By: Courtney Zwick
High school and college can be challenging years for teens in general, but when facing food allergies there are additional social pressures and concerns that can be dangerous or even life threatening. Growing up with food allergies, I am experiencing the increased independence and progression from being completely dependent on my parents for managing my food allergies and taking care of me, to now having to navigate these situations and decisions on my own.
When I was one and a half years old and diagnosed with food allergies, my parents obviously were around me for every meal. They prepared my snacks, my meals and ordered for me when we were at restaurants. They had their eyes on me constantly observing for allergic reactions and always had my epinephrine pens close by. With each year that passes, my independence and time away from my parents has increased. This separation and independence have come with new stages and ways of managing my food allergies.
During my middle school years my food allergy precautions closely matched how I watched my parents handle them. I was able to turn down cupcakes at parties and brought my own snacks. I never shared water bottles or drinks with friends and kissing was not even a thought in my mind. My friends were aware of my food allergies and would advocate for me as well.
By the time I started high school, I saw myself becoming a little looser with my precautions. It had been a while since I had any type of allergic reaction so perhaps, I had a false sense of security, and it reinforced these more lenient and carefree decisions when it came to food. I would take a bite of a bakery cupcake if it didn’t appear to have nuts. I was definitely tempted by my favorite sweets and hated feeling like I was left out of a fun social interaction. Sweaty and thirsty at a dance competition, I would impulsively grab my friend's water bottle, sharing her drink. Parties and boys started to enter the social scene. Do you ask someone if they had peanut butter before kissing them? Do you even trust the answer or ability for someone to honestly recall everything they ate in a day? These were the realistic thoughts and concerns that I saw myself having to manage on my own and quick decision making became even more important. I also hate being a “diFFicult,” customer at a restaurant where I must ask a lot of questions when I am out to dinner with my friends. Another issue is bringing and remembering my epinephrine pen everywhere I go—school, dance, a friend’s house or to the beach. My parents and the adults responsible for me always had one on them and nearby. Suddenly I’m at a friend’s house but we walk over to another house and I have left my epi pen at the first house. No one is carrying bags. I don’t want the burden of bringing one and want to fit in with what everyone else is doing (one helpful tip…Lululemon makes great belt bags to carry all the essentials and even makes a nano mini case that is small and discrete but fits Auvi-Q and Benadryl. This has been a stylish lifesaver for me). These small and sometimes careless decisions can have major life consequences and I must put aside some of my embarrassment or what feels “annoying,” and realize they are potential life saving decisions.
The teenage brain has an element of believing we are invincible and nothing bad will happen. Sometimes I still fall for that, and my parents constantly remind me that it takes one minute for a serious deadly reaction to appear and I must have my epinephrine pen and Benadryl on me. I have learned some lessons the hard way too. I have had three anaphylactic reactions the last couple years, all requiring epi pens and a couple in different countries. These scary moments are a quick wakeup call of how serious my reactions can be and how life saving these medications are. The panic I would have felt if my medicine and epi pen were not near me is unimaginable. I try to remind myself of these moments when my teenage brain thinks it’s no big deal to go somewhere without my epi pen nearby. With college quickly approaching, I will be taking one bigger step towards independence and may likely even be in a different state with a whole new set of social pressures and challenges regarding my food allergies. Remembering to carry my epi pen from room to room, or even to parties may be a hassle; but if I set up that routine from the beginning, I believe it will make it easier and I won’t forget or feel embarrassed by something I need to bring that is lifesaving. I think it is also important to train roommates, significant others, and hall mates on how to use these medicines and let everyone know where they are located on you or in your room (wearing a medical bracelet can also be helpful and bring quick awareness to your allergies).
Learning to manage food allergies, advocate for yourself and manage social pressures and norms as a teenager is not easy. It is a continuous learning process but one that can have grave consequences if not handled well. I am trying my best to learn from my mistakes and grow in my awareness. One benefit to the social challenges of having food allergies is that it has given me great confidence in advocating for myself, my safety, and my life, while still managing to have fun and be a teenager.
Comments