Your parents and grandparents will probably tell you many stories of when they were young and what they got up to. You won’t, however, hear them talking about the various allergies that they had, because for some reason when there were younger, allergies were not as predominant as they are today. However, allergies are a real danger and in many cases they can lead to the loss of life. Some reactions can be pretty small and involve the swelling of the tongue and maybe a rash on the body, and you just have to stop eating this particular type of food and you will recover shortly. For others, however, the reaction can trigger breathing difficulties and they need to get to a hospital as soon as possible. There is no cure for allergies, so people who have them, need to keep their wits about them when ordering food at restaurants, and when buying food in supermarkets.
Many hospitals use medical Logistics from Rhenus High Tech to ensure that vital medicine arrives on time and in perfect condition, so that if you do have a particularly nasty reaction to food, they will have the answer in the form of an EpiPen or some other essential injection. However, you should be trying to avoid having to go to the hospital at all, and if you follow these excellent tips, then you shouldn’t have to.
- Always read the label – When you go food shopping, always take time to read the labels on the containers to see if there are any additives that you are allergic to. This might make shopping a lot longer than it normally would be, but it is time well spent. Do not get complacent and assume that the ingredients of a particular product will not change, because they might. Make sure that you read the label every time you shop for an item, even though you may have bought it numerous times before.
- Be careful when cooking – We all want to create our foodie dream, but in doing so, we need to make sure that there is no cross contamination. If you have allergies, it is always a good idea to have two different kinds of cooking utensils, so that a knife used to cut the food item that you are allergic to, doesn’t end up being the same one that you use to butter your toast. The same applies when you dine out at a restaurant. You need to make sure that the waiter is aware that you are allergic to certain ingredients, and that they make this known to the chef. For guidance on how to deal with allergies within the food business, please have a look here.
If you don’t already have one, make sure that you wear a medical ID bracelet that tells everything about your food allergy, and if you have been prescribed medication like an EpiPen, make sure that you always take it with you.