I don't have the time to do a lit search right now but the individual who almost died of an allergic reaction to ferrets was last year or the year before if memory serves, so if I get time I'll find the refs, and if I don't then randy can search. Whether a person jokes about allergies is often an indicator of how severe the reactions seen in that person's immediate family are. You only have to once go through someone being on a respirator, or being so swollen that epinephrin and a neck stoma are needed (cutting into part of the throat right into the trachea in hopes that enough of an airway can be created that way) to take it seriously. When we were at college a fellow student went into anaphlyaxia, and for her the absolutely worst thing happened; she wound up brain-dead. Misinformation is as dangerous to someone with bad allergies as it is to someone living with any other easily fatal condition. To laugh about that just isn't right, and it's downright painful to multiple people. How would you feel if someone supported dangerous misconceptions about heart disease that were commonly held and could kill you, for example insisting that you only have heart burn during the start of a heart attack? That is not funny and it should not be taken as funny. Certainly, in the past there have been those here who have spoken of being taken from their homes on stretchers because their reaction to the ferrets was that bad. Just like people with other genetic conditions (ex: sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, etc.) that are especially serious when doubled Steve and I were advised to not have kids because we each have gone into anaphylaxia from common substances. We were told that there was a high chance of a child born to us dying young of such a reaction so that it would not be fair for us to have children. I have been told by an allergist that something like 3 people -- all very allergic to peanuts -- have died on public airlines due to other passengers opening their packets and the debris circulating in the re-cycled air. Ever notice that some airlines have switched to pretzels which have ingredients that are less common allergens? Wonder why? It is not unusual for people to wind up seeking emergency care due to someone assuming that if the victim didn't know an ingredient was in a food then it would not matter. Some people die or wind up brain dead due to such misconceptions. Randy, you know what it feels like to deal with heart problems and I am sure that you don't like ever repeating such dangerous and painful circumstances so try to minimize such occurrences. Isn't it obvious enough that no one with serious allergies wants to risk somethings like having their throat cut open, being on a respirator, perhaps having some residual brain damage, perhaps becoming a human vegeatable, or perhaps dying? Know what is even far, far worse? Seeing it happen to someone you love more than life; that is worse. Steve is allergic enough to whole male ferrets to land in the hospital in serious straits. I have not heard anyone hear laugh at heart damage; isn't the same courtesy only reasonable to expect by those who have allergies that can kill them at any time? [Posted in FML issue 3363]