A friend of mine, Michael, suffers from severe food allergies. He is allergic to both dairy and soy, and has been hospitalized for near-fatal reactions three times in his life. When I mentioned the topic of my blog, he told me that he, too, had had an allergic reaction to a Subway sandwich. He agreed to share his story with me here.
Michael; let's pretend he's excited about our interview.
Q:So, when was this?
A: About a year ago, I'd say. My dad and I went to a Subway in Rancho Santa Margarita [where we live] to pick up dinner for the family.
Q: Did you order anything that could have given you a reaction?
A: No. I got a wrap, basically plain with meat. But my father ordered his sandwich before I did, and he got cheese and mayonnaise on his. I didn't pay attention to which utensils they used when they made my wrap. Maybe I should have, but I just figured they'd use a clean knife. It seems like pretty standard practice to use clean utensils.
Q: Then what happened?
A: We got home and I ate my wrap. After I was done, my gums started to go numb. That's one of my warning signs that I've eaten something I'm allergic to. After that my tongue started to go numb, which is usually warning sign #2. Sign #3 is when my throat starts to close up, and I obviously didn't want to get to that point, so I took an antihistamine and grabbed my EpiPen just in case it got any worse.
Q: Did it?
A: No, thank God. The antihistamine was enough to stop it. It wasn't until after my symptoms went away that I realized they had used the same knife to cut my sandwich as they had used on my father's. It made me pretty upset. I mean, how hard is it to grab a new knife?
Q: How do you feel about Subway now?
A: I still think it's delicious, but now I try to find other restaurants I can eat at if they're nearby. If I do go to Subway, I have to be really insistent that the employees use clean knives and gloves and stuff to make my sandwich. But again, I'm really hesitant to eat there. It's just not worth the worry.
Q:So, when was this?
A: About a year ago, I'd say. My dad and I went to a Subway in Rancho Santa Margarita [where we live] to pick up dinner for the family.
Q: Did you order anything that could have given you a reaction?
A: No. I got a wrap, basically plain with meat. But my father ordered his sandwich before I did, and he got cheese and mayonnaise on his. I didn't pay attention to which utensils they used when they made my wrap. Maybe I should have, but I just figured they'd use a clean knife. It seems like pretty standard practice to use clean utensils.
Q: Then what happened?
A: We got home and I ate my wrap. After I was done, my gums started to go numb. That's one of my warning signs that I've eaten something I'm allergic to. After that my tongue started to go numb, which is usually warning sign #2. Sign #3 is when my throat starts to close up, and I obviously didn't want to get to that point, so I took an antihistamine and grabbed my EpiPen just in case it got any worse.
Q: Did it?
A: No, thank God. The antihistamine was enough to stop it. It wasn't until after my symptoms went away that I realized they had used the same knife to cut my sandwich as they had used on my father's. It made me pretty upset. I mean, how hard is it to grab a new knife?
Q: How do you feel about Subway now?
A: I still think it's delicious, but now I try to find other restaurants I can eat at if they're nearby. If I do go to Subway, I have to be really insistent that the employees use clean knives and gloves and stuff to make my sandwich. But again, I'm really hesitant to eat there. It's just not worth the worry.
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