It’s 2024, and by now, we really should be able to accept someone’s claims of a food allergy or food sensitivity at face value. Unfortunately, there are still people out there who insist on ‘testing’ a person’s claims, just to see if they’re seeking attention.
And those tests can be life-threatening at best, cautioned the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITAH) subReddit.
Redditor Rude-Disaster1658 had a lifelong allergy to shellfish, which her family was aware of, so she was shocked when her sister served her a dinner that had shellfish in it, which landed her in the emergency room.
But when her sister owned up to not believing in her allergy and thought she was faking it, the Original Poster (OP) decided to report her to the police for trying to kill her.
She asked the sub:
“AITAH for calling the cops on my sister after she snuck shellfish into my food?”
The OP had a serious shellfish allergy.
“My sister (23 Female) and I (21 Female) have never had any issues until last week.”
“She and her husband (23 Male) had invited me over for lunch, which is normal for us.”
“I have a severe shellfish allergy, where even touching it makes me extremely itchy, and my sister is completely aware of this and has been since we were children.”
“When I was a young child, my sister witnessed me have a severe reaction and went to the hospital where I underwent treatment. She was also there when I was informed I had a shellfish allergy.”
Something terrible happened during lunch at the OP’s sister’s house.
“When I got to their house, she said that the food was already finished and in the fridge. She claimed that it was just tuna pasta (yes, I can eat tuna and many other fish, just nothing with a shell).”
“After she finished cleaning up, we had a short conversation about what’s been happening in our lives since it had been a while since we’d seen each other.”
“I got this strange feeling from her but just brushed it off as I was extremely tired that day.”
“She grabbed the food out of the fridge and served it to me, giving me a small bowl ‘in case I didn’t like it.'”
“I couldn’t smell much of it, and from what I could smell, I just assumed it was fish, but when I took a bite, l almost immediately felt my throat burning.”
“I was coughing and grabbing at my throat, and her husband kept asking me if I was choking.”
“My sister turned to me, panicking and saying, ‘I thought you were exaggerating!'”
The OP had to go to the emergency room.
“An ambulance was called, and I was rushed to the hospital. I was thankfully okay but they made me stay to be monitored for the next two days.”
“My sister and BIL (Brother-in-Law) tried to visit me, but I told my sister to get out.”
“She kept apologizing and refusing to leave.”
“I told her that l’d be calling the police on her for what she’d done, as it was literally attempted murder, and she lost it.”
“She kept screaming at me, saying, ‘I know you’re faking this! You always act like you’re allergic to shellfish, so I wanted to test you!'”
There were witnesses to what the OP’s sister had done.
“While she was screaming, I was pressing the call button for the nurse. They heard her from the hallway and asked me if I wanted them removed. I said yes.”
“I explained the whole situation to the nurse and the hospital security, and eventually decided that with the help of the nurse and security guards, l’d file a report against her.”
“My mother is saying I’m overreacting and that I should have just cut contact, but I don’t know anymore.”
“You may be wondering why I never had an EpiPen on me, and that’s because I didn’t feel the need to as she was my SISTER. I’m also not in America and was not prescribed an Epipen, so I’ve been saving up for one.”
“AITAH?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some thought the sister was trying to hurt the OP or was jealous of her allergy.
“NTA! Your sister was very aware of your allergy and has seen how you react. She absolutely intended to harm you!” – Crying_rn_pls_help
“NTA. This happened to my sister. Shellfish makes her violently ill and she had told her boyfriend, so he knew.”
“Sometime later, he had cooked them supper, and she quickly got very sick. He admitted to sneaking shellfish into the dinner because he didn’t believe her and thought she was exaggerating.”
“He was shocked at how sick she got and how fast. As soon as he admitted it, she threw him out and ghosted him. The OP needs to file that police report and then ghost her, too.” – dragonfly287
“The sister assumed that OP was just attention-seeking as a child, and never reconsidered her opinion when she got older. Or she’s such a narcissist that she wanted to ‘prove’ that OP wasn’t special and was FAKING AN ALLERGY (like what?!?).” – Dewhickey76
“Why would she care that much about proving something that quite literally doesn’t affect her life at all? She’s got problems. NTA.” – Anxious-Custard6208
“Some (golden) children have a need to be in control and to be in the center of attention.”
“Op’s allergy is outside of her control, AND gives OP some attention (a waiter taking longer to confirm and explain an order, for example), and that kind of people CANNOT stand others getting (more) attention than them.”
“So, they try and create scenarios where they are in control, or ‘expose’ the other for faking it…
And consequences (their victim being harmed, ending up dead) are something they do not care about it; this is ‘me me me’ situation…”
“So, reporting this is actually the only chance OP has to ‘teach’ this person ‘actions DO have consequences’ (and I wish she was in the US, because then she could claim the hospital bills on her too; there’s no need to pay for her sister’s audacity).” – SamuelVimesTrained
“OP never states whether the older sister is a ‘golden child,’ but it tracks. As such, the incident in childhood probably made her extremely jealous and angry, all of the attention suddenly on OP for something that isn’t considered an accomplishment. Just some ‘dumb’ allergy.”
“After that, every time OP became the subject of conversation simply due to the allergy, she was triggered all over again to the point that she started to live in denial that she actually saw the incident.”
“Either that or OP’s sister straight up tried to murder her but got cold feet when she saw it begin to actually unfold in front of her.” – Cinemaphreak
“The fact that mom was like ‘you’re overreacting’ makes me think it’s a golden child situation, like the mom doesn’t know about the shellfish allergy and how severe it is.”
“OP needs to go no contact with a couple of people.”
“Also, I’ve realized that sisters can have some VOLATILE relationships… more so than brothers, to be honest. I grew up with girls who were older sisters who literally HATED their younger sisters. They used to have knockdown, drag-out fights with one another… especially if they were pretty close in age like these two. They’re always competing. Think about it… they’re in school together for at least two years at all levels of school.”
“I played softball with two girls who were about a year apart in age….they were so mean to each other that it was wild. Like, they would say the meanest stuff imaginable to one another. I wouldn’t talk to my enemy the way they would talk to one another.”
“Unfortunately, the sister springing this on the OP seemingly out of nowhere doesn’t surprise me, and the OP needs to distance herself now to keep herself safe.” – amw38961
Others agreed and found the sister’s behavior to be unforgivable.
“NTA, holy f**k, the thought process of some people.”
“I think my sister might be faking her shellfish allergy. I did see her need to go to the hospital before, but she must have tricked everyone! Sure, I might kill her if I’m wrong, but if I’m right I’ll get to be smug and tell her that I wasn’t fooled!”
“Also, whatever compassion I had, wondering if it was too much to charge your sister for attempted murder (although that’s what it was), vanished the moment when you told her you’d be calling the police on you, and instead of apologizing profusely, she decided to double down and scream at you, still believing that you were faking it.”
“Do what you have to do, OP, because you’ll never be safe around your sister.” – Lopsided_Put4682
“This makes me wonder how OP’s BIL (Brother-in-Law) feels about this and how his wife is acting. I’d be very curious to know if he feels she went WAY too far and wants nothing to do with her anymore. I hope he does.”
“I’d also be cutting contact with the mom for telling me I’m overreacting to my sister LITERALLY TRYING TO KILL ME?!?! I guess we know who the golden child is in their family.” – EmberSolaris
“So your mom is the world’s top travel agent for guilt trips, and your little ‘episode’ may tarnish her precious child. How dare you not pack your bags and enjoy the view!”
“Seriously, NTA. I mean, I’ve seen my sister go to emergency care for a food reaction. It’s also a highly common food ingredient, and now the entire family is always on alert. And we all live in different houses but we are always conscious because we do visit each other often. Even my children were raised to be aware of ingredients! Because THAT’S MY SISTER!!!”
“What your mother and sister are trying to do to you is inexcusable.” – im2715
“NTA.”
“Your sister deliberately tried to poison you at best and murder you at worst. She knew that you were allergic. Even if she thought you were only mildly allergic, it’s generally known that repeated exposure to allergens can tip a mild reaction into anaphylactic shock.”
“Please continue to press charges, and don’t be persuaded to drop it. I would suggest speaking to a lawyer ASAP. I’m sad to say that it seems your mom is not on your side, you will need to get support from other people. You might want to point out to her that your sister attempted to kill you, knowing you were allergic.”
“Also, please get and carry your upcoming Epipen with you.” – firefly232
“OP, please also remember that while you’re okay now, your sister just increased your amount of repeated exposure, which puts you one step closer to anaphylactic shock.”
“Allergy testing showed that I had a food allergy to a favorite thing. I cheated for years because it only caused severe headaches, body aches, weakness, feeling like a truck hit, impending doom (yeah, that’s a real symptom), diarrhea, and similar. No hives, and the only breathing problem was panic from the impending doom feeling, sometimes triggering an anxiety attack.”
“One night at work, I started itching all over. I had hives covering a third of my body. …All from one too many exposures. I haven’t cheated since.”
“NTA, OP.” – PeachyFairyDragon
“NTA, and I’d go through with going to the police. Your sister literally admitted that she wanted to test your allergy, and she actually tried to kill you to see if you were really allergic. Then even after what happened, she still claims you are faking it, as if the entire hospital is cooperating with you in order to fake it all.”
“Is your sister quite alright in the head? I’d file charges before she does this with someone else and actually succeeds in getting them killed. She’s a danger to anyone with an allergy like that, which could someday include one of her children.”
“As for your mother, I don’t think you are overreacting at all after your sister tried to kill you. Instead, your mother seems to be underreacting after what happened. She probably doesn’t want your sister to possibly face jail and such, which is why she’s asking you not to file. But by doing that, she’s prioritizing your sister’s life over yours, her reputation over your safety. NTA.” – Corodix
“NTA. File charges against her. You don’t test someone’s allergies out of your own curiosity. Actions have consequences, and hers just happen to be bad.”
“She should be thankful you didn’t die. You could show her grace, but she doesn’t seem to be remorseful of her actions.” – Gheshifette
After receiving feedback, the OP shared an update in another post.
“Update! This morning, I went into the police station and, with the help of the nurse who overheard everything, filed a report.”
“I wanted to know what I could do, and they said that they could realistically only give me a temporary protective order while we wait for the court date where the judge will decide what’s best.”
“The hospital also has cameras, so I’ll ask the hospital if that can be used as evidence in court, or even with the police as I still need to write a statement.”
“Other than that, I’m almost fully recovered and will return to work tomorrow. I know it’s a short update, but that’s all I’ve got for you guys.”
The subReddit would certainly be pleased to hear that the OP was following through with filing a police report against her sister and that she was feeling well enough after her allergy exposure to go back to work.
No matter what the judge eventually decides, the OP clearly needed to go no contact with her sister and mother, if not additional family members, as well. By prioritizing jealousy, reputations, and golden children over someone’s life-threatening allergies, the family was not acting like family at all, but just another danger in the OP’s life.