DETROIT: As a young adult, Javier Evelyn didn't always carry his epinephrine autoinjector, which dispenses the medicine he needs if he has a food allergy reaction. It wasn't cool to carry a clunky piece of equipment, he recalled.
"I did not carry my device with me at all for most of college, so I was just really fortunate, to be real with you, when it came to not having any big scares as I was more independent down the road," said Evelyn, 38, a Chicago area native who is allergic to some tree nuts, fin fish and casein, a protein found in cheese.