Food allergies can be a struggle no matter what setting you are in. College can be scary just because it is in a new environment and, before, you had your parents to handle everything if you had an allergic reaction. It is especially difficult if you are planning on going far away for school. If you end up in the hospital, the odds are that it will be a few hours until someone from your family will reach you.

However, it is entirely possible to maintain a completely normal, and incredibly fun, college experience despite your allergies!

Here are some simple ways to vastly improve your likelihood of survival in college.

1.Carry an Epi-Pen or Benadryl

This is pretty self-explanatory. Don't be stupid. Epi-Pens are bulky and annoying, especially since the Auvi-Q recall, but they could save your life someday. It's better to carry one on you than to risk the condescending looks that the paramedics give you when you have to explain yourself.

2. Email the Head of Dining Services

I know, why should you bother? You know what you can and can't eat and you know what to ask for. However, some schools are willing to provide more money for off-campus dining on your meal plan so that you can buy food that you can actually eat. It makes things so much easier!

3. Look Up Restaurant Menus Online

It's always good to familiarize yourself with the eateries around your school. It is much better to be prepared ahead of time than to realize that you're going to be starving for the rest of the night because you can't have what's on the menu.

4. Keep Food in Your Dorm

Yes, you'll most likely have food in your dorm anyway. However, you should consider having microwave meals, and bigger food options, in the event that you can't eat anything out at restaurants and you're sick of on-campus food. Just be cautious. You'll probably have more food then most people on your floor. Beware of scavengers!

5. Avoid the Free Food

This may be the hardest part of going away for college. Most schools provide free food at events, usually within the first month or so of classes, but you must resist the temptation. Unless you are 100 percent sure of what is in the food, it isn't worth the risk. It is much more embarrassing to be rushed off in an ambulance in front of your school population than to walk over to the cafeteria and swipe your meal card.

6. Carry Snacks

Congratulations! You are probably one of the most qualified people to carry around a bag full of snacks without judgment. Plus, you will have an endless supply of food with you all day. Who would argue with that?

7. Let Your Roommate Know About Your Allergies

This is usually best to do before you move in. In the event that they have an extreme dedication to say, peanuts, which have a high probability of killing you, they should probably be made aware of your allergies. Everyone's allergies differ in severity, so make sure that your roommate knows if they can have your allergen in the room or not. If just the smell of it alone can cause a reaction they'll just have to do without.

8. Set Up an Emergency Plan With Your Friends

It can be embarrassing to admit that a mere ingredient can take you out. However, it is much better to let your friends know about your allergies ahead of time so that you don't wind up taking the ambulance ride all by your lonesome. Who will you read Odyssey articles with in the ER?

9. Know Where the Closest Emergency Care Center Is

By now I'm sure that you've figured out that you will have a long, extensive, and emotional relationship with emergency services. It is better to introduce yourself now, rather than the first time you're rushed in and unable to breath. Also, it will make your parents feel better to know that the closest ER is just a jaunt down the street and that you're on a first-name basis with the head nurse, Kathy.

10. Call Your Parents and Let Them Know You're Alive

This shouldn't have to be said. Of course you're going to call your parents because you'll miss them. However, it's always good to just shoot them a text each day to let them know that you're still breathing. It will make the separation much easier for both of you.

Living with food allergies can be extremely hard. It can be irritating and annoying and will probably make you wish that you could just eat what everyone else can. That doesn't mean that you have to let them control your life. Base your college decision on what makes you happiest, not what fits your diet better.

Don't let your allergy limitations define your college experience! It is 100 percent possible to have just as much fun as everyone else, with only a small amount of anxiety when you sit down to eat.