A Day in the Life of a Teenager with Food Allergies

It wasn't until my friend was diagnosed with food allergies that I realized just how much my allergies impact my life.Some days are less allergy-focused, and some are more, but this is a pretty standard day in my life. I marked every time allergies came up in conversation or in my actions. Looking back, there are things that I use on a daily basis without thinking about it: medicines, allergen-free toothpaste/mouthwash, allergen-free makeup, etc, that are also impacted by my allergies. But, I only ever see allergy moms posting about their lives with allergic kids or about their kids' allergic lives. This is how allergic teenagers live.



5:30am - Had to move my Epi Kit from my purse to my backpack, even though I also have epinephrine in the school nurses' office and in the lunchroom.

7:00 - Breakfast! Already at school and the applesauce they have doesn't have an ingredient label. Luckily I brought an allergen-free muffin (which I devoured before I remembered to take a picture). One person who saw me eating it asked me if allergen-free food tastes as good as the "real thing." I told her that I've never had what she eats, so this is my real thing.

9:00 - A friend said she pitied me for not being able to eat Oreos. I manage to live.

10:00 - I wondered what strawberry milk tastes like. Nobody was able to explain it but from what I heard, I'm not missing out on much.

12:25pm - Checked the school's list of what pieces of lunch I can eat. Either rice or tomato soup, apparently. (It says I can have the hamburger pattie, but I can't have the bun or cheese, which are already touching the pattie. Not worth the trouble of special ordering a beef disc.)

12:30 - Bought food from the cafeteria without major drama but two lunch ladies questioned my lack of protein.

5:00 - Checked restaurant website for allergen information so I can go to dinner with friends. Hey, look, dessert I can have! Thank you for listing ingredients online.

5:30 - Moved my Epi Kit back to my purse.

6:00 - Triple checked cross-contamination policies and ingredients at the restaurant. The teenagers working there weren't the brightest. "Can I please see your ingredient lists?" "Are you sure? It's a really big binder." "Yes, I'm sure."

9:00 - Celebrated making it through three meals (and a few snacks) without my throat swelling shut! Checked Pinterest and blogged about my day. Let's do it again tomorrow.