5 Life-Threatening Mistakes I Made When Traveling With Food Allergies

Learn from the biggest mistakes I have made when traveling abroad with food allergies!

Affiliate Disclosure: You should assume the owner of this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection, to any suppliers of goods and services that may be discussed here and may be compensated for showing advertisements or recommending products or services, or linking to the supplier’s website.

In Spring of 2011 that I was officially diagnosed with my food allergies. Before that time I had done a lot of traveling. I remember I would start packing for a trip the night before we would leave. It seemed like I could just throw things in a bag and go!

Then I had some serious allergic reactions. They landed me in ERs and urgent care centers on more than one occasion. After that, I had to take a serious look at how I approached travel.

One of the harsh realities of living with food allergies is: flying by the seat of your pants is not an option.

Planning ahead for a trip makes a big difference! It can impact whether or not I enjoy the trip while feeling great or if I felt sick the whole time. Even more than that, it can actually be the difference between life and death.

Here are the 5 life-threatening mistakes I have made when traveling:

1. Not Packing My Own Food

“I am sure I will be able to find something to eat wherever we are!”. That is actually what I thought to myself on more than one occasion while packing last minute.

Ohhhh Tessa, the naiveté!

I would put things off to the last minute, counting on the airport to have food I could eat. I don’t even want to count the amount of times I did not find food options at an airport. Then I had to board a flight that was 8 hours or longer without any idea of whether or not I could have any of the food they would be serving. Unfortunately I rarely could!

So I couldn’t eat before I left home. I didn’t bring anything with me to eat. Then I was going to a country where I didn’t know what would be available in the stores. I really didn’t even know when I would be able to have something to eat again.

Of course, it is possible to survive without food for those hours! But, having low blood sugar and being hangry often doesn’t make for a pleasant travel experience.

There have also been numerous times I have taken an all day tour. Even though lunch was included in the tour and the company may have claimed they could accommodate my allergies, I was left without a meal. When the food was set in front of me, it was clear that something got lost in translation.

Having food allergies means that sometimes I feel like ALL I think about is food! This feeling gets even stronger when I get hungry and feel hopeless about my options. It isn’t a pleasant experience for me or for my travel companions.

I have had to come up with ways to deal with my food anxiety. The best way to do this is to always bring my own snacks. It helps to ensure I wont fall into the trap of eating something questionable that could make me sick.

Packing a variety of delicious snacks and calorie dense foods is key. Items that can easily be put in a carry-on bag or purse is the easiest way to make sure I don’t get too hungry. I don’t want to fall prey to trying something that could have dangerous repercussions for my health.

For more information, check out my article about The Best Allergy-Friendly Snacks For Traveling

2. Not Packing The Proper Medications

Prior to having my food allergy diagnosis I would travel the world without so much as an ibuprofen on hand. I have often taken for granted that many medications are easily accessible throughout the United States. I had – incorrectly – assumed the same would be true for many other places around the world.

This habit quickly came to a halt after a spring break trip to Mexico in 2012. As I always do, I informed the waiter at the restaurant where we were eating of my food allergies. I was assured my food was fine. As it turns out, it wasn’t fine. Within about 20 minutes, I needed to take an antihistamine for horrible itchy and swelling ears.

Looking back I don’t think I had ingested much of an allergen, yet clearly the food was contaminated. This instantly brought on waves of anxiety! We cut our meal short and rushed to find the closest pharmacy. I wanted to load up on medication to could keep the symptoms at bay.

At the pharmacy and I asked them for Benadryl or a similar antihistamine for treating allergy symptoms. It was immediately obvious that there was a serious language barrier!

After some back and forth it seemed she understood what I needed as she held up a box and nodded her head emphatically. I said “gracias”, paid for the little white box of individually wrapped pills, and headed back to the hotel.

Once back in the room, I decided to it would be wise to use the hotel’s WiFi to research. I wanted to verify the medication I was given was the correct option for the situation.

As it turns out, instead of Benadryl, they had given me Ambien! Whoops.

This experience often comes to my mind as a reminder to plan ahead. Now I pack more medications than I think I might need for a trip.

“Plan for the worst and hope for the best” is the motto for anyone creating their own medication kit for travel.

I believe it is also important to me to create two separate bags of medications. One bag for a carry-on and one for checked luggage. That way if a bag gets lost or something happens in an airport or during a flight, they will always be readily available to manage symptoms.

For more information, check out my article about How To Create Your Own First Aid Kit For Travel

3. Not Making A Restaurant Plan

All of us love to travel and explore the city on foot. I have watched many travel shows and read numerous travel blogs where they describe finding a restaurant by wandering down the streets in the city. Then when they get hungry, they just stop in a nearby cafe for a bite to eat.

As someone with so many food allergies, this particular type of exploration is a recipe for disaster.

I will admit, I have tried it in the past. While traveling with friends or family, it can be tiring to always feel like you’re the “difficult” one. Once, my well-intentioned travel companions saw a sign in a window advertising “gluten free options” in Italy. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to slow the group down, I agreed to give it a shot.

As we were seated and I was handed a menu, I asked the server what options I could have. Unfortunately, the options were for gluten free crusts or pasta, but all would have come prepared from the same tiny kitchen. That meant there was no way to ensure there was no cross-contamination.

In this particular instance, I felt thankful that the server was honest about the potential for cross-contamination instead of promising me a meal that could have caused a serious reaction. This hasn’t always been the case.

I have learned from experiences like this one that making a restaurant plan is the best way to make sure I am confident in my food options and can always have a place to suggest that will suit my needs and the needs of my fellow travelers.

As I map out my daily itineraries, I make sure to add to the list any of the allergy-friendly restaurants I have researched that are in the same vicinity. This way I always know of at least one option within walking distance of our activities.

For more information, check out my article about How To Create An Allergy-Friendly Eating Plan When Traveling.

4. Not Refilling My Prescriptions

Anyone with severe allergies knows, once you have had anaphylaxis you never forget the experience.

As a result, carrying an epinephrine autoinjector like an EpiPen or Auvi-q is something that has become somewhat of a security blanket for me.

On a daily basis I carry two in my purse at all times. I can’t imagine leaving home without at least one on me!

When I first received the EpiPens, no one had explained to me how to know when they had expired and how often I needed to get new ones to make sure they would still be effective. This meant that at one point, I had been carrying around expired products which could have been disastrous if I needed to use them.

Nowadays before I leave on a trip I make sure to check the dates on all of my epinephrine autoinjectors to make sure they are not expired and if they are getting close to the expiration date, I reach out to my physician to ask for a new prescription.

I personally always bring 4 with me when traveling abroad. Much like my other medications, I have two in my carry on and two in my checked luggage to ensure I am covered in case of emergency.

5. Not Trusting My Gut

Being raised in the Midwest, we were taught to be “Minnesota Nice”. Our Scandinavian roots teach us not to make a big deal of things and we are socialized to not inconvenience others with our words or actions.

This can be a pleasant trait to have in some parts of life, but when dealing with food allergies this “niceness” can be my achilles heel.

I can think of one specific time when I went to a very highly rated and high-end restaurant in New York City. Our waiter approached the table, I informed them of my food allergies, and asked which items I might be able to order. This was necessary at this particular restaurant because the ingredients for the dishes were not listed on the menu. The waiter informed me of my options and I placed an order for an appetizer.

When it arrived at the table the food was covered in a bright red sauce. I asked the staff if there was tomato in the sauce and was told no, it was fine for me to eat.

Here’s the thing, of all of my allergies, the trickiest to accommodate seems to be tomato. I think because it isn’t a common allergy it can often throw off staff at restaurants which is why I was extra cautious.

Looking at the sauce, my gut told me this wasn’t right. It was uncomfortable because I had been told it was all allergen-free but how could it be? I sat looking at the food for about 15 minutes without touching it before I was approached by manager. He asked what was wrong with my food that I had not eaten any of it. I uncomfortably told him my allergies and he left to double check the ingredients.

He returned to inform me that yes, it should be fine for me to eat. I asked what ingredient would make the sauce red, and in a very condescending voice he stated “The sauce DOES NOT contain tomato but there is tomato paste in it, do you understand?”

I looked at him dumbfounded. Yes I did understand, and what I understood was that I was right all along!

Luckily, this was a time I had listened to my gut instead of falling prey to the internal pressure I felt to “not make a fuss”.

I have learned that no one else will care as much as I do about making sure things are acceptable for me to eat. It is my responsibility to double and triple check when something seems off, even if it is awkward. If my gut tells me not to risk it, I wont!

I have learned that talking directly with the chef has been the easiest way for me to feel comfortable with the food I am eating. They know each and every ingredient they put into their food and will be able to let me know if my needs cannot be accommodated.

Do you need to work on these skills too? Check out my article about How To Tactfully Send Food Back At A Restaurant.

Conclusion

I hope you are able to learn from my mistakes in order to avoid any life-threatening circumstances when traveling. It takes extra work to plan, double check and pack the appropriate medications, and to be uncomfortable when double checking that a meal is acceptable to eat, but in the end it is worth it when you’re able to travel without fear!

What mistakes have you made when traveling with food allergies? How have you learned to handle them?

My Travel Must-Haves: