Select Wisely for Travelers with Allergies

Select Wisely cards are designed for travelers with food allergies.

I’m so glad I found out about Select Wisely cards. Until now ordering in a restaurant has been a real chore because I’m allergic to onions. The wait staff often doesn’t know what’s in a dish – and groan when I ask them to check with the chef. It’s bad enough when this drama is played out in English, but even more challenging when we’re overseas and have the added complication of a foreign language.

Given this, you can imagine how excited I was to hear about a company that makes plastic-coated wallet-size cards that say things like “Does this food contain onions?” or – for waiters that don’t seem to be paying attention – “I have a life-threatening onion allergy.”

The Select Wisely cards are available in 15+ languages and cover allergies to more than 40 foods. They can also be customized for folks who are vegetarian, lactose intolerant, require gluten-free meals, etc.

I’ve been impressed with the response to the Select Wisely cards. They look “official,” so waiters actually pay attention to them and, because they are coated, they can be wiped off and used over and over.

Select Wisely cards make a great bon voyage gift

My friend Scott is deathly allergic to cucumbers, so before he left for China, I gave him two cards – one in Mandarin and one in Cantonese – that said “If I eat cucumbers or any food that has touched cucumbers, I will need immediate medical attention.”

It worked and it may have saved his life.

The cards can be ordered from the Select Wisely website.

Dining with a view of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Photo credit: ADAMS / HANSEN STOCK PHOTOS.

Tags: allergic reactions, allergies, dining, food allergies, foreign languages, gluten free meals, lactose intolerant, onion allergy, restaurants, Select Wisely, special diets, special foods, traveling, vegan diets, vegetarian

Category: Eating and Drinking, Problem Prevention