Bringing Allergies to the Workplace
Bringing food allergies to the work place can be a challenge, but once you introduce it, it can be adjusted provided the employer is cooperative and the employees are respectful of your situation.
At one workplace, the initial introduction was fine; however, changing the company’s culture and environment can be a major challenge.At another they actually asked themselves, and made a point of ensuring that apples weren’t allowed on the premises.
At my first workplace, my manager was concerned and understood the need to tell my colleagues and team members bout the triggers, symptoms, reactions and emergency procedures. At first people acted a bit strange, and they started to make jokes to break the ice; not a good idea! Things like “so are you allergic to water too?”
Note: if you’re reading this because of a family member or friend has been affected by food allergies, never joke about anything related to their allergies; people don’t realize how much it hurts.
Link to => Do's and Don'ts for Allergy Supporters!
Anyway moving on, people began to be cautious, some would ask questions to make sure the foods they were eating were okay, others seemed to go about as usual, let’s just say I had a lot of reactions “at work” because of the unintentional food allergens in the air.
Hint: Peanuts are the worst food allergen for leaving protein in the air. They can stay in the air for hours at a time. This is why you may hear the occasional story about someone experiencing anaphylaxis on a plane. People eating peanuts on a plane, are actually leaving a high risk of anaphylaxis for peanut allergy sufferers. So next time you book your flight, remember to ensure that the airline guarantees a peanut free flight.
Bringing food allergies to the work place can be a challenge, but once you introduce it, it can be adjusted provided the employer is cooperative and the employees are respectful of your situation.
At one workplace, the initial introduction was fine; however, changing the company’s culture and environment can be a major challenge.At another they actually asked themselves, and made a point of ensuring that apples weren’t allowed on the premises.
At my first workplace, my manager was concerned and understood the need to tell my colleagues and team members bout the triggers, symptoms, reactions and emergency procedures. At first people acted a bit strange, and they started to make jokes to break the ice; not a good idea! Things like “so are you allergic to water too?”
Note: if you’re reading this because of a family member or friend has been affected by food allergies, never joke about anything related to their allergies; people don’t realize how much it hurts.
Link to => Do's and Don'ts for Allergy Supporters!
Anyway moving on, people began to be cautious, some would ask questions to make sure the foods they were eating were okay, others seemed to go about as usual, let’s just say I had a lot of reactions “at work” because of the unintentional food allergens in the air.
- E.g. I was allergic to peanuts, and t his was made clear to everyone at work. Every day for a week I came into work and the moment I walked to my desk, I felt sick, my asthma would kick in, I would feel sluggish, almost lethargic, swelling would occur in my mouth, throat, tongue and I would feel feverish as well. I tried to work but the medication made me drowsy, I really tried hanging in there, but as the days of the week went on, it got worse. So finally on Friday, I decided to pull myself together and find out the cause of my suffering. Low and behold it turned out that my colleague was eating peanut butter sandwiches a half hour before I came into work each day for breakfast, and he left the remains of the packaging in the garbage box next to my cubicle. He totally didn’t realize that the wrapper and part of the crust in his garbage bin would make me react so severely.
Hint: Peanuts are the worst food allergen for leaving protein in the air. They can stay in the air for hours at a time. This is why you may hear the occasional story about someone experiencing anaphylaxis on a plane. People eating peanuts on a plane, are actually leaving a high risk of anaphylaxis for peanut allergy sufferers. So next time you book your flight, remember to ensure that the airline guarantees a peanut free flight.
