Living With A Nut Allergy: Is It Really That Hard?

When I was seven, me and my family found out (after a very rough afternoon in A&E that involved a lot of coughing and itching) that I had a nut allergy. I remember being ecstatic that my name would be up on the board in the school cafeteria as one of those students with dietary requirements, but I knew that this meant being more cautious when looking at food labels and ingredients lists. Nearly fifteen years have passed since having that reaction, and I haven’t had another one since. 

How have I managed? Well, as I mentioned, I am incredibly cautious when it comes to looking at things I’m buying when food shopping. Sometimes overly so (of course they don’t have nuts in Alex, they’re meatballs), but you can never be too careful and sometimes that comes in handy. When you buy yourself a box of brownies only to discover they’ve got walnuts in, you feel a little bit stupid. 

Definitely the worst feeling is when you’ve gone out for food, and because you’re the one person with a food allergy the entire process of looking at a menu and ordering food takes much longer than normal. The endless umming and erring, the nervous anticipation as the waiters fetch the ‘allergy book’, and the laughs from relatives you’ve never met who appreciate the absurdity of the whole situation. It’s annoying when you spend the entire night hoping for chocolate cake or a brownie, only to discover your safe options are either ice cream or fruit salad.

The main thing I find annoying, at least in my personal experience, is that my allergy is nowhere near as severe as others. I carry an Epipen, but I’ve luckily never needed it. No matter the severity of the allergy, you’re always treated like it’s lethal. I remember going on a school trip and not being allowed to go near a certain teacher for the rest of the day because she’d had a Cornetto. That’s how over-the-top it is sometimes. Like I know you mean well, but that’s a bit much. Also, I’m sick of whenever people assume I can’t have something because it says ‘may contain nuts.’ I’ve never eaten something with that warning on that has made me have a reaction. 

Still, I’ve never let my allergy impede on what foods I eat and you eventually get used to all the palava when ordering food in restaurants. It’s a common allergy and if you know what you’re doing it’s easy to live your life without it having a burden on you. It would just be nice if I could have a dessert in a restaurant once in a while without holding up service to look in a recipe book.