Spencer Wirtheim is an accomplished athlete – he played lacrosse as a mid-fielder while studying at Cornell University. He’s not one to let his food allergies hold him back, and is now beginning a new chapter, changing colleges to pursue an MBA.
Yet, Spencer has lessons of his own to share with the food allergy community. He has learned what it’s like to experience a severe allergic reaction while living at college. As he tells Allergic Living Editor Gwen Smith in this video, with one reaction, his eyes swelled up alarmingly and he felt breathing distress.
While Spencer treated himself quickly and went to the hospital, the trigger for that reaction was not immediately obvious. He hadn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary. But he soon figured out the mystery. Tune into the video (at 6:30 on the tape) to hear what that unexpected trigger turned out to be.
In good news, Spencer managed the severe reaction well, using his epinephrine auto-injector right away.
Spencer’s First College Reaction
That was his second severe allergic reaction at college. With the first, Spencer discovered that a Chinese dish included peanut sauce. In an important note for fellow college students, he stresses this was the one time he trusted ingredients on a website. He had not done his usual ingredients double-check with restaurant staff before placing his order.
“You always have to ask,” Spencer says. “Because the one time I didn’t, it bit me in the butt.”
While Spencer has these cautionary tales to relate, he has learned much about managing a reaction and being extra careful about ingredients. He’s at the start of a new chapter at the University of North Carolina, pursuing an MBA and playing lacrosse there.
Spencer plans follow the advice he shares in the video – to fully inform friends, roommates and teammates about his food allergies. And he’ll explain to them about his epinephrine auto-injector, just in case another reaction should occur.
This video is sponsored by AUVI-Q, the epinephrine auto-injector with built-in voice instructions.
See video for full Indication and Important Safety Information and talk to your doctor about possible side effects of epinephrine including dizziness, palpitations, sweating, or shakiness. Seek emergency medical care after use.
