Table 2

Theme, categories and subcategories that emerged from interviews with adolescents concerning their experiences of being food-hypersensitive.

Theme

Striving to normalise the experience of being food-hypersensitive

Categories

Perceiving oneself as being particular

Feeling constrained

Experiencing others' ignorance

Keeping control

Feeling it's okay

Subcategories

The body is insufficient

Deprivation

Disregard

Vigilance

Personal competence

Psychological and emotional impact

Insecurity

Unreliability

Tests and evaluations

Considerate and supportive surroundings

Being a bother

Fear of severe food reactions

Lack of understanding

Making decisions

It could be worse

Marklund et al. BMC Nursing 2007 6:8   doi:10.1186/1472-6955-6-8