IncogNeato:

Spinning a Yarn:

But it's amazingly common for people who've never met an allergist in their lives to *claim* allergies when what they have are intolerances, sensitivities, or just simple aversions. And the more the general public encounters those who cry wolf, the more lax or skeptical it becomes of the allergy claim. THAT is extremely dangerous for the people who have real allergies.

Absolutely. So many people claim they are "allergic" to anything they think tastes bad. (My sister is that way about dozens of things, and taught her kids to be teh same way.) So a lot of other people will sneak that into their food to "prove" to them that it really tastes good. Maybe not so bad when it's just a phobia or a distaste, but life threatening if it really is an allergy.

I knew a girl in grad school who claimed to be allergic to red meat, tomatoes, watermelon, the sun, red wine and strawberries (I assumed she hated the color red) and then as time went on she added coffee, wheat, and certain cheeses. None of the diagnoses came from a doctor, it was just her assumptions.