A Guide to Helping Friends with Allergies (Part 1)

Be a Friend to Someone with Allergies

There is a rise in the number of people with severe allergies and chances are you might have a friend or two who is suffering from a debilitating condition. You might even have a family member who has a severe allergy to pollen that they see springtime as their cue to hibernate inside their home instead of going out and enjoying the sun.

If you’re someone without these problems good for you, but as for someone who is not initiated in the precarious situation of a person with allergies you might find it weird sometimes when your friend requests another restaurant all because the one you chose doesn’t serve gluten-free food.

There may even be times when you’ll find it annoying when your friend goes through several items of beach wear all because she needs an outfit that doesn’t have any latex in it while you’re itching to try out your newly purchased swimsuit at the beach before the sun goes down. If you really are a good friend then it’s time to put that to the test and see the world from the point of view of your friend just like what all good friends do.

Be Patient

Whenever we have someone in the group who has an allergy, be it a food allergy or a certain clothing allergy, we find it cumbersome sometimes when we have to adjust to their needs. For those who are not suffering from any allergies we often take for granted that some people find it hard to live a normal life while having this condition.

So in order to exercise more patience and be more understanding towards our friends with allergies one way we can fix this is to learn more about allergies and what it can do. There are scores of websites that offer information about allergies—what the symptoms are; what the effects could be and what to do in case someone you know has an allergic attack.

You might find it annoying that your friend needs her clothes to be totally free from latex, which is why you two have to go through several items of clothing at the mall just to find one without latex, but what you don’t know is she could experience an anaphylactic shock if she comes in contact with this substance.

Anaphylaxis is when a person undergoes an allergic reaction so severe that her blood pressure drops, her airway closes up, and her respiratory system totally stops working properly, which could be fatal. In an event of an anaphylactic shock an epinephrine injection should be administered in order to alleviate the allergic reaction and save her life. It may be inconvenient for you to scour the local mall for a latex-free outfit with your friend but it could be a matter of life and death for her, so try to exercise a little bit of patience for her sake.

Be Aware

As mentioned earlier it would help your friend a lot if you brush up your knowledge on the different kinds of allergies and what causes them. Knowing more about these things can help you avoid allergens that could trigger an attack on your friend. For example, a lot of people are allergic to pollen and the pollen count is at its highest during springtime. So instead of asking your friend to go with you to the park or the hills nearby during springtime you could opt to stay indoors instead and binge-watch a whole season of Game of Thrones.

Be Ready

A good friend is always ready to help out and if you have a friend who has an allergy that can be severe try to be prepared to help her out in an event that her allergy is triggered. This means that you should be ready to administer the right kind of medicine if she encounters an allergic reaction. Be it an EpiPen or an antihistamine it would really be helpful if you know how to deal with allergy attacks.