After weeks of reports and inquests into food allergy allergy deaths, the food allergy community was rocked by yet two more reports recently.

Dominique Brown, a social media influencer and co-founder of @BlackGirlDisney, attended a holiday event sponsored by BoxLunch in Los Angeles on December 5.

The Daily Mail reported other influencers at the event had told them that Dominique ate something unmarked after being told the food was safe from her allergens. She reportedly was severely allergic to peanuts.

Although EMS was called, she died sometime later.

We have no idea whether she had been prescribed epinephrine and whether she had it on hand.

After news of her Dominique’s passing, her brother, Patrick Ramos, added a comment to one of her Instagram posts that read:

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to her social media fam for showing her so much love and light. Disney did bring her joy, but it was unparalleled that she found a community who loved her and Disney as much as she did.

I will miss my sister and best friend and that infectious smile she always had.

We also recently learned of another tragedy that occurred in June when 19-year-old Idris Qayyum, a West London teenager, ate dessert at a hotel restaurant while on vacation in Antalya, Turkey.

He also had a severe peanut allergy diagnosed when he was a toddler.

He had reportedly asked restaurant staff three times whether the cake he was about to have for dessert contained peanuts and was assured it did not, even after using Google Translate to ensure they understood him.

Moments after eating the dessert, he began to feel nauseous and developed trouble breathing. A friend rushed him to his hotel room and urgently video-called Idris’ mother, who desperately shouted at emergency crews to administer his epinephrine as she watched them perform CPR on her son.

After 25 minutes of attempting to revive him, his heart stopped and he was declared dead.

Said his mother:

Our lives have been shattered forever. To lose our son aged 19 is the worst tragedy any family could face. 

But to lose him in circumstances where we were not able to be there to help him is very hard to bear. 

And to lose him knowing that he had made every effort to protect himself from a harm to which he knew he was vulnerable is even worse.

She added:

I was shouting down the phone whilst crying, asking staff to give him is EpiPen, to call an ambulance.

There was a 20 to 25-minute window from when he ate the dessert and when his heart stopped.

Idris was always really vigilant with his allergy. He would always read the packaging of anything he was going to consume. He was really sensible. 

We avoided it as best as we could. Over the years, he very occasionally accidentally ate peanuts and his symptoms were different every time. 

But it always affected his breathing and he knew he needed his asthma pump.    

She claims he self-administered his epinephrine, but he likely did so upon returning to his hotel room, too late to save his life.

The family is now suing Love Holidays, claiming the package tour operator and its suppliers failed to provide correct information regarding food allergens and misled Idris. 

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We send our sincere condolences to the Brown and Qayyum families, mourning the passing of their loved ones who were doing nothing more than enjoying their lives as others without food allergies do. We hope they can take a measure of solace from their respective communities who mourn with them, including the global food allergy community.

As we do when reporting circumstances such as these, we look for ways others with food allergies can avoid similar tragic outcomes.

Our overriding message is a simple one:

COMPLACENCY IS DEADLY

Some very basic reminders:

• You are at Risk.

Haven’t had a reaction in years? Was your last reaction mild? Think you’ll only break out in a hive or two or experience some itchiness if exposed?

Don’t bet your life on it. Your last reaction, or lack thereof, does not predict the severity of the next which could be severe, even life-threatening.

As unfair as it is, people with food allergies are burdened with the need to be vigilant at all times.

• Always take two emergency epinephrine devices — auto-injectors or nasal sprays — along with you everywhere, every time, and administer the first when you first suspect anaphylaxis.

Epinephrine is the only drug that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction — but it must be administered shortly after the onset of symptoms to offer the best outcome.

Consider epinephrine your life preserver. It can’t help you if you leave it at home in the medicine cabinet or your hotel room. Always carry it and never hesitate to use it.

• Be careful who you trust with your life.

Whenever you venture out — to a restaurant, event, or even a friend’s house — and consider eating there, ask yourself whether you trust the host with your life.

Did you discuss your allergy with the kitchen staff, chef, and server? Based on their feedback, are you confident enough to put your life on the line? Do they understand the danger of cross-contact and have the means and training to prevent it? If not, don’t eat there — period.

Take your own food along whenever possible so you don’t have to trust others.

• Friends and family must be advocates.

Is your parent or sibling a pain in the ass, always asking whether you have your epinephrine with you? Does your significant other butt in and ask questions of restaurant staff that you might have forgotten? Does your friend pester you for instructions on when and how to administer your device? Good! Consider yourself lucky.

They take their responsibility as your advocate seriously, and you should encourage them rather than dismiss their efforts. Remember, the larger and more engaged your advocate group, the more eyes will be watching to help keep you safe.