New Flatmates and Chronic Illness

Freshers week is almost upon us.Many people like with long term conditions such as epilepsy,allergies,diabetes, etc.I personally have lupus, and several food allergies resulting in anaphylaxis.

If you decide to live away from home its highly likely that you will have flatmates, deciding what to tell them about your health can be difficult for some. Medical conditions are a highly personal thing, that you wouldn't want to share with just anybody.

I personally tell my flatmates exactly what I am allergic to ,this is important for my safety and it just makes things simpler later on. I didn't tell them the first time I met them but they definitely knew I had food allergies after a week.

It was not a formal chat,it just randomly came up in conversation,and my flatmates didn't find it weird at all.If you have a medical condition that could result in you requiring assistance in an emergency( diabetes,allergies etc) you should definitely let your flatmates know.

This brings us onto emergency contact details, who to phone if you get ill. My G.P said that this would be a good idea, because if you get ill you don't have to worry about contacting your parents.

 I did not because:
1.lived and will live on campus, assuming I got ill enough to be incapable of phoning my parents, I would be in hospital or on my way to hospital. There is no way this can happen without the accommodation staff getting involved, the accommodation staff have my parents contact details.
2.I have a medic alert bracelet that has all my incase of emergency contact details, if i am ill in the presence of my flatmates they will have access to my wrists
3. Uni students are notorious for their juvenile pranks, the last thing I need is my flatmates ringing my parents in the middle of the night as a joke.

Long term conditions and Mental Health

There is less of a need to tell others about these,but bear in mind that you will be living with the same people for at least a year, they will notice stuff.

If you tell them from the beginning it will get rid of any awkward moments before they happen. Your flatmates can also be more accommodating and helpful if they know.

If you say nothing they could wonder what's wrong with you but be too shy to ask ,resulting in them reaching misinformed decisions.

I chose not to tell my flatmates,because I did not want to be treated differently.When they asked questions I answered them honestly and it all worked out well.

Please post about your experiences or thoughts in the comments bellow.I would love to hear from you