nut allergy

[Debra]

how do i travel to china with an anaphylactic nut allergy?

[Sylday]

I have no personal experience of this, but think it could be quite awkward. Nuts are a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. Do you eat Chinese food in restaurants at home? If you avoid it because of the possibility of nuts, then you must bear in mind that in China there are relatively few alternatives to the local food, especially away from the major centres. There would also be a language problem, both in terms of the labelling of packaged food, and in communicating with waiters etc. Of course, if you were to stick to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, there would be less of a problem, as there are western-style restaurants and supermarkets selling western food.

[Sylday]

I have no personal experience of this, but think it could be quite awkward. Nuts are a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. Do you eat Chinese food in restaurants at home? If you avoid it because of the possibility of nuts, then you must bear in mind that in China there are relatively few alternatives to the local food, especially away from the major centres. There would also be a language problem, both in terms of the labelling of packaged food, and in communicating with waiters etc. Of course, if you were to stick to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, there would be less of a problem, as there are western-style restaurants and supermarkets selling western food.

[zgma]

Yes, and not just nuts, but many things are cooked in peanut oil.

[morg_monster]

I agree with the above answers - could be a real problem. If however you are definitely going to China, then you should find someone to translate a statement into Chinese which describes your problem (remember the many different Chinese languages, and ideally pay a medical translation agency to do it). Possibly also worth getting a statement translated to give to doctors in the worst case that you need medical help, or just need to buy another Epipen or whatever you use. Found this letter in the guardian website, it is pretty old but i hope the links still work: http://travel.guardian.co.uk/askatraveller/story/0,8915,5763 11,00.html