3 allergy pet peeves – and what you can do about them
15th February 2023
3 allergy pet peeves – and what you can do about them
Allergies are already annoying enough, right? At their worst, they’re life-threatening. And even at their best, they can ruin your day, leaving you with constantly itchy eyes, a runny nose, or a scratchy throat. Your whole life has to adapt around them. To make matters worse, we all have those allergy pet peeves that make them that much harder.
It’s usually people around us who do them too. People not taking your condition seriously. People acting dumb when you tell them for the hundredth time that no, you can’t have gluten. They can really grind your gears. But we can’t help what other people do. We can only change what we do.
So here are three allergy pet peeve examples – and what you can do about them.
Hidden allergens in food and drink
Does this sound familiar: you go to a lovely restaurant and peruse the menu. Each dish has its ingredients listed underneath and they all sound amazing. You choose one that, based on what it says, you know you can eat. Then it arrives and – surprise – it actually has dairy in it. Or nuts. Or gluten. Despite not mentioning that.
With new legislation coming in all the time, this should become a thing of the past. But it doesn’t stop every instance of it happening. Then there are also those cases where it does list the ingredients, but not what those ingredients are actually made from. Like pesto, which is made with pine nuts. If you didn’t know, what could you do?
Our best advice is to get good at asking questions. You can learn a lot about how seriously a restaurant takes allergies by seeing how they respond. If your server is unsure – and definitely if the manager is unsure – then you know that they might not be the most trustworthy. Do this ahead of time to save yourself the effort and pick somewhere better.
People don’t take you seriously
What’s potentially worse than that situation? When your own family does it for you. It can be more dangerous, too. Your aunt isn’t going to have a menu with ingredients on it. And no matter how many times you tell her you can’t eat something with egg in it, she uses it anyway. After all, what’s the worst that can happen?
Or so she says. Yes, having people not take you seriously can have devastating consequences. Though, thankfully, public discourse on allergies is changing slowly.
What can you do in the meantime? All you can do is educate others and make sure you’re prepared. If you’re going to someone else’s for food, bring your own dish. And if the host feels insulted, calmly explain that this is for your own safety and not a reflection of their efforts. If they don’t accept that, it’s on them. What’s important is that you look out for your own health.
Constant symptoms
This one isn’t related to other people. It’s about your own body. Anyone with hay fever will know the feeling. You can’t enjoy a nice summer’s day because your eyes are constantly itching and your nose is bunged up, with no sign of relief. This can happen to anyone with environmental allergies, be it a reaction to dust, dander, or pollen.
Your best bet is to be proactive. Do what you can to prevent symptoms in the first place. In summer, get into a routine of taking antihistamines. Make sure you clean your house thoroughly and often. You’ll probably find yourself cleaning more than your friends and family, but that’s good if it stops you from suffering all day, every day.
Should we have to deal with these allergy pet peeves? No, but this is our lot in life, unfortunately. All we can do is react, be proactive, and stand up for ourselves. Whatever we can to ensure we’re safe, happy, and healthy. And if everyone else has a problem with that, well, that can be their pet peeve too.
Don’t let allergies bring you down. Ensure you have all the know-how you need to fight back and show them they don’t own you. To talk to one of our allergy specialists and receive helpful advice for your condition, register as a new patient or call us on 02031 433 449.