I'm allergic to mint... that means spearmint, peppermint, mint mint, coleus plants, catnip, and anything with square stems. I don't fly because half the passengers in a closed air system are chewing mint gum or lozenges, tic-tacs, those melt in your mouth paper-looking things and all those other things to freshen one's personal aroma. And then there are "herbal blend" teas, they usually have mint of some sort. Mint is one of the cheapest additives on the market, I think, so it is in a high percentage of consumer goods... it is a weed after all.
I have learned to recognize labeling for things that don't claim they have mint like green packaging (or green product), the descriptive terms like cool, refreshing, fresh, medicated and such. Going to the dentist requires a ten second reminder that I can't handle mint or latex so they have to find nonminted floss, rinse, cleaning paste and gloves/mouth guards.
It sucks, I make my own toothpaste and avoid persons who are chewing gum. The check out line in any store is a nightmare with all that gum and breath mints all over the place. Some coffee shops put mint on top of my espresso and I have to give it back and ask for another, because I didn't notice that they were going to do that until the last moment for presentation, same with garnish at the better restaurants I dine at. Some remember that I will send anything with mint back.
And I can't digest peanuts and many meats either as well as lactose problems.
But I'm am not in as miserable a dietary plight as one of my good friends who has issues with, dairy, gluten, and a whole bunch of other foods. At one point, when she was finding out about these food issues, we thought she was allergic to food, period. I can avoid mint but it takes a lot of total attention wherever I go. Oh, and I can't tolerate hops either, beer makes me puke within minutes after tasting it.
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