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Being abroad is scary enough, but being abroad with food allergies can be even scarier. To help you transition to your life abroad with food allergies, let me share some tips and tricks I used on my semester abroad!

I had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy last semester. I had such a wonderful time, made so many new friends, and got to experience a whole new culture and environment. For those of you who have the means to go abroad and are considering it, I would highly recommend the experience. While I was away, I learned how to be more independent and confident in myself and my abilities. However, I almost didn’t go abroad. I have a list of food allergies, ranging from mild to severe, which made the idea of going abroad terrifying. I was far away from everyone I know and trust with my allergies, I had to navigate a language barrier, and I was away from all of the products that I was comfortable consuming. Overall, because I prepared ahead of time, being abroad with food allergies was way easier than I imagined. Obviously, it will be different for each individual, each allergy, and each location, but I would love to share some tips and tricks that helped me navigate my food allergies abroad in hopes that it will help other students gain confidence in their abilities to be abroad with food allergies.

There seems to be a million things to do before you go abroad, and having food allergies just adds a million other things to consider. Here are some of the tasks relating to food allergies that I completed before I left the U.S.

Meet with Your Doctor or Make an Action Plan

I met with my doctor to make an action plan about being abroad. Some of the questions we worked through were: What medications should I bring with me? How can I get medical attention abroad if I need it? How can I get my medication through the airport? Often, if you have an EpiPen, you’ll need a doctor’s letter to carry it on the plane with you. Be sure to get this letter and have it translated into the language of the country you’re visiting.

Notify Your Study Abroad Program and Housing Program

It is very important that your program knows about your allergies in case anything happens. It is also great to talk to your program about living situations so that you can pick an environment that will work best for you. For me, I decided to live in an apartment and cook my own meals as opposed to living in the dorms and eating a meal plan because I preferred to have control over how my meals were prepared. Your program will also have other resources to help ease your transition, so it’s very important to let them help you along the way.

Create Food Allergy Cards

Create cards that have your food allergies listed on them. Be sure to get these cards translated into the languages of every country you are planning on visiting. This might feel embarrassing at times, but I promise the chefs will absolutely appreciate you clearly communicating your allergies rather than struggling through a language barrier that leads to you getting sick. These cards were so helpful, especially when I traveled about in Europe and I didn’t know the languages of the countries I was staying in.

Learn the Names of Your Allergies in the Language of the Country You’re Staying In

THIS IS IMPORTANT! You are going to need to know how to say them, how to spell them, and how to read them. You will need to know how to talk to servers and chefs at restaurants and you can’t assume they’ll know the English words for your allergies. You are also going to need to look through ingredients on packages to make sure they are safe for you to eat.

Download a Couple Translation Apps

Google Translate and Word Reference are very good resources for translating, but you should definitely use multiple translators to make sure what you are reading is correct. It is very helpful when you can use an app that will translate using photos. This way you can scan ingredient lists on products you’re looking to purchase. But I would still recommend double checking each ingredient before you eat something you’ve never had before.

Research, Research, Research

There are a couple things that I think are absolute musts when it comes to researching the area you are staying in. Firstly, with or without food allergies, you should know how to get medical care in the country you’re in. Locate where each hospital is in relation to where you live. Look up what kinds of medications you can get abroad that could be helpful to you in the case that you get a reaction.

Secondly, look up restaurants near you and start planning out what you can order from each place. Look up grocery stores as well. HappyCow is an app that I occasionally used abroad, which lists restaurants or stores near you that might be gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, etc.

Third, look up the traditional cuisine of the country you are visiting. There might be ingredients that could surprise you. For example, in my research I discovered that Italy uses lupin flour for lots of their soups as a thickener. Lupin is in the peanut family (I’m allergic to peanuts), so I ordered some lupin flour ahead of time and tested it to make sure I didn’t have a reaction to it. It is always good to be knowledgeable about what goes into preparing your food, especially if you’re in a new country.

Conclusion

Going abroad is scary as it is, but when you have life-threatening food allergies, it’s even scarier. I was certainly anxious, but I was also determined to go and have a wonderful experience. In preparing ahead of time, I was able to make my time in Italy much less stressful, and I was able to experience the local cuisine safely. It is important to note that there will be times when, even after all this preparation, you are caught unprepared. That’s totally OK and normal! Just keep your cool and rely on your instincts and past experiences to advise you.