For college I have to prove that I have food allergies with documentation. So I set up an appointment with my allergist. It was my first time seeing my allergist in at least a year or so. She is the best and I am so thankful to have such an awesome allergist. If you have food allergies make sure you have a good allergist like I do.

During my appointment with my allergist I told her about my job in the bakery and my college major. I explained how I wear gloves when I have to handle nuts and when I wash dishes at work. I didn't have that much information about my college courses yet, and the only real concern was about cooking my allergens. At work I am used to handling nuts straight from the bag, not cooked. Being in front of a stove, cooking my allergens could cause more of a problem, potentially leading to an allergic reaction. I am going to have to be really careful.

Then I told her about a situation I was having with bananas. When bananas are more ripe I mash them in a bowl, I don't really like them ripe. I prefer to eat them when they are almost still green. The last two times I mashed a ripe banana I got a little rash on my cheek. It turns out that bananas are like somehow more related to ragweed when ripe. I am not entirely sure if I am allergic to ragweed or not, but it is possible. She said that I should still eat bananas, but eat the more green ones.

There were no exact forms from the college to be filled out by my allergist so instead she typed a letter explaining that I have allergies. I then brought this letter with forms I printed from the college website to the accessibility services office. Recently the office name changed from disability services to accessibility services.

I waited inside of the accessibility services office for a few minutes until a lady came out to help me. She took my papers and let me know that they would be contacting me later for an official meeting. I also let her know that I contacted all of my professors two weeks before the semester started.

In the classes I have had so far, most of them have a no eating in class policy, which is really good. I have not had any of the lab classes yet where we will be in the kitchen. Stay tuned to learn about my official meeting with accessibility services and how the rest of my classes handle food in the classroom.

#allergist #accessibility #banana #ragweed #college