Allergies in BC Schools

Anaphylaxis Canada sent out this press release today.

We are pleased to announce that British Columbia's Education Minister Shirley Bond has signed a ministerial order that has the force of law, to provide a rapid response to ensure schools are prepared to deal with an emergency situation involving a student with a life-threatening allergy.

To read the full contents of the press release issued on September 10, go to:
http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2007EDU0118-001100.pdf

I'm delighted that this is happening. Andrew starts kindergarten next September, so this will give us time to work with the school to make sure it's safe for him.

Kids with allergies, interviewed

I followed a circuitous path to find this video.



Watch it and weep, if you're a parent of child with food allergies. The kids in this video are so sweet, and so brave, shouldering the burden of exclusion and knowing that they risk their lives when they go out in public.

Found via She She's post on her son's nut allergy.

__________________
Edited to add:
Mary asked me how to save this for showing to school teachers and administrators. Here's my reply to her.

Easy ... go to Savetube at
http://www.savetube.com/

and type in the URL for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzyLv2IKoGA

The instructions for how to view it are here:
http://www.savetube.com/tutorial.htm
(If Savetube doesn't work for you, here are some other tips.)

After you have the .flv file, google "flv converter" and you'll find some free software to convert the file from the .flv format to an avi file.

The credits for this video on youtube read:
A film of food allergic children produced for general awareness which premiered at the Food Allergy Initiative Northwest inaugural benefit dinner in May 2007.
www.faiusa.org

Life's Little Moments blog

Briana left me a comment on my allergy bracelets post, and I found her Life's Little Moments blog and added it to my blogroll.

Hi Briana! It's nice to "meet" you.

Temporary Tattoos as medic alert

One of the major search terms that brings people to this blog is "allergy bracelets", probably because I reviewed the silicone bracelets from Australia as one of my first posts. (Andrew still loves them, by the way, and they've been worn through months of abuse, baths, sunscreen, and heavy play, and they're still looking new.)

Anyways, this is a pretty cool product -- customizable temporary "tottoos" with "Allergic to peanuts" and your phone number as the text. The price tag is $28.95, which seems kinda high to me, but I'd think about it if he wasn't so attached to his current bracelets. And you do get 25 of them, which is a bit more than $1 per application. (Link found on Parent Hacks, which is a pretty cool site.)

But these would probably be good for Geoff, who's an escape artist and not nearly as verbal as Andrew. I haven't even blogged about this incident yet because it was pretty scary, but Geoff decided to take a "self-guided tour" of Science World about a month ago.

I'd taken the kids there for a fun morning. Well, Andrew spilled his fries when we were going to watch the stage show, and while I was cleaning them up, Geoff climbed up the stairs to the second floor, and went on a tour of a couple of different galleries. I found a staff member who radioed everyone while I was running around all the corners of the first floor. He got a call back a few minutes later — volunteers had found Geoff laughing at one of the exhibits, not even missing me in the slightest. When I got to him, he'd been corralled by the volunteers and was interacting with them happily.

Yeah, he's a pretty self-confident little kid who doesn't need me at all. It's a total plug for attachment parenting, but sometimes I do wish that it was easier to keep track of where he is, especially in a crowded place.

More allergy blogs

Wow, I'm finding more and more allergy blogs every day! Two more are now in my sidebar: Rational Jenn and every day with food allergies.

I recognize my kids in all of Purplemommy's stories, at every day with food allergies. And I agreed with Rational Jenn's anger in her post on "The Right to a Reese's".

And not added to the sidebar, because she doesn't regularly blog about allergies, is The Legal Soapbox. But I would encourage you to read her article on "Nuts and kinders", which just came out this week.

Also check out Kim's post on "Don't Kill the Allergy Mom," about her experiences being that mom.

Olive oil — or not?

The New Yorker's got an interesting article on fake olive oil: "Slippery Business: The Trade in Adulterated Olive Oil."

What does that have to do with my kid's allergies? Well, just reading the first paragraph of the article gave me the shivers:

On August 10, 1991, a rusty tanker called the Mazal II docked at the industrial port of Ordu, in Turkey, and pumped twenty-two hundred tons of hazelnut oil into its hold. The ship then embarked on a meandering voyage through the Mediterranean and the North Sea. By September 21st, when the Mazal II reached Barletta, a port in Puglia, in southern Italy, its cargo had become, on the ship’s official documents, Greek olive oil.

We use olive oil all the time because it's supposed to be so good for you. My severely nut-allergic friend even used to add it to her son's food to get some extra good fat into him. Have we just been lucky all this time, that we didn't get any contaminated batches?

Two more allergy blogs

I've just added two more allergy blogs to my sidebar: Because I said so ... and The Lancaster Family.

Hey, at this rate, we should start a webring!

Great allergy books for kids

Christina Black has written two books for kids who have allergies, and she sent me a couple of samples to review on this blog. The books are Mommy, Is This Safe to Eat? and Starting School with a Food Allergy: Tips for a Peanut Allergic Kid. (Click on the book titles to get screenshots of some of the pages in the books.)

I'm delighted to be able to wholeheartedly recommend these books. They're captivating and informative, and best of all, Andrew likes reading them and looking at the photos.

My favourite part of the preschooler book (Mommy, Is This Safe to Eat?) is the photo gallery of various nuts and where you might find them. (Some of these pages are in the preview pages.) Allergic Living magazine had an article about how kids don't always recognize the things they're allergic to, because we've done such a good job of keeping them away from their allergy triggers. Having these photos in one place gives him something to study, but from a very safe distance.

When we read this book to Andrew, he was tickled by the scenarios in the book, because they're much like what we do for him — special cupcakes at parties, shopping for safe food at the grocery store. I think he liked knowing that he wasn't unique in his life experience.

Andrew also liked the Starting School with a Food Allergy: Tips for a Peanut Allergic Kid book because he's a very social kid. He won't start kindergarten for another year, but he's already made friends who will be a grade ahead of him in his school, thanks to preschool, and he's looking forward to seeing them again. This book is upbeat and optimistic about life at school for allergic kids, something I think we'll need to hold onto when we get to that stage.

I'd give both books a thumbs-up, and a very strong "buy" recommendation if you've got allergic kids. Thanks, Christina, for the review copies!

One mom's story

This story brought me to tears, because I've been there.

From the Unfunny Files:

Do you know what it’s like to rush to the ER not knowing if your child is dead or alive? I do. Three times over.

Do you know what it’s like to speed down the highway in the pouring rain, shaking and sobbing with tears streaming down your face as you think back to that morning’s breakfast and how that might be the last meal you ever share with your child? How that morning, when you kissed him goodbye at daycare may have been the last time you saw your child alive? How that morning’s drop off may have been the last time you heard your child’s sweet voice say “Mommy, I Love You”? I do.

If you're away from your child, and he's had a bad reaction, you live in a weird state of suspended animation until you're reunited with your child. You can't breathe. You can't think straight, and yet, all you can do is to think about what ifs, and how abouts, and do you have your car keys, and what's the best route to drive to the hospital when you get off the SkyTrain. It's all mechanical, and it's all unreal.

Until you get to your kid, and he's fine, and he's still smiling bravely at you, and you don't dare break into tears in front of him because then he'll know how freaked out you are, and how scared you are, and he'll figure out that mommy's not superhuman after all, and can't always take care of him and fix all of his owwies for him.

But at least you can start breathing properly again, and the world suddenly turns colour again, like when Dorothy lands in Oz.

Not-so-allergy-friendly Gelato

It's taken me a week to blog about this because I'm still trying to process the experience.

In Vancouver, there's an amazing gelato place that I loved before I had kids. It's called La Casa Gelato, and they have all kinds of flavours of ice cream, from the normal chocolate and various chocolate combinations to the fruit flavours, to weird ones like curry, garlic and durian. And they let you try any number of flavours you like (they give you little spoonfuls), until you settle on what you want to order.

I haven't been back since Andrew was diagnosed with his allergies, because I figured that it wasn't safe. Well, my friend and former roommate Catherine was visiting from California last week, and wanted to visit La Casa Gelato to get some of her favourite pomelo gelato. (Yes, like I said, they have unusual flavours, and they're all yummy.)

I did the usual allergy-check when I called ahead, to make sure that there was something there that Andrew could have. Otherwise I would have brought him a treat or a chocolate bar instead.

They told me that they've got a huge selection of non-dairy ice cream, and that I just had to tell the server that he had a nut allergy, and they'd use a separate, clean scoop.

So we went there, and I read him all the flavours he could choose from -- about 25 different flavours. His eyes went wide with the selection, and inside, I was ecstatic because I figured that I could order him an ice cream cake from here for his birthday. Woo hoo!

He finally settled on the blackberry ice cream, and I got myself a papaya one, and Geoff got a mango one -- all non-dairy. Geoff's was fine, and looked tasty, and mine was great.

You can see where this is going, can't you?

After three or four licks, Andrew started grabbing at his throat, and complaining that it itched. I took the ice cream away from him, and took him to their bathroom, where he tried to throw up a few times.

I then gave the cone back to the servers, who continued to assure me that what I'd given him was non-dairy, and contained no nuts. (And to add insult to the injury, they didn't even offer me a refund on the ice cream, despite the fact that he was obviously having an allergic reaction.)

Did they not use a clean scoop, despite my request? I was too busy being delighted by the range of choices to actually watch the server get the scoop. Or is there just so much cross-contamination in their kitchen that they can't actually control for nuts or nut dust falling into other flavours?

I don't know what happened. All I can do is to advise you to avoid La Casa Gelato if you have nut allergies. (Andrew's almost outgrown his dairy allergy, so I'm pretty sure it was a nut reaction.)

Andrew was fine after a dose of antihistamine, though I did have his epipen with me just in case.

This is the first time that any restaurant or other place has served us something that caused him to have an unexpected reaction. And then, despite all evidence of his reaction, they continued to assure me that it wasn't their food that caused it.

I'm left feeling betrayed and mistrustful of all other restaurants now. And I don't like being in this place.

And Andrew was fine about the entire thing. He willingly handed over the faulty blackberry ice cream, and told me that "next time we go to the ice cream store, I won't get the sour blackberry one. It didn't make me feel good." He's only just turned 4 years old. At that age, he should be screaming in frustration that he can't have his ice cream on a hot summer day, not resigned to the fact that it contains something that's bad for him, so he won't eat it any more.

I love that he's so mature about his allergies. I love that he's able to ask "does this have dairy in it?" before he'll eat a new food. I love that, when something does contain an allergen, he will turn away from it, and not ask for it any more.

But I wish that he didn't have to do all of that, that he didn't have to ask, "mommy, what does die mean?" I want him to have a normal childhood. I want him to be able to taste any food that's out there. I don't want to have to watch for nuts and nut shells and be paranoid about everything that he comes into contact with.

But since I can't have that, then all I want is for restaurants and people who serve me food to not lie about what's in the food they've prepared for me, and be trained enough to know what the ingredients are, and how safely everything is prepared. And maybe even use a clean ice cream scoop. (See my Cobs bread experience for another bad learning experience.)

Winner of the Wateroos contest!

Andrew chose #3 for the winner of the Wateroos contest, and that's Olena! Olena, can you contact me for how you'd like to get the penguin drinks for your kids?

(Yes, I'm horribly behind in my blog -- we just got back from our summer vacation.)

allergen-free peanuts?

Wow, this sounds like a bizarre fantasy or even an urban legend. Dare we hope that it's true?

N.C. A&T food scientist develops process for allergen-free peanuts
(via the Allergizer blog)

I can't even process how amazing this would be if it's real and safe for human consumption.

Wateroos Review

The Wateroos folks sent me some free samples to try out on the kids, in exchange for a review on this blog.

I like the concept: flavoured water in a tetrapack box. It's got no sugar, but just enough flavour to appeal to kids. It would also travel well; I could leave it in the car for weeks or months without worrying about bacteria growing in it, since it's sealed. And of course, it contains nothing that Andrew's allergic to, which is always a delight and a relief.

What did the kids think? Well, Andrew liked the packaging, but barely finished half a box. Geoff also took a sip, but didn't finish his box either. I'll have to try it again when they're a little thirstier, or pack them along to the park next time, because the kids are always thirsty and hungry when they're playing. (I get the best meals into them when we're outside.)

Of course, the packaging -- for WATER! -- makes me feel incredibly guilty. I read an article about the marketing of water last week: "Message in a Bottle," which really made me think about our consumption choices. See also the No Impact Man blog for an example of one guy who's living as green as he can in New York City. On the other hand, the kids go through tetrapacks of juice when we're out, and that's the same amount of packaging.

(Also see more Wateroos reviews in the blogosphere. These guys are doing a TON of promotion!)

I'm also going to have this blog's first contest. If you want to win a couple of tetrapacks of Wateroos, leave me a comment on this post or email me at allergicmom (at) gmail (dot) com with your email address, and I'll have the kids draw a random winner. Deadline for entries: one week from today, which would be July 23.

Dangerous kid's cartoon: That's So Raven

From bridges4kids Open Letter to Disney:

There's a scary episode of That's So Raven, which totally delivers misinformation about allergies and could be extremely dangerous for any kids watching it. Here's a snippet. Follow the link for the full letter to Disney.

The show was a spoof of Iron Chef with two teams cooking. “Raven” was on one team with her father. The required ingredients included mushrooms and you learned in the show that Raven was allergic to mushrooms. Her father saw the mushroom ingredients and cautioned her not to touch them and set them aside. The opposing team as a “funny joke” for the sitcom, INTENTIONALLY THREW MUSHROOMS INTO HER FOOD. She ate some and the allergic reaction was grotesquely spoofed, showing her face and hands swelling but she is able to breathe and talk and make a joke hoping that her behind was not getting bigger too, ha ha. (In an accurate depiction of a systemic reaction, she would be vomiting, struggling to breathe as her lungs and throat closed, and losing consciousness as she slipped into anaphylactic shock, possibly followed by death, even if emergency treatment were administered). She downplays her reaction and says its “no big deal” and “will go away in five minutes” (totally inaccurate). Her father tries to take her to the doctor but she refuses to go and is made out to be a HERO for toughing it out without treatment.

There have been great kids shows about allergies, but this isn't one of them. Slap on the wrist for Disney.

Allergy research

Two interesting research links crossed my screen this week, courtesy of google news alerts.

The first was about buckyballs, in nanotech research: "Allergy-fighting buckyballs created". I don't even pretend to understand these, outside of my favourite Greg Bear novels, but it looks promising.

The second sounds just as interesting: "No More Choking And Burning Eyes? New Approach To Eliminating Allergies, Asthma". (via Rational Jenn) This one's for my friends Sarah, Grace and Eric to decipher for me — and tell me how much hope there is in this line of research. I'm a little scared at the potential to de-activate the body's entire immune system, but if it can be properly targeted, then what a relief it would be to have my kids lead "normal" lives!

One super teacher!

I sure hope Andrew's teachers are like this one.

You've got to read this blog entry for one teacher's approach to dealing with allergies in her classroom.

(Via AllergyMoms)

Andrew's birthday party!

It's been such a busy week that I haven't blogged Andrew's birthday party yet!

He's truly madly deeply into Rescue Heroes right now, so we had a Rescue Heroes party for him.

Tony made a Wacky Cake, and then shaped it into a fire engine, based on instructions that we found online. The only problem was that the red food colouring, mixed with the white frosting, turned pink! Not that Andrew noticed. His eyes were just wide from all the candy that was loaded onto the cake -- all safe for his allergies!


He had about 15 kids for his birthday party, at Go Bananas, a kids' climbing centre. We also made wacky cake cupcakes, and decorated them with the same icing. It was a lot faster to hand out cupcakes to the kids than to wait for Andrew to cut through his cake.


And after a long birthday party, plus playing at Nana's house after the party, he totally crashed in the car on the way home, and slept for a couple of hours.

The next morning, he declared his birthday was "the best day ever." I was so happy for him. And we managed a birthday party where he didn't throw up. Whew!

Cobs update

Just a quick update post on Cobs: they apologized for the misinformation and sent me a $10 gift card.

More importantly, they're going to give their staff a briefing on what "dairy" means, including whey and casein, not just the word milk.

I did emphasize to their customer service person that the staff I met at Cobs were uniformly enthusiastic about their product, and they shouldn't be faulted for it. But unless you've gotten the training about allergies, or have allergies yourself, you simply don't know any better.

Another learning experience: Cobs Bread

Geoff and I went to Cobs Bread on Wednesday, when Andrew was in preschool, and picked up a bunch of different treats for us.

I was totally assured by the young woman at the front counter that everything I bought was dairy- and nut-free, so I went ahead and bought a lot of different things -- a blueberry cobbler, a box of lemon tarts, date bun, fruit bun, and whole wheat baguette.

And I let Andrew try them when he got home from preschool. He quite liked the blueberry cobbler, but his favourite was the lemon tart, which he got on Thursday. He ate two of those, one after breakfast and another one after dinner. He did go and play with the neighbourhood kids in the street after that, so I'm sure he burned off all that sugar.

And then this morning, I decided to check on the ingredients when I was writing up this blog post. (All of Cob's nutrition info is available online, so if you've got one near you, you can do your research before you get to the store.)

Well, everything I'd fed to Andrew contains whey powder! It seems that Cob's needs to teach its front counter staff about the other names for dairy, including whey and casein.

Thank goodness nothing happened. I think that Andrew didn't eat much of the blueberry cobbler. And with the lemon tart, he was digging out the lemon filling, but didn't eat the crust.

On the bright side, I did want to test whether his lower dairy allergy scores were for real or not. I guess they are.

Moral of this story: don't trust anything that the front counter clerk tells you about ingredients. Make sure to read it for yourself, despite the "no dairy" signs plastered throughout the store.

And yes, I will be letting Cob's Bread know about my experience.

I love Choices

One of the closest health food stores out here in the suburbs is Choices Community Markets. We went there tonight, and picked up the usual suspects, all of which are safe for Andrew. Their raisin bran muffins contain no dairy and are so yummy. Plus they carry a plain unflavoured quinoa, which we've just discovered and are really enjoying as a new carb. (If you follow the link, you'll find info on its high nutritional value: "quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete foodstuff ... ")

And as we were checking out, the kids got totally interested in the "candy" by the checkout stand. But this time, we were happy to buy it! It was something called Bare Fruit -- bake-dried organic fruit with nothing added but organic coconut oil, for $1.39/bag. Plus it's made in a nut-free facility. So I picked up a bag of bananas & cherries to try it. The kids ate the entire bag on the way home. Okay, so it was a small bag, but they'd had dinner, and shouldn't have been that hungry.

And now that the kids are asleep, I'm just thinking back at the experience of being able to buy something for them at the checkout stand, and feeding it to them in the car, without freaking out about possible allergic reactions. Wow. Is this how other parents of non-allergic kids feel?

I just can't see certain things without wincing any more. We walked through Choices' bulk food aisle, and I grabbed at Andrew when he went too close to the bins of nuts. I went grocery shopping without the kids earlier this week, and almost lost it because of the spilled milk on the checkout conveyor belt -- and I did arrange all of my groceries to not touch any of it. And when we went to Science World last week, I was totally watching all the other parents who were feeding their kids, just to make sure that there were no peanut butter sandwiches.

Yeah, my life is about being paranoid about food.

Tonight was an amazing break from that paranoia. What a nice feeling this is.