Allergies aren't funny!

Have you noticed that in wider society, people with food allergies have been the butt of jokes on social media, TV and in films?

They are the people who can't eat anything at a party, they are in fact the party-poopers who ruin all the fun by having an anaphylactic reaction - but stop, on second thoughts, the allergic reaction IS funny!

The portrayal that children and adults with food allergies choose to be allergic just to annoy people around them is damaging in so many ways. This extends to labelling people with allergies as being fussy eaters because they ask ingredient questions - a guest at a dinner party asking if a dish may contain shellfish or does the sprinkle on the salad contain hazelnuts or even those really annoying passengers who make airlines ask their passengers not to eat peanuts during a flight.

Research we know shows that children in particular are influenced by media. They learn by observing, imitating, and making behaviours they see and are impressed by. When kid's programmes, films and social media reels videos portray food allergies and allergic reactions as funny, they are giving out a very dangerous message - that allergies are not a serious issue but are actually comedic and it's funny to set off an allergic reaction.

A good example is the remake of the Peter Rabbit film where there is a 'funny' scene where Peter and his friends throw blackberries at their adversary, knowing that he is allergic to them. He survives, thanks to his EpiPen, but the film makes light of the seriousness of food allergies and anaphylaxis which is hugely disappointing.

We need these attitudes to change, people with allergies are not weak or embarrassing which is often how they are portrayed and their condition is most certainly never funny.