If you are teenage and living with an allergy, the following advice on how to look after yourself might be well-timed.
Words: Professor Rebecca Knibb
Adolescence is both an exciting and challenging time in your life. It is a time when many changes occur, physically, emotionally and mentally. You become more independent, spend more time with friends and start doing things without your parents. You also begin to take more responsibility for things, including your health. However, this brings with it lots of challenges, particularly when trying to manage something like allergy. Many adolescents have allergies, such as food allergy, eczema (or atopic dermatitis), or asthma. There will be at least one person in each class at school with one or more allergies. Having allergies can affect your life in many ways. It might be difficult to go on school trips or eat out with friends if you have food allergy. Playing sports might be a problem if you have asthma. If you have eczema, activities that irritate you skin can be affected. For any type of allergy, issues such as peer pressure, what your friends think and do, or bullying can have an impact on how you feel and how you manage your allergy. In this article we will explore the main things to look out for when managing allergy as an adolescent, and some ways in which you can look after your well-being and manage your allergy well.
My 13 year old daughter wants to gain her independence and is keen to travel. I set up her MedicAlert membership and this gives us peace of mind that, if she has a reaction, medical staff will have instant access to her medical information and will give her the right treatment straight away; living with anaphylaxis means treatment needs to be fast.
How allergy might affect your life
All allergies affect quality of life. Quality of life can be thought of as what makes our life better or worse. It can be emotional, physical, something in our environment or our social life. It can also relate to our goals in life and our values and beliefs. Asthma and eczema can reduce our quality of life if they are not well controlled. This can affect physical activities and have an impact on sleep. Food allergies affect our social lives, especially during occasions where food is involved.
Allergies are also related to greater anxiety, stress and low mood. This is often because of the impact of allergies on our lives, but can also be due to conflicts or arguments with peers or parents, or bullying. In particular, allergies can make you feel different to others around you, can affect your self-esteem and how you feel about yourself. This can then affect how you might cope with your allergy. You might decide not to tell other people so that you don’t feel different, or you might avoid situations that are affected by your allergy, such as eating out, activities or sports.
How to look after your physical and mental well-being
One of the most important things to do is understand how you manage your allergy. It is really important to know how and when to use your inhalers if you have asthma, or any medication you take for your skin if you have eczema. For food allergy, understand how to read and interpret food labels and how to use your adrenaline pen if you have one. These things help to control your allergy and keep you safe and healthy. This is your first line of defence. Knowing and understanding your allergy is key and will give you confidence, and your parents the confidence to let you manage your allergy more independently. Knowing how to manage your allergy can help you feel better and less anxious about it.
Many adolescents often don’t realise they are not taking or using medication in the right way, or they might be scared about using their adrenaline pen. This is really common and there are things you can do to help manage this. Getting into a routine is useful and you might find that a reminder on your phone to take your asthma inhaler, eczema medication or pack your adrenaline pen, can help when you are busy or have other priorities. For food allergy, make sure you have a trainer pen, which has no needle, to help you practice using it, so you know what to do in an emergency. You can order these from the manufacturers, and they have online videos showing you how to use it. Carrying your pen with you all the time is also important, even when you think you might not need it. We know teenagers often have unpredictable lives and sometimes take risks with their allergies, such as eating without properly checking the food is safe to eat first. Having your adrenaline pen with you will not only give you more control, but your parents will know that you have it in an emergency and are sure of what to do. Having a plan for your food allergy management can also help you and your school know what to do and this can help improve your quality of life.
Getting support from those around you is another important way in which you can look after your physical and mental health. If you are not sure about how to manage your allergy, talk to your parents or doctor. Family support is important and learning how to manage your allergy from your parents can help you become more independent. You can then teach your friends about it. Studies have been carried out talking to adolescents and their friends about how they manage their allergies. They have found that adolescents find it really useful to have a plan to manage their allergy, to talk to their friends and be open about their allergies and how they are managed (for example teaching friends how to use an adrenaline pen). This helped them to feel included and not alone, different, or embarrassed about their allergy. Being open can also reduce opportunities for bullying and improve quality of life by ensuring you don’t feel left out of activities.
So, when I first told them [my friends], I said like these are what I can’t eat, this is what happens if I’m stupid and eat them, and here’s how to use the pen, so that made things easier because it was over and done with telling them that like straight away and I didn’t have to hide it.” Rachel (13yrs)
“It’s just part of growing up I guess. My Mum does less with my food allergy now and I do more for it, but I do more stuff now for myself anyway like when I’m at school or out with my friends, I’m more independent now.” Harry (15yrs)
Peers have also said that they would want to know about their friend’s allergies so they can help, so don’t be afraid to talk to your friends and those around you.
Talking to others who are going through the same thing as you can also be really helpful if you are struggling with your allergies. Connecting with a supportive online network and talking to older adolescent peers with allergies have been found to be good ways to share information, experience, advice and encouragement.
Where to go for further support
Patient support groups such as Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis UK have lots of useful information on their websites about managing allergies and managing the anxiety that might go with it. If you are worried about your allergies and how to manage them, always seek advice from your doctor. If you are particularly anxious and it is affecting your life, you might find it useful to see a psychologist. They can help you to look at different ways of coping in order to reduce your anxiety and improve your quality of life. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Lots of other teenagers with allergies will be experiencing the same things as you, but managing on your own does get better with practice.
Telling them early on definitely helped because it meant they knew from the beginning that I can’t have that stuff or that stuff could make me really ill.” Amelia (16yrs)
Biography Professor Rebecca Knibb
Professor Rebecca Knibb is Professor of Health Psychology at Aston University with 30 years of research experience in the field of asthma and allergy.
Rebecca works with multidisciplinary teams across the globe to improve the health-related quality of life and mental well-being of children, adolescents and parents who are managing allergic conditions and asthma and has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed papers in this field. Her research group is running projects to improve understanding of allergy management and global access to psychological support for food allergy. They are also currently developing interventions to help patients and families manage food allergy anxiety. She is the Chair of the Psychology Special Interest Group for the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology and sits on the UK Expert Advisory Group for Allergy. She is also a member of European Association for Allergy and Clinical Immunology Task Force groups, including a Task Force to investigate the impact of allergy on adolescents.
