Food Allergies on tv & in movies

[SilverLining]

Sometimes....it's just funny.

We were watching a repeat of Big Bang.  As anyone who regularly watches is aware, Howard has a peanut allergy.  In last night's show he was talking to Bernadette's father (Mike?).  Mike was eating walnuts and he offers them to Howard, who says no thank you, I'm allergic to nuts.  Mike replies, "my partner had that. He's dead now." Howard asks if he died from a reaction and Mike says no, his wife shot him. But she was nuts, so I guess he did die from nuts.

DH & I were howling laughing.

[LinksEtc]

 

[SkyRibbons]

I saw something recently on a show I don't normally watch.  Was it Modern Family maybe?  The son had a girl friend (a friend who was a girl, not a girlfriend), and whatever the story was they went into the bathroom to talk. She had a bag of peanuts with her and thought she could kill herself because she had a peanut allergy (or was it him)?  It wasn't really supposed to be funny, just a vehicle for the storyline.  Did anyone else see it?

[SilverLining]

I watch Modern Family often, but not every week. I don't recall any regular character having pa.

[SilverLining]

Julie Bowen, who plays Clair, has a son with pa.  I was googling to see if I could find the episode you were talking about.

Actually, he went into anaphylactic shock when he was eating pb and got stung by a bee.

[hedgehog]

On Modern Family Luke is allergic to soy.  There was an episode where Cam gave him home-made soy bacon, and then had to take him to the ER. 

But I don't remember anything like what you described.  I have seen most episodes, but not all.

[MandCmama]

The bathroom scene you are describing is the new show "About a Boy" with Minnie Driver.

[YouKnowWho]

What ManCMama said

And the show following it is Growing Up Fisher about a blind dad.  He took his date out and offered her a sip of soup, turns out she has a shellfish allergy (resulted in a hugely swollen lip).

I must be in a good allergy mood - it cracked me up instead of upsetting me.

[TabiCat]

The only time it bothers me is when they seem to perpetuate potentially dangerous misinformation. Example in an old CSI a man on jury duty has a reaction to peanut butter and uses his epi and goes on business as usual. No dr no ER. He later dies of a bee sting reaction because he had already used his epi-pen.

NCIS epi- pen was used incorrectly. I remember thinking well Tony just shot himself in the thumb and the witness he is protecting is dead. It was kinda funny but not intended to be. There again one shot with epi and everything is cool and emergency over. 

[SilverLining]

In that kind of show I also hate seeing them get the facts wrong.

On the other hand, in a comedy, almost anything goes.

I saw Pure Luck not long after my first and most severe anaphylactic reaction.  When Martin Short swells up like a balloon, but is just sitting there saying he's fine, I could not stop laughing. Nobody else thought it was that funny...but I still laugh just thinking about it.

Hitch with his benedryl sippy cup also makes me laugh.

In both of those movies they do everything wrong, and I know H itch bothered a lot of people...but it cracks me up every time.

[hedgehog]

Of course, the reason they get it wrong is that so many people DO get it wrong.  Even some people with allergies do the wrong thing because they were never told otherwise.  I guess it just adds realism to the show, whether we like that reality or not.

[SilverLining]

I don't really think instant recovery is realistic.  Even with epi, it may immediately stop the reaction, but is it ever just "business as usual" after it's used?  (I was fading in and out of consciousness, so I don't really know that I was "normal".)

[YouKnowWho]

I actually watched About a Boy last night where food intolerances were talked about.  Surprisingly on the ball for a comedy!

[GoingNuts]

Tonight DH and I were watching the second episode of Hunters on Amazon, and there was a scene of a PA child sitting next to a peanut-eating Nazi.

[SilverLining]

We've been watching the tv series Reacher. Started with Season 2, but will watch one when done.

Anyway, I think it's the character David O'Donnell is sending his wife and kids away to protect them, and reminding her what to pack he includes epi-pens.

It was like toothbrushes. Just my opinion, but I like that it has become mainstream in that way.