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 | Recently, Saturday Night Live aired a parody on the popular drug Claritin, an over-the-counter antihistamine used for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. The parody used the fictional drug "Flaritin," a medication used for the treatment of fake or made-up allergies. The skit then shows people claiming to have various allergic conditions in order to get attention and sympathy from other people. It certainly is humorous, but when you actually think about it, some people might take away from it the notion that allergies aren't real or aren't serious, potentially life-threatening medical conditions. It also shows the lack of knowledge on the part of the SNL writers that gluten sensitive enteropathy (celiac disease) and lactose intolerance aren't actually allergies. Take a look at the skit -- what do you think? | |
What Is a "Gluten Allergy"?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease of the small intestine caused by intolerance to gluten, a protein found in various cereal grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and trouble absorbing nutrients from the intestines (malabsorption). It affects approximately 1 in 100 people, and Caucasians are even more commonly affected. The most common ages people are diagnosed is infancy (at about 1 year of age) and adults in their 30s and 40s. Women are affected nearly twice as often as men.
| Is Lactose Intolerance an Allergy?
Unlike food allergy, which is diagnosed with the use of allergy testing, there is typically no test available to diagnose food intolerance. Food intolerance is most often diagnosed clinically, meaning that symptoms are not consistent with food allergy, so no allergy testing is needed. If allergy testing is performed, the results will be negative with food intolerance. The exception to this is with lactose intolerance, where various tests are available, but most physicians make the diagnosis based only on a person's symptoms.
| Can You Be Allergic to Cigarette Smoke?
Can you actually be allergic to cigarette smoke or is it more of an irritant effect?
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