Tree nut allergy

I’d ask his physician as well as getting a dietary consult to help you.

I'd bring a card with this warning: "Mio figlio è allergico a TUTTA la frutta con guscio: Noci, pinoli, mandorle eccetera" and hand it to the waiters.

Ok, it's a little lie, but better sorry than unsafe.

Chefs take courses about food allergies, but customers usually have no idea about the way a cuisine actually works. As an example, The classic Gorgonzola cheese may be stored next to the Gorgonzola kind of cheese stuffed with nuts. So tell 'em he is allergic to all macro-category and avoid all worries.

Restaurants in Rome take food allergies seriously. Most menus will indicate any nuts in the dishes they offer. If I am interested in a restaurant, I try to find their menu online so I can look for any allergens before I go.

I have a severe allergy to seafood, seaweed, shellfish, etc. I have been sent to the hospital in Rome when I accidentally ingested an anchovy. Anchovy is extremely hard to avoid, but I have learned to ask a lot of questions.

So, a couple of things. Get or make a card, in Italian, explaining the allergy. You can probably find one online for nut allergies. Show the card when you are seated to eat. When making a reservation, let them know as well. Ask A LOT of questions and if you are not sure the food is safe, order something else. Be sure you have medicines (an epipen or some such thing) on hand.

Believe me, the restaurant does not want to have to call an ambulance, so the more information you can share, the more relaxed you can be! Roman restaurants are very welcoming and willing to help you and your family to have an enjoyable meal.

Thank you all for the helpful tips. I really appreciate the translation and will make a card with the information to share with our server.

I travel with a few food allergies and carry a lot of medicine with me for dealing with travel/food issues. On one of my last trips to Italy, I tried to buy some more Benadryl as I was getting low and it turned out you cannot buy Benadryl in Italy. It’s been a few years now so maybe things have changed but it’s not a bad idea to have a fair amount of it with you. I don’t know the history of why it’s not for sale but I went to many many pharmacies and was just offered Zyrtec, Claritin etc. instead and never got an explanation of what the Benadryl issue was.

you cannot buy Benadryl in Italy

You mean the Benadryl Syrup with a man in profile on the label? Trust me, you can. I have probably financed the College fees for all the siblings of Johnson & Johnson's CEO. The pills were sold as Aliserin or Allergan in Italy, but it's the same medicine.

You can still get it in some pharmacies that work on-demand. I think the problem is that it's a first generation medicine based on Diphenhydramine, whereas most people prefer modern medicines based on Loratadine or Cetirizine.

Allergan is not a drug that can be sold only on prescription, I get it online on an authorized web-site these days. I doubt things will change: Marketing works.

As is often the case when I try to simplify my answer, I muddy the waters considerably:)

The exact product I was seeking but was unable to find was diphenhydramine 25 mg pill or capsule - which, for me, is my first line medicine when I eat something I am allergic to. I do not use any other oral medicine for this (vs. an EpiPen)and I weighed in on the assumption that other food-allergic people have been advised to do the same.

Dario’s information may well be more up-to-date than mine for sure - I have not been to Italy in about 5 years.

But when I was there, walking around, looking for a pharmacy, I was unable to find anyone stocking diphenhydramine and so I usually let other food allergy people know about this. Fantastic if my info is out of date - that makes it easier if restocking is necessary.

I’ll be back in Italy this year and so I’ll be looking around and asking for sure!! :) :) :)

No Valerie, your info is not outdated: It was difficult to find Diphenhydramine five years ago and it's almost impossible today. There is almost no demand, to the point that I have to buy Diphenhydramine based Allergan online.

The NHS official site shows one pharmacy with Diphenhydramine in stock today. 1 pharmacy out of 80 in a middle sized city. You are right, some medicines we are used to find at every corner at home are not on sale abroad. And nobody knows why.