I’ve had allergies since the day I was born, starting with an allergic reaction to powder latex gloves as a baby. From that day forward, my list of allergies went from a few items to a novel in the past 21 years. I pretty much have some of the most common food allergies including seafood, peanuts, and shellfish. In elementary and middle school, I was the reason children in my classes couldn’t have peanut butter or peanuts in the classroom.

I’m not going to lie having allergies is the absolute worse, but I’ve learned to manage. With the price of EpiPens constantly rising, keeping my allergies in check is a top priority. People constantly ask me what it’s like living with allergies and today I’m going to share. The struggles of food allergies can be categorized into five areas: grocery shopping, dating and eating out. Here is a brief look into my daily struggle.

Grocery Shopping

I moved away from home when I went to college and having a meal plan was essentially like being home. I wasn’t responsible for grocery shopping or preparing meals. Now that I have my own apartment cooking and meal prep is essential if I don’t want to eating out everyday. I have my staple items, but occasionally I want to try something different. Anytime I want to try something new, I have to read labels and Google unfamiliar ingredients. This is because my allergies are so severe that even the slightest contact can have a huge impact on my health. Trust me allergic reactions are not cute and neither is hospitals.

Dating

Dating is a struggle within itself, but when you have allergies it can get complicated. When I’m in a relationship, I need a full food summary of your day before you can kiss me. You may think this is dramatic, however, I’ve seen too many horror stories on the news about someone with food allergies dying from a kiss. If see them coming in for a kiss I will quickly ask have you had *insert allergies here* today, if so would you mind going to clean up before kissing me. I know it sound like a I’m a difficult person, but usually once I tell that person about my allergies they take it upon themselves to clean up before arrival.

Home Cooked Food and Eating Out

People who don’t know me would say that I’m a picky eater, but honestly I just like to play it safe. Eating out whether it’s at a restaurant or at a friends house can quickly turn into 21 questions. Regardless of where I am, I have to get a detailed description of the ingredients and how it’s cooked before placing an order or fixing a plate. Are there any shellfish, nuts or seafood? Does the kitchen cross contaminated seafood and chicken? What type of grease is used? The list can go on, but I try to stick with the basics because I hate annoying waitress with my problems. To put this in perspective, I have never and will never be able to eat at Chick-Fil-A because they use peanut oil.

For years I thought I was an odd ball for having allergies, but as I got older I realized that millions of Americans suffer from some form of allergies. And that my struggles are just one of millions.