3 Allergic Reactions in 48 Hours

Perhaps my most traumatizing travel experience occurred in India during my family’s 2016 trip to visit my maternal grandparents and relatives. The visit itself wasn’t traumatizing, but rather a series of events that occurred on a “mini-trip” we had all taken to visit India’s capital city -- New Delhi. To summarize, I had a series of 3 allergic reactions -- all within 24 hours. When exposed to some of my allergens, I go into a state anaphylaxis -- being unable to breathe as my airways are slowly closing due to swelling. Anaphylaxis is oftentimes treated with epinephrine (found in EpiPens); however, whenever epinephrine is used, a patient’s vitals must be closely monitored at a hospital. My severe allergies that cause anaphylaxis include peanuts, walnuts, and cashews. My less severe allergies include melons and other tree nuts. I also have a variety of food intolerances including dairy and eggs. In conclusion, my body quite literally hates the most popular ingredients, so I have to be somewhat careful with my diet. While countries such as America provide the luxury of knowing what allergens are in foods, many countries (such as India) are not obligated to do so under their laws. This can make traveling to foreign countries especially difficult for me & cause unpleasant experiences such as the one I am about to share.

My first allergic reaction within the span of 48 hours occurred on the train from Surat (the town where my grandparents live) to Delhi. The train ride was approximately 14 hours, meaning we were stuck eating food provided by the train staff. We had let the staff know of my various food allergies, and the staff had assured us that none of those allergens would be present in my meals. Spoiler: this promise had turned out to be a lie. You may think that I am being a bit dramatic; however, it is quite terrifying to go through anaphylactic shock without the proper resources available. After confirming with the train staff that the aloo tiki (potato cutlet) I had ordered contained no allergens, especially peanuts, I took a bite. Immediately, my lips started swelling and I could feel by throat starting to close up. I spit out the bite (which contained a giant chunk of peanut) that I had taken & yelled to my mom that I was having an allergic reaction. Normally, I would be injected with my EpiPen, however, that requires that hospitalization & the hospitals in India are not the best. My mother acted quickly, giving me Zyrtec (an antihistamine) and Prednisone (a steroid). While this combination of medicine made my anaphylaxis stop, I continued throwing up for the next 6 or so hours. 

While my throat still felt extremely raw from all of the stomach acid, I had to eat something. Typically fast food in foreign countries is a safe option (due to the menu always being the same/having the security a dish does not contain a surprise allergen). I got my McDonalds & we were on our way back to the hotel when my mom spotted a little bakery. My family & I all have sweet tooths, so we were excited to go purchase a few pastries. Again, we asked the worker if any of the items contained any nuts to which they assured us that none of their products did. This turned out to be a lie as I bit into a croissant with a chocolate-hazelnut filling. Several steroids and antihistamines later, we were able to control my second allergic reaction before it got to the point of needing hospitalization (thank god). At this point, I was so exhausted that I slept uninterrupted for 15 hours.

My mother had decided to cut our trip to Delhi short, so the following day we all drove back to the airport. This final allergic reaction is the one that infuriates me the most. While going through security to board the plane, the security agents were all eating boiled peanuts -- with the same bare hands that were soon to pat down my body. I had expressed to them that I had a severe allergy to peanuts and requested that someone else pat me down instead, but they refused, even after my mom had argued with them. My skin immediately broke out into red, itchy hives as the remnants of peanuts made contact with my skin. While this allergic reaction was the least severe of the three, I felt powerless. It felt as though my allergies were a joke. I did not realize at the time how dangerous these encounters were and how badly they could have ended. I am beyond grateful to have my allergies accounted for and taken seriously here in America. Even if I decide to visit India again in the future, I will be sure to eat only homecooked meals and fast food.