Moving to Uni!!!

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