Genetics and allergies - something my Mum said made me think

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

She said "Where did you get all those allergies from? Nobody else in the family has them". And it's true, none of my relatives have hay fever or other random reactions to things as far as I know and I'd never thought about it before. My allergies are mild but fairly wide-ranging. The tree pollen hay fever floors me sometimes, although it's helped a lot by prescription anti-histamine. When it's birch pollen season I have to avoid most nuts, strawberries, pineapples and pomegranate seeds (that's a new one this year). There are hardly any washing powders that I can use, definitely can't use fabric conditioner. I have to make sure skin care doesn't have soy or rosehip oil. I only use bar soap and shampoo that I know won't irritate. Sometimes I just pop out hives all over my back for no apparent reason, very occasionally fluid filled blisters.

I know the family as far out as first and some second cousins, uncles/aunts and grandparents and they all seem fine. But most other people I know with allergies seem to have it in the family.

I'm definitely my parents' child, I'm the image of my Dad's family. I also have some hereditary health issues that most of my Dad's family have. There was no accidental swapping at the hospital or anything.

Can allergies just appear randomly?

I would think there are genetic predispositions, but isn't quite a lot of it environmental- what you are, but also perhaps aren't exposed to over the years?

I absolutly belive the poor way we are living has increased allergies.

Yes they can

None of my family have my thyroid issue they all have different thyroid issues but no-one has the same as mine I'm gluten intolerant they are all dairy intolerant 😅 my sisters hay-fever is off the charts mine isn't according to ancestry we are related

Exactly the same here OP. Neither of my parents, nor any of my grandparents to my knowledge, have/had allergies. Neither does my sister. My uncle has hayfever, that's about it. I've had all sorts - bad hayfever, bouts of hives with no known cause, occasional swollen eyes or lips, facial flushing, weird sensitivities to foods during pregnancy. And now what is looking like possible gluten and dairy intolerance.

I used to get hay fever quite badly from February to November and also has asthma. I moved and have since had hardly any problems so some of it must be environmental.

Weirdly I had virtually the same childhood in as my Mum in as much as DM and DF built their house on the edge of my maternal grandparent's land. I was born in the late 1960s so probably had more exposure to things like lead in petrol, but so did everybody else my age and we lived quite high up on a country road so had less smog than the suburbs. My maternal cousins and my brother grew up in the same place and most of my paternal cousins grew up in the nearby suburbs. I can't pick out anything that I would have been exposed that they have not. I had lots of interaction with things that are supposed to reduce the likelihood of allergies as my grandparents' land was farmed, so dogs, cats, cattle, horses, donkeys, a huge range of plants including kitchen garden fruit and veg.

I moved to London in my early twenties, as did my parents. They only stayed for about five years, I stayed for 20 years. My allergies did get worse while I was living in London, but I'd always had some allergies from childhood and the allergies have continued to get worse since I moved back to Dublin.

Same here, nothing I know of in the immediate family at least (half-sister has hayfever but her dad's family have lots of atopic conditions).

My son has hayfever which I'd assumed came from his dad's side (more atopy).

I have recently (last couple of years) been diagnosed with hayfever, seasonal asthma and a rare/serious allergic condition.

My mum reacts badly to bites and has hay fever
I have cholinergic urticaria and spontaneous urticaria and am on Xolair plus antihistamines
And a load of other random autoimmune conditions that I have no idea where from!