I’ve Lived My Whole Life With a Fake Allergy That I Can’t Let Go

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TL;DR – I’ve gone my whole life lying about being allergic to strawberries.

Backstory: My mom tells a story of how I had a very bad allergic reaction when I was young which was ultimately chalked up to strawberries being the culprit.

Here’s the thing: as I got older her story changed a bit over time to which I then realized that we never actually confirmed if my allergic reaction was from strawberries or not. Over the years, starting as a curious (and maybe dumb) young teenager I have tasted and eaten random strawberry things (not just artificial but like real strawberry things) in secret and I have never had a reaction of any kind. However, my mother, my entire family and everyone around me has lived with this idea that I am “deathly allergic” to strawberries and they must be avoided at all cost and I just continue to go with it, even in settings where I am with people who wouldn’t otherwise know I still claim to be allergic to them. I have never eaten a strawberry or strawberry anything in front of anyone. I am now 32 and I am so sure I am not allergic to them at all. I feel like the lie is gone too far now that it doesn’t even matter and I’d just rather never eat strawberries or strawberry anything for the rest of my life.

*Edited for typo

Comments

  1. Master-Manipulation Avatar

    Just say you out grew your allergy, a lot of people do

  2. jessee18 Avatar

    Do you have insurance? You could get an allergy panel done.

  3. HookerHenry Avatar

    Did a strawberry attack you?

  4. RecoveringFromLife_ Avatar

    Why are so many people lying about fruit allergies?

  5. curie2353 Avatar

    I had a bad allergic reaction to oranges and Coca Cola when I was a kid. Happened once or twice and never happened again. So maybe your mom didn’t lie and you just outgrew it?

    You can try an actual strawberry then see how you react. Just have an epi pen with you, in case you’re still deathly allergic.

  6. Careless_Ad_9665 Avatar

    Say you grew out of it! Say you accidentally ate some and nothing happened.

  7. Plastic_Pie_1621 Avatar

    My daughter was 100% allergic to strawberries when she was little. She would get this gnarly rash on her face from them. She is no longer allergic to strawberries. You may have been allergic, but outgrew it.