Food allergies on a college campus

There are limited data on food allergies among college students. In this article, we review the most current available studies. These self -reported surveys and qualitative interviews reported overall poor avoidance of known allergens and low rates of carrying self -injectable epinephrine among students with food allergy. College students may exhibit risk -taking food behaviors due to a number of factors, including age -appropriate risk -taking predilection, strong social influences, and lack of experience in self -advocacy. Having to disclose an otherwise invisible condition repeatedly in a new environment may also lead to "disclosure fatigue," creating an additional barrier to self -advocacy. Common themes in the narrative include hypervigilance, stigma management, and concern about others' misunderstanding of food allergy. Although there is a paucity of data in this area, it is likely that having greater support at the institution level, along with support from peers and faculty, may help improve awareness, self -injectable epinephrine carriage, and allergen avoidance. This review also discusses strategies for preparedness at school, including specific steps to maximize safety. (c) 2024 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)