Useful Allergy Resources: Tools and Apps

Useful Allergy Resources: Tools and Apps

Dealing with food allergies can be daunting. Here are a few useful tools and apps to help you stay safe and live well. 

TOOL: Allergy Cards

Allergy Cards are essential especially when managing multiple food allergies. It's a great way to communicate safely and effectively with kitchen, medical, airline staff, etc. that your food allergies are very serious. Having the allergy card in-hand ensures that they can refer back to the card instead of having to rely on their memory. It increases the likelihood of a safe and positive experience. 

Allergy cards especially come in handy if it's necessary to communicate in a language that you may not be fluent in. Have handy a stack of cards in a few languages, because too much gets lost in translation, especially when talking about LIFE THREATENING food allergies. 

I have 250 allergy cards printed and ready to use at all times, just like business cards. They can get wet, get lost, go back to the kitchen, etc, and I don't have to worry about losing them. 

Most people want to help, but it's our job, as the people with the disease, to help educate others and give them the tools to help us. 

I've traveled the world with 14+ food allergies and intolerances. I've survived but I've had both wonderful as well as scary episodes. 

APP: AllergyTranslation

Found in the App Store on I-phone. Great for translating up to 10 allergens into different languages. The App is free but cards cost $8.00 to order. AllerCoach can also create food allergy cards for you in English and other languages.

APP: AllergyEats 

Trusted by food-allergic diners since 2010, AllergyEats is an awesome guide to food allergy-friendly restaurants across the United States. 

AllergyEats provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate the needs of food-allergic and food-intolerant guests. This sharing of real experiences from other food-allergic diners allows you to quickly and easily find restaurants that may be more willing and better capable of properly addressing your dietary restrictions. It's very helpful when narrowing choices and is usually best suited for families with little ones. It focuses mainly on the top 10 allergens.

I frequently add my dining experiences to the app because I only eat local and off the beaten path so there may not yet be data for these restaurants. The app will only become more useful as we all provide feedback from our experiences!

Paul Antico is the founder and CEO of AllergyEats and has been a huge influence in the food allergy community for quite some time. He has proven to show continuous passion for the cause. Check out AllergyEats in the App Store or online.

TOOL: Nima Peanut Sensor

This Fall Nima launched the Nima Peanut Sensor, a smartphone-connected device that scans food for peanut allergens. It's not intended to replace your EpiPen but it's designed to provide one additional data point about your food. It can help you make a more informed decision before taking that first bite. Independent testing reports 99.2 percent accuracy. Unfortunately, it's currently quite pricey, $299 for the device alone or $289 for the device plus 12 testing capsules. 

~Chef Lara