Food Allergies And The International Traveler

All lot of my patients love to travel. Experiencing another culture is great way to broaden your horizons. But beyond the sights and sounds of distant locales, a primary component of any traveler's experience is dining out in those countries.For the food allergy traveler, this can be daunting. But there are four ways for you to dip into cuisine of these countries, safely.Carry allergy cards. In 2004, a couple's daughter returned from her trip through Europe, complaining that she couldn't or was wary of eating most foods there due to her nut allergies. She only ate vanilla ice cream, shishkaboobs and bread throughout her trip.So her parents started SelectWisely.com. It is company that produces allergy alert cards that are laminated and the size of a business card. The card states the allergy the traveler is susceptible to in English and one of 60 foreign languages and shows a picture of the allergy itself.Allergy FT: Allergy Food Translator App Screens. This mobile app for iOS only (www.allergyft.com) lists 62 food allergies and translates them into French, German and Spanish-- which claim its developer--will help you navigate cuisine in 57 countries around the world that speak these languages. All you do is select the language, then select the allergy and the allergy warning in those languages pops up on the screen. Allergy FT said is updating its app to include more languages.IAMAT Directory. If an allergic reaction to food does occur while your traveling abroad, an indispensable resource to have is International Association for Medical Assistance To Travelers (IAMAT) directory. It lists the local hospitals of a particular country that assistant travelers and that speak English. Contact them at (www.iamat.org.)Ep-iPen. The IAMAT states travelers with food allergies should carry at least two vials of epinephrine in case of a anaphylactic reaction.For more information on food allergies: http://www.nycallergydoctor.com/allergy