Kissing and Allergic Teens

Who would have thought that life for allergic teens could get even more complicated than they already are? Now it seems that they need to worry about something that is a normal part of growing up and something every teen thinks about. What will their first kiss be like!

A teen’s first kiss is the rite of passage that every teen dreams about and experiences sometime in their life. In fact, the innocent first kiss is a favorite subject among many teen writers and the Hollywood film industry.

Who doesn’t remember the scene from the coming of age tale, Sixteen Candles, where sixteen year old, Samantha finally gets a kiss from her dreamy crush, Jake Ryan.

Or from one of my favorite movies, Pride and Prejudice, where Mr. Darcy leans over to kiss Lizzie on the forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks and then her mouth all the while saying “Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy.” Which by the way was not in Jane Austin's book or in the European version.

Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic but I believe that, good or bad experience, everyone remembers their first kiss. But for those teens with food allergies, their first kiss can be one of terrible fear or anxiety— What if they ate something I’m allergic too? What if I am too embarrassed to tell them about my allergies? Maybe I won’t tell them and see what happens? These are all serious questions for those kids with allergies.

This recent article from Time Magazine's Health and Family titled How My Nut Allergy Made Me More Monogamous http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/16/how-nut-allergies-made-me-monogamous/ is a great “read” on this subject. The author, who is now out of college and has been through the teen years, talks about what dating has been like with severe allergies. She admits there were times when she was younger and took chances that could have ended up badly because she was too embarrassed to talk about her allergies. She admits that she was not acting smart at the time and urges other teens not to do the same, “… I worry that young teens will act as recklessly as I have, with dire consequences.”

It is for this reason that we have already had a brief, age appropriate talk about our allergic teen being very careful. I hate to think about my 13 year old being interested in boys but I am also realistic to know that just like Samantha or Lizzie, her first kiss will happen whether I want it to or not. I just hope, for her, it is much, much later!