When I was a baby, I was constantly sick anytime I would eat anything with dairy, but it was my first bite of mac and cheese that sent me into anaphylactic shock. After this, the doctors ran tests to diagnose my other, equally as severe, allergies to peanuts, eggs, fish, and shellfish. While I have not grown out of my allergies as we had hoped that I would, I would say we have overcome them mentally by changing our attitude towards my allergies. When I say “our” I mean to include my family, as I know I could not have had the full life that I have despite my food allergies without them. The road hasn’t been easy, but I have learned to see the blessing in the struggle. For one, not a day or a meal goes by that I am not grateful for the safe foods that I can eat. Secondly, my allergies have inspired me to reach out to the greater food allergy community, and have fueled my passion for helping others with severe food allergies which has inspired me to consider adding a Nutrition track as my second major, so I will be able to work as a registered dietitian specializing in helping children with severe food allergies. My greatest hope is to encourage anyone with food allergies to not let it hold them back mentally or make them feel any less than anyone else! Our differences shouldn’t be seen as a hindrance, but as a unique gift that we get to use for good if we decide to.
My allergies primarily involve avoidance of the foods, so no medication on a regular basis, however, I never leave the house without Benadryl, my inhaler, and my EpiPen. I have kept up with my allergist for skin testing and blood tests to keep tabs on the status of my allergies, so I have never had to search for information on my own based on my symptoms. I will say, though, that we are constantly researching new allergy finds and studies, and actually considered OIT, Oral Immunotherapy, as a possibility after a great deal of research a few years back! In general, FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) is a wonderful resource for food allergy news, but there are many more up and coming resource and informational platforms that I have recently discovered such as EpiCenter and the EpiCenter app by AssureTech.