So, apparently, being allergic to pork is a thing.
Ok, so I know some of you are reading that thinking, "of course it's a thing," so let me clarify. Being sneakily allergic to pork is a think.
That doesn't make any sense, right? Agree. Which is why it took me four (almost five) years to figure out that I am sensitive to - in a sense allergic - to pork.
I've always enjoyed bacon, but I never really had an affinity for pulled pork or ham or pork chops, etc. In fact, growing up, when my mom said it was "pork chop night" I always groaned. But as I got older, and especially after I moved southward, I realized just how integrated pork is to many dishes.
Asian food? Lots of pork options; Spanish? Same thing; Live in the south? Pork in everything.
So I got a little more accustomed to eating pork and even found myself enjoying it more on occasion.
And then it started. The area around my fingernails would get really inflamed and painful, and one time it even sent me to urgent care it was so bad. After numerous doctor visits, the best they could think was I had paronychia, which is essentially inflammation of the nail and bed and often because of the regular use of one's hands.
And that never really sat well as a diagnosis. Then years later I started musing on what caused this sudden symptom when I've never had it prior to moving. Then I realized that after moving, I started eating more gluten and pork. Suddenly I had a mini "ah-hah" moment and wondered if either of those were the culprit. I'm sensitive to lots of foods, so who knew? I had the allergy doctor test me for allergies to pork and it was barely raised / negligible.
But within 2 weeks of no longer eating pork, the symptoms disappeared. Completely. And just to test, I ate pork again (just once) and bam! back.
So, who knows why things happen, but sometimes our bodies tell us something is wrong and we have to work to figure it out. So for anyone else dealing with these kind of sneaky allergies, best of luck to you. I know they are so frustrating.
