Helping Your Loved Ones Understand Your Allergies

Helping Your Loved ones to Understand Your Allergies

Food allergies can be a difficult thing to understand, especially for people who have never experienced any themselves. When it comes to explaining your allergies to loved ones, it can be hard to communicate how serious they could be. In this blog post, we have come up with a few tips for how to educate those around you about food allergies and raise awareness in a gentle yet effective way. Read on to learn more!

Patience is key

If someone has no previous experience or knowledge of food allergies, it can be a lot to wrap their head around. Take things slowly, and explain in detail (or write down) what foods you cannot eat, and why you cannot eat them. You may need to go over this a few times for it to sink in properly, and not take it personally especially if it’s not top of mind for them. Make sure you lead with the most important information, and put things into words so that everyone can understand. The more people understand your situation, the less likely it is that there will be any issues going forward. 

Be direct and detailed

While you don’t want to scare anyone, it is best to be as direct and detailed as possible when it comes to explaining food allergies. Don’t leave anything open to interpretation and explain what can happen and how serious it can be if you ingest an allergen which you know is dangerous for you. It’s OK to let your loved ones know that you may not be comfortable going to certain restaurants and such because the place may not cater to your allergens well. Give examples to help people visualise what can happen to you. Walk people through everything, even the simple details.

Use the resources you have

Millions of other people have gone through this before. It can help to give information from trusted sources, such as an educational handouts. You can find plenty of resources online, and with other people’s personal experiences around talking to their families about their allergies, so you can find out what worked and what didn’t. 

Give time to ask questions

Although you might think you’ve explained it all, some things may still be unclear for those you are trying to educate. Ask them if they have any questions, and make sure they fully understand what you are trying to get across. It can be a good idea to provide people with a written copy of important information, so if they have any questions later, they can refer to that.

Teach them how to respond to a reaction

Although it is the worst-case scenario, teaching the people around you how to respond to a reaction can reinforce the seriousness of the situation. Discuss your anaphylaxis emergency plan with them and show them how to use your auto injector.

Ensuring that those around you understand the potential seriousness of your food allergy, and what they need to do if you require their help can bring everybody involved a little peace of mind. When it comes to food allergies, the more you know, the better equipped you are. If you arm your family and friends with knowledge too, then they can help you as you navigate life with an allergy.

We can help make things simple

Here at myWellaBee, we understand the challenges that come with a food allergy, and we’ve come up with a solution to make life a little bit easier to find suitable food for people with allergies. 

If you’re searching for safe food for your family or loved ones, myWellaBee makes it easy to search for their needs by adding their unique profile, so you can find suitable products!