC, an allergist feeds their patient small doses of whichever
food is thought to be an allergen. After observation, the dose is increased. This gets repeated.
Of course, if a reaction shows, the patient gets treated. And if there’s no reaction,
then there’s no allergy. Congratulations!
Misconception #2: Food allergies are uncommon. According to the Food Allergy Research and
Education organization, 15 million people in the United States suffer from a food allergy.
Even more surprising is that one in thirteen kids has one. In case you’re starting to
wonder if YOU may be one of those people, I’ll let you know what you should look out
for. 90% of food allergies are of one of these eight foods: milk, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts,
tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.
Misconception #3: Penicillin allergies are common.
You might THINK you’re allergic to penicillin, just like one in 10 adults who claim to be,
but don’t be so sure. In a study done at the Cleveland Clinic, 21 of 24 patients who
said that they were allergic to penicillin received negative results when they were given
a skin test. So, almost 90% of them were wrong about their allergy. This is probably because
they had a reaction to the drug when they were younger. But, allergies sometimes just
go away, which brings me to…
Misconception #4: Allergies are for life. Some people develop allergies as they get
older. On the other hand, some people just outgrow allergies. In fact, over a quarter
of children in the U.S. outgrow their food allergies. It typically happens before they
turn ten-years-old, but it could happen at any time.
Misconception #5: People who are allergic to shellfish can’t do CT scans.
Some people believe that their shellfish allergy means they shouldn’t have a Computerized
Tomography scan. Before a CT scan, a patient must ingest or be given a dye, or contrast,
which contains iodine. Shellfish also contains iodine. But studies show that people who are
allergic to shellfish are actually intolerant of proteins in the animals rather than iodine.
But, some doctors still will avoid giving these patients a contrast with iodine in it.
Misconception #6: Babies shouldn’t be given allergenic foods before they turn one.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology recommends exactly the opposite. They claim
that giving babies food like peanut butter, fish, and eggs, when they’re 4-6 months
old, might actually help prevent future food allergies. But, this is a relatively new finding
and it hasn’t been thoroughly studied. So, if you have a baby, you should probably just
like, talk to your doctor, okay, and see what they say about this kind of stuff. They're
usually very smart, they went to a lot of school.
Misconception #7: Allergic reactions come from allergens.
You can actually blame your immune system for those pesky hives. Once your body inhales,
eats, or comes into contact with an allergen, the immune system misidentifies it as this
harmful substance. Then, it makes antibodies, which attack the allergen. So, the allergen
isn’t attacking your body; it’s actually the other way around.
Misconception #8: You know how you’ll react to an allergen.
Allergies are unpredictable. Someone who usually has a minor intolerance to an allergen still
risks a more serious reaction, like anaphylaxis.
Misconception #9: Animal hair is an allergen. If you’re allergic to an animal, it’s
probably their dander, saliva, and/or urine - gross - that’s giving you trouble. Dander
gets shed from the body and it’s made of skin cells. And it contains proteins that
some immune systems don’t like. But, I should mention that animal hair can contain dander
or other allergens including pollen and dust. So, it’s still worth vacuuming, like once
every... always. Always vacuum.
Misconception #10: Medication is the only way to treat allergies.
Some other treatment options include shots and sublingual immunotherapy. Or, if your
allergies are seasonal or related to your home, you could try, like a humidifier or
getting rid of your carpet. Or your dog.
Thanks for watching Misconceptions on Mental Floss on YouTube, which is made with the help
of all of these nice people. If you have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions episode
that you’d like to see, leave it in comments. See you next week!