Hey
there! Welcome to post number two!
So today I thought I’d write a bit about my experience of
starting Uni as a student with an allergy, I am only a little first year so it
is all very much fresh in my mind ;)
I was really nervous about starting Uni because of my
allergy. I felt prepared for being homesick, I knew how to operate a washing
machine, I’m mad on cooking so that was all sorted, but the thought of having
an allergic reaction at Uni terrified me. I also felt like it was inevitably
going to happen. Student kitchens are notoriously messy and I had visions of
worktops strewn in grated cheese and ice-cream. I felt really nervous about
telling my flatmates that I was allergic to milk. I got it into my head that
they would think I was over-exaggerating and attention seeking, that before we even
got to Uni I’d be marked out as weird and awkward. I even felt a bit scared
that they might slip some milk into a drink or something, I can imagine to
someone who doesn’t have an allergy this sounds crazily paranoid but to me it
was a terrifying thought!
The great news is that going to Uni, staying in halls and
university life in general have all actually made me more confident in handling
my allergy :D
There
were a number of ways I prepared for starting Uni with regards to my allergy. My
mum thought it would be a good idea to let Uni know about my allergy, we filled
in a special form asking if I could be given a fridge to keep in my room so
that I could keep my food separate. Even at home I keep some food separate, because
if someone uses my margarine or jam with a knife they have spread on bread that
contains milk they would then contaminate my food. Uni said yes and when I
arrived at my accommodation there was my own little fridge sat in my room!
I also made sure to take all my own cooking equipment: pots,
pans, chopping boards etc.. I love any excuse to go to IKEA and buying all my
kitchen stuff got me really excited for Uni! I also brought my own washing up
stuff (including an IKEA scrubbing brush of course) and I make sure to always
do my own washing up so that none of my pans get mixed up with anyone else’s.
The next bit was telling my flatmates :O I was really
excited to meet them but dreaded having to tell them about my allergy. Before
we arrived I managed to find some of them on Facebook, and after chatting for a
while I let it slip about my allergy…. I had nothing to worry about!!
My flat mates were all fine about it and when we got to Uni they even asked me
to show them how to use an epipen, just in case. Whenever a friend asks to be
epipen trained it means a lot to me. It really shows me how much they care and
want to protect me and makes me feel a lot safer J
It can be a bit nerve racking telling the people you’ll be living with for the
next year but as you can see people are really understanding. It’s always
easier the earlier you tell people, if you leave it till later on it just
becomes more awkward to go ‘by the way guys…’
The whole transition to Uni with regards
to my allergy has been a smooth one, I guess its just a matter of being calm
and careful. There are days when the worktops are covered in cheese and ice-cream
but then I just pull on rubber gloves and sort it out ;) So far I’ve never had
a reaction to milk being cooked/in the same room but I guess if your allergy
does affect you like that then there should still be ways around it J Maybe you could write to Uni and explain this and then any future flat
mates could be told not to bring any of that item into your flat. If people are
told in advance they should be fine with it and if they’re not then they can
ask to move flats and you’d probably be better off with more understanding flat
mates anyway!
Thanks for reading and as always if you have any questions just comment
below,
Love,
The Allergy Student
#theallergystudent #studentallergies #milkallergy #anaphylaxis #movingtouni #fresher
#theallergystudent #studentallergies #milkallergy #anaphylaxis #movingtouni #fresher
