[halefx]

The difference is access to testing. Most of the people in the US who "test" positive for an allergen aren't actually allergic to it, but that is often not explained properly.

Simply, allergists have three types of testing: skin test, blood test, actual exposure. If you can eat something without a reaction, it doesn't matter what the skin and blood tests showed (they can be "positive" for other reasons). Skin and blood tests are mostly used to determine severity of an allergy after exposure has already proven to be a problem.

But allergy testing is covered by insurance (and it's VERY profitable), so a ton of allergists will do skin and blood tests on people who don't need it, and now there are independent scam companies doing "allergy" testing by mail for curious people.

[makeitdouble]

Do people actually do random tests and spend the rest of their life blindly believing the results ?

Dealing with allergies is such a PITA and a burden that follows you every day, every single time you´re trying to eat anything. It´s such a mental toll that I see people going for allergy tests usually after they had their first reaction and went through ER, or when there is precedents in the family and they have a pretty decent chance to have common allergies.

Even after getting positive results we had a pretty thorough talk with the doctor about the tests and the actual reaction we saw when we discovered the allergy.

I understand people randomnly buying gluten free stuff as a fad, but they still continue eating gluten in other foods in general. Food allergies and avoiding ingredients is another level of inconvenience altogether.

[randallsquared]

> Do people actually do random tests and spend the rest of their life blindly believing the results?

Many do, or even don't trust that a negative result is real. There are lots of other conditions and situations that one would think are strict drawbacks that people lean into, in my anecdotal experience. "Gluten allergy" that is not Celiac, for example. There are steps to take, things to research, and communities of fellow suffers to identify with, after all.

[amanaplanacanal]

My girlfriend has problems with wheat. I suspect it has nothing to do with gluten, and may not actually be an allergic response at all, but when she eats wheat it definitely causes digestive problems. Ordering things gluten free is just an easy way to handle it.

[gedy]

> Do people actually do random tests and spend the rest of their life blindly believing the results ?

Yes, hang out with elementary school parents (mostly moms) and you'll quickly get an earful from those that do. It seems more like anxiety with many of these folks.

[rewgs]

Or, you know, food allergies are life-threatening and they're just trying to protect their child.

[gedy]

Sure, I've known real, diagnosed situations like this, but I'm talking about the self diagnosis types and they behave differently.