Why Focus on the Emotional Impact of Allergies during Anaphylaxis Awareness Week?

Anaphylaxis Awareness Week is now underway and we have been delighted to see how many of you have shown your support already.

Our focus on The Hidden Battle with Allergies seems to have resonated with so many of you, so we wanted to share the thoughts of our Chief Executive Simon Williams, on why we have chosen to focus on the emotional impact of allergies for this awareness week.

“Fear. Uncertainty. Worry. Confusion. Isolation. These are all words we hear regularly through calls to our helpline. Sadly the statistics we see from various research studies back up what we hear through our helpline. The emotional impact of living with serious allergies is a heavy load to carry. It’s a load that many feel they carry with little support.

The worry of living with or caring for someone with serious allergies, may never fully go away… we know that. But we believe that having access to the right information and support can help to ease the emotional strain of living with allergies.

Our mission from day one, has always been to create a safer environment for everyone with allergies by providing accurate and reliable information, training and support. The practical challenges of living with allergies can be overwhelming but we hope that by providing the right information and guidance, some of the risk and associated anxiety can be eased by being prepared in advance for challenges you may face in different situations. Whether it’s going on holiday, eating out or starting school, we have a wealth of information and free resources on our website to help you prepare for these situations.

Having information not only empowers people to feel more in control of their allergy journey, but it can also help to debunk some of the misinformation that is widely spread online, particularly on social media. Often with the best intentions, false information is shared which can cause unnecessary fear and panic. What we can promise at Anaphylaxis UK, is we will always do our best to ensure the information and resources we share are factually correct, reliable and up to date. We work closely with leading allergy experts and reputable organisations to develop factsheets, training programmes and resources for people living with allergies, parents and carers, businesses, the food industry and educational settings…. all with the intention of ensuring you have access to the information and support you deserve.

It has been a double edged sword for us promoting The Hidden Battle with Allergies as our theme for Anaphylaxis Awareness Week 2024… on one hand we are proud that the theme has resonated with so many of you. But on the other hand we are saddened that is a battle that so many of you are facing. It shouldn’t be this way. However, we take heart from the fact that 30 years ago, when Anaphylaxis UK was set up, very little was known about serious allergies and the information that was available was inadequate. Since then much great work has been done to raise awareness and provide accurate information and guidance. This gives us great confidence that as a community we will work hard to take this further by continuing to develop resources and support that can help to ease the emotional strain of living with serious allergies.

Everything we do at Anaphylaxis UK is to try and make everyone feel supported and empowered on their allergy journey and we are committed to continuing this for as long as we are needed.

Once again thank you for your support – Together, we will create a brighter future. 🧡💙”

Simon Williams

Chief Executive, Anaphylaxis UK