11 Things You Should Never Say to Someone With Food Allergies

11 Things You Should Never Say to Someone With Food Allergies

The Worst Advice I’ve Ever Been Given In Regards To My Food Allergies

Here are some of the worst pieces of advice I have received over the years in regards to my food allergies. While I believe that all of these people were giving me their “advice” with the best of intentions, I can’t help but think about how comical the advice really is. Just goes to show we still have a lot of community education to do.

Disclaimer: Before reading these pieces of “advice”, please note that none of this “advice” should be attempted without consulting your doctor.

  1. “You should try eating little bits of your allergens every day and build up a tolerance.”
    ~PreMed Student who thinks they are a doctor​
  2. “Next time you have an anaphylactic reaction, give yourself your epipen in your heart like on TV and see what happens.”
    ~Fellow leadership conference attendee
  3. “When you are ready to die, go buy foods you are allergic to and just eat them, but don’t use your epipen. That way you can die happy and on your own terms.”
    ~High school classmate
  4. “Do online college, you won’t be able to handle regular college with your food allergies.”
    ~ER Nurse
  5. “Don’t get vaccines–they cause food allergies”
    ~Facebook “Friend”
  6. “Have you tried probiotics? They fixed my friend’s gut health and got rid of her food allergies.”
    ~Whole Food’s Cashier
  7. “You should have tried your inhaler first, even if your lips were swelling.”
    ~Paramedic after my school nurse gave me my epipen for an anaphylactic reaction
  8. “If I were you, I would just stay in my house. That way I could never be exposed to allergens and never have an allergic reaction.”
    ~College Classmate
  9. “What if you took Benadryl every day before eating what you are allergic to. Kind of like a Lactaid pill.”
    ~Pharmacy Student
  10. “Perhaps you need to get rid of your sins and then you will stop having allergic reactions.”
    ~Religious group leader
  11. “Hold food you aren’t sure if you are allergic to in one hand and hold out your other arm so that it is perpendicular with your body. Hold your arm ridged. Then have someone try and push down your arm while you resist. If they can push your arm down, you are allergic to the food you are holding. If they can’t push your arm down, you aren’t allergic to it.
    ~Food Allergy Mom

Share some of the bad advice you’ve been given in the comments below.