'Family exclude me & say I'm faking 50 allergies where sip of coffee could kill'
A woman with over 50 allergies who could be killed by a single sip of coffee says her family exclude her and cruelly accuse her of faking it.
Mia Silverman has more than 50 severe allergies, including nuts, seeds, dairy, fish, and fruits and vegetables. Consuming even small amounts of certain foods can trigger life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. Mia's allergies have made it challenging for her to lead a normal life, causing her to always carry an EpiPen with her. She experienced bullying and exclusion throughout her childhood due to her allergies, impacting her mental health.
Her allergies range from common ones like nuts to unusual ones like food colouring and courgettes. She developed allergies to various foods over time, and some allergies even temporarily disappeared before returning. Mia's doctor suspects an autoimmune condition may be responsible for her allergies.
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Her allergies range from common ones like nuts to unusual ones like food colouring (@theallergicgirl / CATERS NEWS)
Her mother takes extra precautions when preparing meals and communicates with restaurants for safety (@theallergicgirl / CATERS NEWS)Mia's dietary choices are limited, and she must eat whole foods to avoid allergic reactions. Her mother has had to take extra precautions when preparing meals and communicate extensively with restaurants to ensure her safety. Mia now uses an app called Fig to find safe foods based on her allergies.
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Mia said she grew-up being bullied and pushed aside because of her allergies and although she is doing better now, her childhood experience has taken a toll on her mental health. She has struggled to live a 'normal' life, feeling left out not only by kids at school, but by restaurants and supermarkets who don't cater to her diet as well as she had hoped.
The now student says the hardest part of having so many allergies was growing up feeling like an 'outsider' which left her with lasting anxiety and depression. Despite the challenges, Mia sees the positive side of being a public figure for allergy awareness and says she is grateful for the opportunity to raise awareness about severe allergies. Her extensive list of allergens includes a wide range of foods, food additives, and even substances like latex and sulphates and it is an evolving list - making it hard to find safe foods to eat.
Mia, from Boston, US, said: "I really struggled in school and my mental health suffered. I faced a lot of bullying all the way to high school. I'm better now, but when I was a kid, it was really difficult, I always had the fear that anything I ate could potentially kill me. Every time I went to a party, I'd have to take my own food and my own little cupcake, which sucks when you feel like you can't participate in anything.
Despite the challenges, Mia is grateful to raise awareness about severe allergies as a public figure (@theallergicgirl / CATERS NEWS)
Mia uses the Fig app to find safe foods based on her extensive allergies (@theallergicgirl / CATERS NEWS)"A lot of my family excludes me and they've been ignorant about it. I've had family that's witnessed me experience anaphylaxis in a restaurant and go to hospital, but they've been convinced that what I went through was made up in my head. When I was young, I sat at the peanut-free table and no one wanted to sit there with me, which really was difficult. Lots of kids would make fun of me and make jokes about sneaking nuts into my food to see what happens."
She added: "Straight out of the womb, I struggled to digest things like dairy, but when I was two, my dad brought home cookies with nuts in them. My throat immediately closed, my whole body was full of rashes, and I was throwing up. It was so scary. When we got to the hospital, they ran some tests and found I had all these other allergies. From that point, I just kept developing more and more."
Mia receives support from her mum and uses the Fig app to help manage her allergies. She said: "I've tried all sorts of medication, and my doctor thinks I have an autoimmune condition, which they're still trying to diagnose. The shots they gave me did nothing to get rid of allergies, I just gained brand-new ones.
"Every time I have to be shot with the EpiPen, it's so painful and traumatising. It's not just a shoot of pain and it's over - it affects me for the rest of the day and wipes me out to the point where I have to spend all day in bed.
"It's hard to eat what I want to eat. Sometimes, I'm kind of forced to eat healthy. So if I want Chinese food, I can't have it because it has so much sesame in it. I tend to eat very whole foods like steak and pasta. As soon as I start eating processed foods, that’s where the problems start.
"My mum's cooking options were limited when I was a kid, but she loves a challenge and she's an excellent cook. She's had to get food shipped to us, talk to the chef before we even go to a restaurant, there's so much communication she's had to do just to make sure I'm safe.
"Now I work with an app called Fig. You put in your allergies, and it finds safe foods for you. It's solved all my problems. It's great that I get to be a public figure for allergy awareness, which is something I never had growing up. I'm thankful that I get to find the positive in something that has been a negative for a lot of my life."
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Mia's allergies
- Nuts and Seeds: Peanuts, Peanut oil, All tree nuts and their oils (Almonds, Brazil nuts, Cashews, Hazelnuts, Macadamia), Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Sesame seeds
- Dairy Products: Milk (uncooked), Yogurt, Cheese (uncooked), Butter, Cream.
- Fish: All types of fish, including salmon, tuna, cod, etc.
- Fruits: Kiwi, Watermelon, Mango, Apples, Peaches, Pears, Cherries.
- Vegetables: Eggplant, Zucchini.
- Herbs and Spices: Tarragon, Sumac, Tahini, Z'atar.
- Food Additives: Certain red food dyes, MSG (monosodium glutamate), Paprika, Sulfates.
- Other Allergies: Coffee, Lupine, Annatto, Carotene, Red wine, Latex, Whey, Unknown natural flavourings and colourings.
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