Traveling with Allergies or Intolerances
We are back to the hustle and bustle of summer schedules instead of being pampered in paradise. Now that we are home there are a few things that we can agree that were good, bad or ugly about traveling with allergies and food intolerances.
Do your research! We quickly found a deal and booked our trip to St Lucia. It was an amazingly relaxing trip but the food was hard to navigate with allergies.
Inform your hotel/ resort/ airbnb of your allergies. Confirming your food allergies/ sensitivities to ensure everyone is on the same page for you to be safe and happy. We quickly filled out the pre-check paperwork that had one line for allergies which was great but I never described my food sensitivities. Due to that I was ill for half of our very short trip.
Research the local cuisine and see if it has certain foods that may or may not cause you to have an adverse reaction. Many of the salad dressings and sauces were probably made with citrus and that is a huge migraine trigger for myself. I didn’t mention it to others and that is a huge fault on myself which is not something I will do again when traveling.
Be very friendly with the waitstaff and others working in the restaurant(s) so you can feel comfortable enough to question the ingredients in the foods. As anyone with food allergies know it can be a touchy subject to ask anyone about what’s in the food.
Know where the local hospital is and how to get in contact with either the onsite medical staff or closest doctor. This can be to keep some peace of mind for the just in case scenario.
Pack as many snacks and safe foods that your bags can fit for your length of stay. Even with doing all the above if you still feel anxiety this can alleviate that and know that you will be safe and symptom free.
I will definitely take this list and use it later for any other trip that is around the US or international. Even though I had a great time relaxing and spending time with my husband I could have easily made it much less uncomfortable if I followed these easy steps.
Enjoy your next travel adventures!
