Travelling with coeliac and a nut allergy how real is the risk and how do I communicate it

Dietitian and allergy clinician so the genuine dietary safety picture The good news for coeliac Sri Lankan cuisine is one of the more naturally gluten friendly Asian cuisines the staple is RICE not wheat rice and curry string hoppers (rice flour) hoppers (rice flour) pittu (rice flour) kiribath (rice) most curries thickened with coconut not flour so the core diet is naturally gluten free which is a real advantage Where hidden gluten sneaks in be vigilant about godamba roti and kottu (made from godamba roti) which are WHEAT the wheat flour short eats and pastries soy sauce in the Chinese influenced and fusion dishes (contains wheat) seitan rare imported sauces and any wheat flour thickened gravy in tourist restaurant fusion food so avoid the roti and kottu and wheat short eats and ask about soy sauce The nut allergy this needs MORE care than the gluten cashews are widely used cashew curry (kaju) is a delicacy cashews appear in some rice dishes and sweets and ground nuts in some preparations tree nuts are genuinely present so the nut allergy is the higher risk one here Communicating a real medical allergy across the language gap carry a written ALLERGY CARD in Sinhala and Tamil (have your guesthouse or a translation written) stating the genuine medical allergy and the specific foods this is far more reliable than spoken English in a busy kitchen show it at every meal say it is a medical allergy not a preference the word allergy is understood and Sri Lankan cooks take it seriously Cross contamination honesty in small local kitchens cross contamination control is limited shared pans and surfaces are normal for a SEVERE allergy (anaphylaxis) this is the real risk favour places that can genuinely separate (your guesthouse cooking your meal to order is safest) carry the partner epinephrine and know the nearest hospital as the healthcare threads cover The workable approach lean into the naturally gluten free rice based core carry written allergy cards in the local languages treat the nut allergy as the serious one eat at guesthouses cooking to order where you can brief the kitchen and carry the emergency kit you can eat well and safely here with this vigilance