Using Food Allergy And Dietary Translation Cards For Your Next Vacation

I have a life-threatening food allergy to dairy and all milk protein. Some people who share my situation will stay at home because of it. Fortunately, is incredibly easy to plan a trip around food allergies. I have not let my dairy allergy impede my adventures, and I’m here to tell you reasons you shouldn’t.

The Austrian Train Story

This is one of my scariest travel stories…just a forewarning. Upon boarding a 6.5 hour train ride from Zurich to Linz, I knew I needed to load up on protein so I wouldn’t be starving.

I went into a store at the train station and bought a salad with chicken with no dairy.

HOWEVER, in the most confusing day of my dairy-allergy filled life, I ate this “safe for me” salad on the train and quickly turned purple. My friends noticed this, and I said at first, “I’m fine, it’s just a salad.”

However, tears fell down my face (I wasn’t crying, believe me. Heading to Linz thrilled me). And my lips blew up. I looked like a Kardashian.

I went to the bathroom and instantly felt queasy. There was a 75% chance I reacted to this salad. The other 25% is unknown, or perhaps I reacted to the beer I drank the night prior? I felt great the morning of the train day.

I still don’t know what the reason was, but the preservatives that kept this salad fresh in a train station grocery store could’ve given me an anaphylactic allergic reaction. I was nervous on this day-long train ride where there was no medical staff.

I thought I would die. Even after taking my EpiPen injection, I needed to go to the ER immediately. The epinephrine only buys me a certain amount of hours.

To keep myself alive, I needed a friend to tell the conductor to stop the train which held thousands of commuters/travelers.

However, I told my friends to give me Benadryl and give the effects of the reaction another 15-20 minutes before I ruined this train journey for everyone else.

The Benadryl and the use of my Xopenex inhaler opened my lungs up. It made me drowsy, but feeling a heck of a lot better than I did before.

However, don’t be an idiot like me. Don’t take chances right before train or plane trips- bring something safe from home that you can snack on long journeys to prevent hunger.

Here are some concrete-solutions to the issue, easing both mine, and hopefully your travel worries if you have limitations like me.

SelectWisely Food Allergy Translation Cards

I use SelectWisely LLC’s food allergy translation cards when I travel to countries where I don’t speak the language. I hand them to my servers, restaurant managers/owners and to shop owners to facilitate my traveling experience. Most of the restaurants are extremely helpful and take care of whatever needed.

It may be one of my best purchases for my travels abroad. Not only are the cards clear, helpful and convenient, but the company provides an endless amount of great products for people with serious allergies and medical conditions.

SelectWisely has translation cards in over 20 different languages for:

• Food Allergies
  • Nut, peanut, seafood/fish/shellfish, milk/dairy, egg, soy, sesame, wheat, seed, fruit and vegetables, others.
• Drug Allergies
  • Penicillin, sulfa, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, iodine
• Gluten-Free
• Skin Contact Allergies
  • Latex, cats
• Vegetarian and Special Diets
  • Vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerance, low-salt, sugar-free
• Health Emergencies
  • Travel emergency, ill child card, diabetes type 1 emergency, asthma
• Diabetes
  • Type 1 emergency, Type 1 pharmacy, airport security for insulin pumps, Type 2 sugar-free
• Asthma and Smoke Free
• Animals and Insects
  • Bee and insects, cat allergy

Eat At Nicer Restaurants

The key also is to eat at the nicer, normally more expensive restaurants for their happy hour menu. That’s when you get to eat amazing food for less.

For those with food allergies, these restaurants have more attentive management who will work harder to ensure you they will make you a safe meal. Check out nice restaurants when eating the best food in North Carolina, New York, Boston, or anywhere else in the US.

Better ingredients, choices and caliber of the food and staff is one way to keep those traveling-with-a-food-allergy worries away.

If You Have A Peanut Allergy

Peanut allergies are among the most severe out there in part due to the reaction involved just by smelling it. The problem is that many in-flight snacks contain peanuts. You need to especially be careful if you are taking your kids on a family vacation.

Good news though. Some airlines no longer serve peanuts.

If I were you, I’d call the airline before your flight and ask:

• To pre-board to wipe down the seat and area where you will sit to remove any peanut dust and residue.
• For the flight attendants to make announcements prior to takeoff asking passengers to please not open peanut-containing snacks during the flight.

Some airlines won’t serve peanuts if they’re contacted a few days before the flight!

Prepare Yourself for Additional Security Screening If You Bring Food/Liquids –

If you travel with at least three ounces of liquids, such as almond or coconut milk, peanut butter or applesauce, it’s beneficial to have a doctor’s note to present to TSA agents, if it gets to that point.

You shouldn’t have any trouble getting an exception. The comfort of knowing you have safe food and drinks to bring on your trip is well worth the extra hassle to make it happen.

An easy decision.

Carry Multiple EpiPens

One injection lasts for 20 minutes. And have another with you just in case the first EpiPen doesn’t work. This way you do not have to worry while still having the best dining experiences.

Pack More Snacks Than You Think You’ll Need

It sounds obvious, but many people get caught off-guard by flight delays, lack of restaurants that accommodate special diets and other hiccups while traveling. Pack more diverse, safe snacks then you think you’ll need, or even full meals such as those from GoPicnic. For kids, pack extra special treats as something to look forward to during the travel day.

Helpful Food Allergy Apps

Apps such as Find Me Gluten Free, Happy Cow and Allergy Eats help for finding restaurants that accommodate food allergies. You can also contact restaurants in destinations that seem safe and that you’re interested in going to eat in before heading there.

Clearly Document Your Symptoms

One of the biggest errors amongst travelers with serious food allergies is the failure to document their symptoms. Quickly being able to spot an allergic reaction could be crucial to save your life. Ensure that you familiarize those you are traveling with to your conditions, initial symptoms, and preventive treatments.

Allergic reactions impacting skin often cause itchiness, redness, hives, bumps, or swelling. Reactions effecting the mouth often cause swelling of your lips, lounge, or palate.

Clearly document any potential symptoms relating to your condition in order to best inform those around you of when you may be experiencing a reaction.

Choosing Accommodations

Now, think about choosing strategic accommodations when traveling with food allergy and dietary restrictions. Constantly at restaurants and passing out your allergy card can be incredibly frustrating. Not to mention, it may still be concerning when eating out. The safest way to eat on vacation is to choose spacious accommodations where you can cook your own meals. Traditionally, this includes hotel suites and AirBnBs. If you are not familiar with these lodging options, check out our ultimate hotel travel guide. Surely, choosing accommodations is highly-important when traveling with food allergies and dietary restrictions.

Create A Chef Card

If you are traveling with food allergies, it is integral to carry a chef card. A chef card is simply a prepared card that informs kitchen staff of all your conditions and allergies. At the same time, it includes a request that all surfaces, utensils and dishes be free of any food traces.

If you are traveling to foreign countries, always carry a chef card in that country’s native language. This effectively alleviates any issues through translation or miscommunications. Consider using an easy service like SelectWisely LLC to create your allergy card online. They allow you to customize your card in a number of language to convey various health requests.

Organizations like the Food Allergy Research & Education institution additionally offer a number of card templates and international formatting options to help you design the best format.

Styling Considerations For Your Allergy Card

Before you travel with your allergy card, you need to follow several specific styling considerations. This is important whether you are eating American, Italian, or Native American travel food. Most importantly, you need to ensure that your allergy card is written clearly. Select a large, clear, and readable font size. Bold any information that you want the chef to pay careful attention to. You should additionally use flares of red to highlight extremely serious requests.