Nut & Egg Allergy

[SNTEFL]

Hi,

I'm hoping to go and teach English in Thailand for 5 months.

That being said, I have an egg and nut allergy. Neither serious, but unpleasant.

Is it viable to live in Thailand for 5 months, with both allergies, or is it a complete no go?

Regards,

Sandy

[SlyAnimal]

That'd be a little bit limiting, as your food choices would be significantly restricted, but I daresay that it's the same in the west.

You say that it's not that bad, so if you ate something which was cooked in the same pan as peanuts/egg, and the frying pan hasn't been cleaned in between, you'd be fine? And if you did eat some peanut or egg by mistake, you'd just come out in a rash? or would you potentially need to visit a hospital etc?

So long as you learn a bit of Thai to ask/tell people that you're allergic. As there are plenty of alternative foods which don't use peanuts or eggs.

[SNTEFL]

That'd be a little bit limiting, as your food choices would be significantly restricted, but I daresay that it's the same in the west.

You say that it's not that bad, so if you ate something which was cooked in the same pan as peanuts/egg, and the frying pan hasn't been cleaned in between, you'd be fine? And if you did eat some peanut or egg by mistake, you'd just come out in a rash? or would you potentially need to visit a hospital etc?

So long as you learn a bit of Thai to ask/tell people that you're allergic. As there are plenty of alternative foods which don't use peanuts or eggs.

Thanks for the reply. Egg makes me sick. Nut allergy has caused my lips to swell, but nothing further than that. Never had issues with products which contain traces of nuts/eggs.

The only thing that seems to be really worrying me, is that fact that everything seems to be cooked in a nut based oil.

[Scott]

I worked with a guy who had a reasonably severe, but not life threatening, allergy to eggs. He managed reasonably well. I would suspect you will have to do quite a bit of your own cooking because I very much doubt that the local food vendors are going to get their head around your allergy.

There is so much fresh fruit and vegetables around that you will not starve.

If you work someplace, you will likely find a vendor that you can trust and a few food dishes that are safe for use. Peanuts and eggs though are pretty common here.

Best of luck and feel free to check about special medical concerns in the Health forum.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/23-health-body-and-medicine/

[zeichen]

Palm oil and soy oil are most common.

Remember that allergies can get worse over time without warning.

Nuts are a serious concern because they often put peanuts on lots of dishes. Learn the thai words for allergy, nuts, eggs.

Get an epi pen just in case. I have had students and friends with nut allergies, they can be very serious.

If your allergy those is from contact also, then you will need to be very careful. The oils from nuts P2p transfer can often mess someone up just as bad as eating them if the allergy is serious.

Overall most allergies don't pose a serious problem because those items can be avoided. Shops that cook various meals do not wash their pans or utensils between each different dish that they cook. So if someone has fried rice or cashew chicken before you, you might have a reaction.

You can eat most curries, noodle soups. NO pad thai, fried rice though so you will be healthier anyway.

[AyG]

The only thing that seems to be really worrying me, is that fact that everything seems to be cooked in a nut based oil.

I'm not sure where you got this information from. As zeichen wrote, palm oil and soy bean oil are by far the most widely used oils in Thailand. Palm oil comes from a fruit, and soy bean oil from a bean. Neither of these is a nut, so do you have any reason to think you might be allergic to these oils?

The only oil you'd need to watch out for is coconut oil, but because it's much more expensive it's rarely used. It is somewhat more popular in the south of Thailand, though.

[Scott]

Palm oil is from the coconut palm tree, isn't it?

[AyG]

Palm oil is from the coconut palm tree, isn't it?

No, it's from the oil palm tree. Totally different species.

[Scott]

Thanks. I knew it was a different species.

[qdinthailand]

That's the thing I like about Thailand - peanuts and other nuts in many of the foods.

So if I had allergy, I'd be real leery of coming to Thailand.

[SNTEFL]

Hmm, thanks folks. It's only if I consume the food that I have an allergic reaction.

7 eleven appears to be the main solution to my problem. What kind of food do they sell in Thailand though? I'm aware of the obvious; bread, butter, milk.

It may sound really silly, but do they sell tuna? soup without egg noodles? breakfast cereal? porridge? baking potatoes?

I have until the end of this week to make my decision, so it's proving tough...

Edited August 12, 2013 by SNTEFL

[nottocus]

Just don't eat nuts and eggs.

[SNTEFL]

Palm oil and soy oil are most common.

Remember that allergies can get worse over time without warning.

Nuts are a serious concern because they often put peanuts on lots of dishes. Learn the thai words for allergy, nuts, eggs.

Get an epi pen just in case. I have had students and friends with nut allergies, they can be very serious.

If your allergy those is from contact also, then you will need to be very careful. The oils from nuts P2p transfer can often mess someone up just as bad as eating them if the allergy is serious.

Overall most allergies don't pose a serious problem because those items can be avoided. Shops that cook various meals do not wash their pans or utensils between each different dish that they cook. So if someone has fried rice or cashew chicken before you, you might have a reaction.

You can eat most curries, noodle soups. NO pad thai, fried rice though so you will be healthier anyway.

Noodle soups contain egg noodles though, don't they?

[AyG]

Noodle soups contain egg noodles though, don't they?

Depends on the noodle used bami contains egg, sen lek, sen yai, sen mi and wun sen don't.

[Scott]

The western foods are all available. I have cereal for breakfast everyday (and my preference is to have oatmeal). Bread, butter and milk are available.

The all the regular soups, such as cream of mushroom etc. are also available.

You will be slightly inconvenienced, but just stay away from eating at restaurants and food vendors and you should be OK.

[kirstymelb101]

To be honest, even if you didn't have an allergy, it's most likely you still wouldn't be able to eat half the dishes unless you generally already like to eat salty/spicy meals. I'm sure you will be fine !!

[Sheryl]

Allergic reactions tend to get progressively worse, so if your lips have swelled up from nuts in the past, worse effects may lie ahead if there are repeat exposures.

It is possible to come to Thailand but you will need to be very, very careful. They do tend to add small amounts of peanuts to many things and in many sauces. Eggs also get added to many things e.g. various fried noodle dishes. You will usually be able to see this, though, while the peanuts may be more insidious and from the sounds of it would be the greater danger to you.

Avoid packaged foods, they do not do a good job of labelling all ingrediants here and food allergies are not well understood here.

[kirstymelb101]

I based my opinion from my own experience, not anyone else. I generally don't eat much street food because of this reason. My stomach doesn't handle well to excessive amounts of Salt/MSG. And yes I'm 100% Thai. Food is about personal preference, not one persons dictation. Although since you mention it. I haven't met many Farangs who can eat 'pala' (fermented fish), or Goi larb (raw spicy salad with duck blood). And I don't eat it either. But you've gone off topic and misinterpreted what I was trying to say. I think you may be the one who is assuming to much..

Edited August 13, 2013 by kirstymelb101

[kirstymelb101]

Because I'm a Thai woman and I mention to the OP he/she may not be able to eat food that is too spicy/salty, u pass judgment on me that I think all foreigners can't eat Tradional Thai food? And you say I have a one sided view? Learn the facts before you make false accusations about me, sir. I've lived in both worlds Thai/West and I don't discriminate anybody, race or gender...

Edited August 13, 2013 by kirstymelb101

[Scott]

What people can/cannot, will/will not eat is very individualistic and I don't think it's worth getting into an off-topic argument about. I can eat food that is very, very spicy, but I do not like to. A very good Thai friend can eat cheese, but would prefer not to.

I think Sheryl is correct and in my experience, there isn't a good understanding of allergies. Many years ago, when I was traveling upcountry, it was hard to get a cup of coffee -- there just wasn't much of it around, but you could get instant coffee some places. I like black coffee. People had never heard of it and so quite frequently they would at least sneak a little sugar in it because, in their opinion, it would be just terrible without SOME sugar. On many occasions I got it with both sugar and creamer, even though a Thai friend was specifically ordering coffee with NO cream or sugar.

So, because they say there are no nuts or no eggs, may simply mean there isn't very much of either. Stick to doing your own cooking food preparation with the exception of the things that you can be reasonable sure are safe.

Best of luck and keep us informed.

[sha1985]

I have a nut allergy, little more serious then yours I also throw up but I haven't had a problem here. I got my thai partner to write in thai that I'm allergic to nuts and show this. Been spending 3 months a year in Thailand for 4 year's and always eat Street food. Never had any problems.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[SNTEFL]

Cheers for the advice and good wishes folks.

I made my decision today to go, and shall keep you all posted on how it goes.

Thankfully I have been informed that I will be based in Bangkok, or at least a major city, so there will be no problem of starvation.

[Scott]

An off-topic exchange has been deleted. We do not allow the use of any foreign language on the main forum. Only English is allowed. There is a Thai language forum where the use of Thai and Thai script is permitted. Please use that forum for discussion of a translation.

[SNTEFL]

Hi folks. Not long to go now until I jet off. As I'm going to be based in a fairly quiet town, I imagine I'll have some free time during week nights... As such, I've opted to join the blogging universe.

If you're interested in following my travels, or hope to find out some useful information about travelling with a nut allergy, you can find my blog here;

http://fromcheesetowntopuanan.wordpress.com/

[zeichen]

Hopefully you won't just be another newbie who knows everything about a country and traveling before they even travel to that country and then shares their not so original experiences as absolutes about the entire country. I think that I see about 100 links to similar things each year. Hopefully, you aim to and will do better.

[SNTEFL]

The fact I've posted here about whether it's even a reasonable idea to go to Thailand with a nut allergy, show's I don't know very much!

Not a scooby what I'm getting myself into, so hopefully there will be stories which are of interest.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Scott

[SNTEFL]

Hey folks. 2 months into Thailand, and I'm still alive.

Up until now, my posts haven't been of any real use. They were more just to keep family/friends up to date on my travels.

Having been here 2 months (nearly 3...), I'm becoming more aware of the food scene, so thought I'd create a post for those suffering from nut/egg allergies.

There will be more to come, but this provides a basis if you plan on moving to Thailand with an allergy.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Scott
Link edited out

[Scott]

A link has been edited out. It's not permitted to post such links. For those interested in the topic, you may contact the poster by PM.