Emily Smith is a 16 year old teenager with severe food
allergies to tree-nuts. I found her blog teenfoodallergies by accident when I was researching
about teens with allergies. After reading Emily’s blog, I immediately liked
her. She is a teenager who is going through her teen years with confidence and
a sense of humor in spite of her severe food allergies.
In one of her posts “The Dangers of Chutney” she describes
her terrifying reaction one Thanksgiving to some chutney that has walnuts in
it. Emily describes her physical and emotional reaction to the chutney with
such total honesty that showed a lot of courage. Emily writes “i panicked, texted my
boyfriend that i was scared i was going to die.” She goes on to write “My
mom and sister surrounded me and hugged me, trying to calm me down, and
eventually i did. My mom then informed me that she would have to give me
an epi-pen.” They then went to
the hospital where she was given meds through an IV and was eventually sent
home.
For most people with food allergies, their reactions to food
allergens is few and far between, which is a good thing, but when a reaction
does occur, panic sets in. It helps to have someone there to help you calm down
and administer the Epi-pen. Emily has advice for those teens with food
allergies.
- “Freaking out” is not a good thing. You should take deep breaths and stay calm.
- “Trust your gut.” If you think you are having a reaction, then you probably are having a reaction.
- If you can, find someone to help you (friends, family members).
- The Epi-pen does not hurt that much so do not be afraid to use it if you need it.
I read this post to my daughter and told her that I now have
a better understanding of what she goes through when she has a reaction. I also
told her to please listen to Emily’s advice if a reaction does occur. We need
to have more teens expressing the struggles they go through on a daily basis. I
hope Emily continues to post to her blog so that other teens, including my
daughter, can learn from her.
Hello! I found your blog when I was actually on Emily's the other day! I enjoyed reading your recent blog posts because I too am a teen with food "issues". Unlike your daughter and Emily I do not have any allergies but I have an extremely restrictive diet because of countless food sensitivities. I recently published an eBook, A Teenager's Perspective on Food Restrictions: A Practical Guide to Keep from Going Crazy, on Amazon! It can be linked to on my blog/storefront called Edible Attitudes (edibleattitudes.wordpress.com). After reading your story and knowing that you have a teenage daughter I thought this might interest you. Best of luck with everything, especially the new school year!
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for visiting our blog. We would love to check out your eBook. I am sure it would be very helpful to my daughter and many other teens with food allergies and sensitivities. Good luck with your blog and eBook.
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