Robert Fisher, Food Allergic World Traveler

Filed in archive Allergy Blogs , Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on December 6, 2007

I've been reading Allergic Girl Sloanne Miller's interview with Robert Fisher, professional travel writer and editor at Frommers.com an contributor to Sports Illustrated, Life, Travel + Leisure and the Washington Post. The man has a host of allergies and is anaphylactically allergic to peanuts but that doesn't stop him from traveling and exploring the world!

One thing that struck me in this interview is that here is a man who is a proof that, as you get more and more exposed to an allergen, your food allergy symptoms can escalate from hives and blisters to something really life threatening.

I had my first allergy test in London. I had sought some treatment for my asthma, and peanuts were on the list to avoid, but I had no big episodes until my 30s.

Once on a domestic flight, I had pre-ordered the peanut-free meal. However, the moment I took my first bite I realized something was wrong: it had peanuts in it. I immediately drank some liquid Benedryl and injected my thigh with the Epi-Pen. I informed the airline stewardess of the situation and luckily didn't feel the need to ask them to land the plane. We landed and I went home, self-medicated and rested and it went away. However, over the last 30 years, I've had about 12-15 Emergency Room experiences related to my allergies.

Having a peanut allergic child, this is scary. At the moment, he has not had an anaphylactic reaction, although he has shown fairly severe systemic symptoms (hives all over the body). But now it feels like he's a walking timebomb; who knows if the next reaction will have us end up in ER? Or worse?

Traveling with food allergies? Here are Robert Fisher's travel planning tips.