Marta’s Story

Marta is a 23-year-old recent college graduate who is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She’s been living with a tree nut allergy since her childhood. She is allergic to walnuts and hazelnuts, but avoids all other tree nuts to be safe.

The first reaction she ever had was from walnuts at the age of six or seven. Her friend was eating walnuts as a snack and she tried one out of curiosity. She became violently ill after eating it, but didn’t think much of it at the time. Her next encounter was at the age of twelve. During school, she ate a baked good that had walnuts in it and had a severe reaction. She began feeling her throat swell and started to panic. She asked to go see the school nurse, but all she offered her was an ice pack and was sent back to class

“The nurse didn’t believe me, no one really believed me. Cause it was like, if it was anaphylactic shock, you wouldn’t be able to talk, like you’re still breathing you’re fine.’”

Past reactions for Marta have triggered a fever, sweating, itchiness, swelling of the throat, and intense anxiety. Since those two severe reactions in her childhood, she hasn’t had a reaction to that extent. But managing her food allergies causes feelings of anxiety, especially since the people she lives with keep tree nuts in the house. Living in a house where cross contamination is possible contributes to this anxiety. This is one of many ways Marta has seen people without food allergies not take them seriously.

“You have the luxury of not having to worry about what could potentially be in your food that could harm you. They aren’t in a situation where they could face a really bad reaction. It’s not scary, so I see how it can be something you gloss over.”

She navigates her allergy by avoiding tree nuts, making sure to always ask servers at restaurants if there’s nuts in the food. She also asks her friends to not eat nuts around her. She says she’s lucky to have friends who understand the severity of food allergies. But even then, there have been times where she’s been in contact with her allergen, despite taking her usual precautions.

“I’ve had cases where I bought stuff and triple checked there wasn’t nuts and there actually was. It’s definitely unnerving. Even when you think you’re super safe, going out into the public when you’re not in charge of what’s going in your food, there’s always that risk”

Currently, Marta does not carry an auto-injector of epinephrine with her. She has one at home from when from years ago, but is now expired. She has struggled to follow up with doctors since she was first prescribed an EpiPen. At the time, she couldn’t find an allergist that took her insurance. She is motivated to find an allergist, improve her allergy safety plan, and continue to advocate for her allergies needs.

She struggles with feeling misunderstood by people who don’'t have allergies, and she finds this to be a barrier for her when it comes expressing her needs.

“It’s hard to advocate when not everyone understands where you’re coming from.”

This misunderstanding of food allergies has also been present in the media Marta has seen. While it’s not common for her to see food allergy representation in the media, the times she has seen it had inaccurate portrayals. Either showing incorrect ways to respond in the case of food induced anaphylaxis or by spinning the blame on the one with the allergy.

“You’re being exposed to it, which is good, but then also not great because you have a not realistic perception. And you have no tools to help if you’re in a situation where someone is having a reaction, or you yourself are having a reaction. You know a little bit about it, but not the right things.”

Marta’s message to others struggling with food allergies is to remember that you’re not an inconvenience. She emphasizes that self-advocacy is critical when it comes to living with a food allergy.

“Advocate for yourself even if it is uncomfortable, because the alternative situation is having a really bad reaction that could be life threatening.”  

And for those who don’t have food allergies, she encourages them to be considerate of people who have them. 

“Even if it doesn’t affect you, per se, the ramifications for other people are life threatening. So, they are something to take into consideration, especially if you are friends with or related to or anywhere near someone that has allergies”