Posts
This was just linked from another forum that I was reading, and I found it to be very useful:
Milk Allergy & Intolerance: http://www.allergysa.org/milk.htm
It covers the question of why Andrew is allergic to milk, but has scratch and RAST tested negative to cheese — there are two different proteins in milk, and he's only allergic to one of them.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
5 ways to deal when you find out that your child has a major food allergy
Our world changed when Andrew was officially diagnosed with major food allergies, two years ago.
We already knew that he reacted to some foods with hives and vomiting, but we were able to sustain a certain amount of denial, and hope that he would outgrow the reactions — or that they weren't really reactions, that it was all in our minds. (He was 8 months old when he vomited and got hives from yogurt — he was our first kid, and we were able to continue in denial for quite a long time. I even kept on feeding him tastes of dairy every month, to see if he'd outgrown it yet. Yes, I was that stupid and uninformed.)
He was two when I finally got him to the allergist, and had the allergies we knew about (peanuts, dairy, cats) confirmed, and a few added (nuts, dustmites, mold, eggs). Even though the diagnosis only confirmed most of what we already knew, it was now official, and really hard to hear.
So, after a couple of years of living with Andrew's allergies, here are five tips for other parents who are dealing with this kind of news.
1. Go straight to acceptance
You will go through the stages of grief when your child gets diagnosed with a serious allergy. You can take the time to get through all the other ones, at a later date, but for the sake of your child's health, you need to go straight to acceptance, and process the rest of it later. You can't afford to hang out in denial any more. Rid your house of all of your child's allergens, and then add them in later when you start feeling more confident.
2. Get support
I've listed a lot of great allergy groups in the sidebar to this blog. Visit them all and find the ones that work for you. There are tons of amazing parents in all of the groups, but of course, each group has a slightly different dynamic. One of them will fit your parenting style the most. All of the groups are supportive, and encourage questions from new visitors. And all of the boards have extensive archives that you can look through if you're feeling too shy to post your question.
3. Get informed
I know more about allergies than my family doctor. And I know more about Andrew's allergic responses than his allergist does, since his allergist has only seen him once. I've done a ton of research, and read everything I could find. I know that egg hides in the oddest places, such as in vaccines (which is why he's not getting the flu vaccine). And I've learned the other names for his allergens — for example, "whey" and "casein" are alternate names for milk ingredients. But even I make mistakes and let him have things that make him vomit. And then I throw out that package and chalk it up as another lesson learned.
And part of getting informed is finding out what your child can safely eat. On the net, there are lots of lists like the one I made, of safe commercially-produced foods for Andrew. Make your own list of safe foods, so that you can give the list to family and friends who invite you over.
4. Learn to cook
It's healthier for you to cook your own food, so having an allergic child is almost a blessing in disguise. We've learned to make non-dairy versions of almost everything, and I know that what we eat has far fewer preservatives and chemicals than its storebought equivalent. Yes, it takes a lot longer to cook than to simply microwave or throw something in the oven, but it's better for my peace of mind.
5. Forgive yourself
You didn't give your child this allergy. It wasn't something you ate when you were pregnant, and it wasn't something you didn't eat or do when you were pregnant. Your child's allergy is not your fault. This was really hard for me. I did avoid peanuts when I was pregnant with Andrew, and he ended up with a huge peanut allergy. I also drank lots of milk, and he's allergic to that, too, so there's not much of a cause-effect pattern there. Someday, maybe he'll be the researcher who figures out why he was hit with so many allergies, but until then, all you can do is go easy on yourself, and deal with today.
We already knew that he reacted to some foods with hives and vomiting, but we were able to sustain a certain amount of denial, and hope that he would outgrow the reactions — or that they weren't really reactions, that it was all in our minds. (He was 8 months old when he vomited and got hives from yogurt — he was our first kid, and we were able to continue in denial for quite a long time. I even kept on feeding him tastes of dairy every month, to see if he'd outgrown it yet. Yes, I was that stupid and uninformed.)
He was two when I finally got him to the allergist, and had the allergies we knew about (peanuts, dairy, cats) confirmed, and a few added (nuts, dustmites, mold, eggs). Even though the diagnosis only confirmed most of what we already knew, it was now official, and really hard to hear.
So, after a couple of years of living with Andrew's allergies, here are five tips for other parents who are dealing with this kind of news.
1. Go straight to acceptance
You will go through the stages of grief when your child gets diagnosed with a serious allergy. You can take the time to get through all the other ones, at a later date, but for the sake of your child's health, you need to go straight to acceptance, and process the rest of it later. You can't afford to hang out in denial any more. Rid your house of all of your child's allergens, and then add them in later when you start feeling more confident.
2. Get support
I've listed a lot of great allergy groups in the sidebar to this blog. Visit them all and find the ones that work for you. There are tons of amazing parents in all of the groups, but of course, each group has a slightly different dynamic. One of them will fit your parenting style the most. All of the groups are supportive, and encourage questions from new visitors. And all of the boards have extensive archives that you can look through if you're feeling too shy to post your question.
3. Get informed
I know more about allergies than my family doctor. And I know more about Andrew's allergic responses than his allergist does, since his allergist has only seen him once. I've done a ton of research, and read everything I could find. I know that egg hides in the oddest places, such as in vaccines (which is why he's not getting the flu vaccine). And I've learned the other names for his allergens — for example, "whey" and "casein" are alternate names for milk ingredients. But even I make mistakes and let him have things that make him vomit. And then I throw out that package and chalk it up as another lesson learned.
And part of getting informed is finding out what your child can safely eat. On the net, there are lots of lists like the one I made, of safe commercially-produced foods for Andrew. Make your own list of safe foods, so that you can give the list to family and friends who invite you over.
4. Learn to cook
It's healthier for you to cook your own food, so having an allergic child is almost a blessing in disguise. We've learned to make non-dairy versions of almost everything, and I know that what we eat has far fewer preservatives and chemicals than its storebought equivalent. Yes, it takes a lot longer to cook than to simply microwave or throw something in the oven, but it's better for my peace of mind.
5. Forgive yourself
You didn't give your child this allergy. It wasn't something you ate when you were pregnant, and it wasn't something you didn't eat or do when you were pregnant. Your child's allergy is not your fault. This was really hard for me. I did avoid peanuts when I was pregnant with Andrew, and he ended up with a huge peanut allergy. I also drank lots of milk, and he's allergic to that, too, so there's not much of a cause-effect pattern there. Someday, maybe he'll be the researcher who figures out why he was hit with so many allergies, but until then, all you can do is go easy on yourself, and deal with today.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
allergy allerts via google
A couple of noteworthy posts came across my google news alerts today.
This infuriates and frightens me. I know that little kids are mean, but this is bullying behaviour, and it's in kindergarten!
Also, as a followup to my Unexpected Peanut Exposure post:
A little girl on Kenzie & Madi's bus has been picking on Makenzie since day one. Her name is Kendall, and she is in kindergarten, too. On Wednesday, she took a PBJ sandwich from her lunchbox and waved it in Kenzie's face, knowing very well about Makenzie's peanut allergy. Kenzie was so terrified that she was in tears. I didn't know 5-year-olds could be so evil.From As the Story Goes.
This infuriates and frightens me. I know that little kids are mean, but this is bullying behaviour, and it's in kindergarten!
Also, as a followup to my Unexpected Peanut Exposure post:
Several years ago, a popular children’s book had a “scratch and sniff” feature. On one page was a picture of a jar of peanut butter that, when scratched, emitted the distinctive odor of peanut butter. ... the inhalation of peanut butter odor does not cause allergic reactions. Another study by Dr. Perry and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Medical Center analyzed the air around peanut butter, peanuts and peanuts being shelled, and found no detectable peanut protein in the air samples.From a peanut allergy page that's new to me
Friday, November 09, 2007
Sabrina's Law documentary online
Global TV, a Canadian network, has put a documentary online called Sabrina's Law, the history of the allergic kids' legislation in Ontario.
My warning: if you're a parent of severely allergic kids, keep a box of tissues close by. It was hard to watch this and not think about losing my kids.
My warning: if you're a parent of severely allergic kids, keep a box of tissues close by. It was hard to watch this and not think about losing my kids.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Unexpected peanut exposure
After reviewing a few great allergy books, I had to write about one that's not so friendly.
Andrew had a meltdown at storytime tonight because Tony had to take his book away from him.
The book was My Big Busy Body Activity Book. It's a great book, with photos of different body parts, and talks about your skeleton, muscles, skin, breathing, and all sorts of other body parts.
Well, when they got to the smelling page, there were 4 scratch-and-sniff envelopes, containing different scents: lemon, chocolate, spearmint, and peanut butter. Ack!
So Tony took the book away, and Andrew got really upset, because he'd been enjoying the book. He's in a phase where he really wants to know more about how his body works -- we just returned another "skeleton" book to the library last week.
The scent is on a piece of paper in a wee envelope on the page, so it's going into the garbage tonight. It doesn't actually even smell like anything any more (the book is about two years old), and I wonder if it ever actually had any peanut protein on the paper at all. I've seen lots of scratch-and-sniff books, including a firefighters one which had the smell of smoke (yucky!). And Andrew has a scratch-and-sniff Memory game. But this is the first time I've ever seen a peanut scent.
So, for you other peanut allergic parents out there -- would you have let your kid sniff the peanut-scented card?
(I am tempted to keep it to show to my severely allergic friend, to see if it makes her "spidey sense" tingle. She can smell an open jar of peanuts in the house, when she comes in the front door. If she's willing to sniff it, and can't detect anything, that might mean that there's no peanut protein on the card.)
Andrew had a meltdown at storytime tonight because Tony had to take his book away from him.
The book was My Big Busy Body Activity Book. It's a great book, with photos of different body parts, and talks about your skeleton, muscles, skin, breathing, and all sorts of other body parts.
Well, when they got to the smelling page, there were 4 scratch-and-sniff envelopes, containing different scents: lemon, chocolate, spearmint, and peanut butter. Ack!So Tony took the book away, and Andrew got really upset, because he'd been enjoying the book. He's in a phase where he really wants to know more about how his body works -- we just returned another "skeleton" book to the library last week.
The scent is on a piece of paper in a wee envelope on the page, so it's going into the garbage tonight. It doesn't actually even smell like anything any more (the book is about two years old), and I wonder if it ever actually had any peanut protein on the paper at all. I've seen lots of scratch-and-sniff books, including a firefighters one which had the smell of smoke (yucky!). And Andrew has a scratch-and-sniff Memory game. But this is the first time I've ever seen a peanut scent.
So, for you other peanut allergic parents out there -- would you have let your kid sniff the peanut-scented card?
(I am tempted to keep it to show to my severely allergic friend, to see if it makes her "spidey sense" tingle. She can smell an open jar of peanuts in the house, when she comes in the front door. If she's willing to sniff it, and can't detect anything, that might mean that there's no peanut protein on the card.)
An allergy-free Halloween
Alison over at Sure Foods Living just posted a great list on How to Have an Allergy Free Halloween.
I had to blog it here because it's an incredibly comprehensive list, including ideas on how to substitute toys for candy.
Andrew wants to be a Transformer for Halloween. And not just any easy Transformer -- he wants to be Swoop, a jet plane! I think we'll be painting and colouring cardboard boxes and paper for the next couple of weeks to get him into his costume!
Hopefully he'll be enjoying his costume so much that he won't care about what or how much candy he'll be getting. That, or we'll be "buying" his candy from him with money that he can then take to the store to buy himself a toy.
I had to blog it here because it's an incredibly comprehensive list, including ideas on how to substitute toys for candy.
Andrew wants to be a Transformer for Halloween. And not just any easy Transformer -- he wants to be Swoop, a jet plane! I think we'll be painting and colouring cardboard boxes and paper for the next couple of weeks to get him into his costume!
Hopefully he'll be enjoying his costume so much that he won't care about what or how much candy he'll be getting. That, or we'll be "buying" his candy from him with money that he can then take to the store to buy himself a toy.
Monday, October 08, 2007
More super kids books about allergies
Nicole over at Allergicchild.com has published three fabulous allergy storybooks for kids:
He really enjoyed them, and made a point of bringing them out for his playdate this morning, for our friend Ann, who's allergic to peanuts and nuts. She thought they were great, too. They certainly didn't have anything like this when she was a kid, and in fact, the cafeteria ladies simply didn't believe her when she told them she had a nut allergy.
I'm also going to send these books to preschool for the teachers to read at storytime. They're very attractive, and frame the allergy in a friendly way, while dealing with hazards like your friends wanting to share their un-safe snacks with you. (Plus, there are about 10 allergic kids in the preschool's various sessions this year, out of about 80 kids, so I think they'll welcome something that will also help lots of other kids.)
I think I'll eventually be donating them to Andrew's elementary school library. Just in our neighbourhood, I know of one other anaphylactic-to-peanuts kid, another who's severely allergic to mangos & pistachios, and her brother, who's allergic to dairy, and loves getting safe snacks at our house. So the books will eventually be used by tons of people. (So thanks, Nicole, for the review copies!)
If you've got a kid who's about to start school, I would absolutely recommend these books. (Or get your school librarian to order them in.) They're great for helping kids figure out how to deal with social situations where there will be food that's not safe for them. They're also great for reading to non-allergic kids who are friends of allergic kids, so that they know how to help their friends by not bringing un-safe snacks.
- Allie the Allergic Elephant: A Children’s Story of Peanut Allergies
- Cody the Allergic Cow: A Children’s Story of Milk Allergies
- Chad the Allergic Chipmunk: A Children’s Story of Nut Allergies
He really enjoyed them, and made a point of bringing them out for his playdate this morning, for our friend Ann, who's allergic to peanuts and nuts. She thought they were great, too. They certainly didn't have anything like this when she was a kid, and in fact, the cafeteria ladies simply didn't believe her when she told them she had a nut allergy.I'm also going to send these books to preschool for the teachers to read at storytime. They're very attractive, and frame the allergy in a friendly way, while dealing with hazards like your friends wanting to share their un-safe snacks with you. (Plus, there are about 10 allergic kids in the preschool's various sessions this year, out of about 80 kids, so I think they'll welcome something that will also help lots of other kids.)
I think I'll eventually be donating them to Andrew's elementary school library. Just in our neighbourhood, I know of one other anaphylactic-to-peanuts kid, another who's severely allergic to mangos & pistachios, and her brother, who's allergic to dairy, and loves getting safe snacks at our house. So the books will eventually be used by tons of people. (So thanks, Nicole, for the review copies!)
If you've got a kid who's about to start school, I would absolutely recommend these books. (Or get your school librarian to order them in.) They're great for helping kids figure out how to deal with social situations where there will be food that's not safe for them. They're also great for reading to non-allergic kids who are friends of allergic kids, so that they know how to help their friends by not bringing un-safe snacks.
Pumpkin pie recipe -- dairy free, nut free
It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and it was our turn to host the big family dinner. I was glad to do it, despite the huge amount of work, because then we could make it as allergen-free as possible.
I love pumpkin pie, especially this time of year, but all the pumpkin pies that they sell in the grocery stores have dairy ingredients. So I went on a quest to make a good homemade pumpkin pie. Here's my recipe. It's dairy-free (uses rice dream), nut-free, but does contain eggs because Andrew has outgrown his egg allergy.
Crust: Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. (Contains wheat ingredients, does not have soy or dairy.) The other pie crusts that we looked at in the freezer section contained milk ingredients, so weren't safe for Andrew. And I'm not confident enough to make my own crusts, plus Geoff is at a clingy stage, so I can't spend too much time in the kitchen.
The pumpkin filling was based on the pumpkin pie recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, and I've copied it below.
16 ounce can pumpkin (I used a 14 ounce can of organic pumpkin)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (and I did look it up, and nutmeg is not a nut)
3 slightly beaten eggs
2/3 cup rice milk (substituted for the original 2/3 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup milk)
1. Put the pie crust into a pie dish. Put into oven to bake for 10 minutes or so, just to brown the crust.
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Add eggs. Beat until just combined. Gradually stir in rice milk.
3. Pour filling into pie crust.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. (The original recipe says 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. That was about 35 minutes for me, but my oven runs hot.) If you're worried about over-browning the crust, cover the edge of the pie with foil for the first 25 minutes of the baking time.
5. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours, cover for longer storage.
This was the tastiest dairy-free pumpkin pie that I've managed to make, and I'll definitely be doing more of these! The last 3-4 pumpkin pies I've tried to make have all been too runny or tasted a little bit "off.")
Hopefully this will help out some of you in time for the US Thanksgiving weekend!
I love pumpkin pie, especially this time of year, but all the pumpkin pies that they sell in the grocery stores have dairy ingredients. So I went on a quest to make a good homemade pumpkin pie. Here's my recipe. It's dairy-free (uses rice dream), nut-free, but does contain eggs because Andrew has outgrown his egg allergy.
Crust: Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. (Contains wheat ingredients, does not have soy or dairy.) The other pie crusts that we looked at in the freezer section contained milk ingredients, so weren't safe for Andrew. And I'm not confident enough to make my own crusts, plus Geoff is at a clingy stage, so I can't spend too much time in the kitchen.
The pumpkin filling was based on the pumpkin pie recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, and I've copied it below.
16 ounce can pumpkin (I used a 14 ounce can of organic pumpkin)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (and I did look it up, and nutmeg is not a nut)
3 slightly beaten eggs
2/3 cup rice milk (substituted for the original 2/3 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup milk)
1. Put the pie crust into a pie dish. Put into oven to bake for 10 minutes or so, just to brown the crust.
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Add eggs. Beat until just combined. Gradually stir in rice milk.
3. Pour filling into pie crust.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. (The original recipe says 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. That was about 35 minutes for me, but my oven runs hot.) If you're worried about over-browning the crust, cover the edge of the pie with foil for the first 25 minutes of the baking time.
5. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours, cover for longer storage.
This was the tastiest dairy-free pumpkin pie that I've managed to make, and I'll definitely be doing more of these! The last 3-4 pumpkin pies I've tried to make have all been too runny or tasted a little bit "off.")
Hopefully this will help out some of you in time for the US Thanksgiving weekend!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
I'm stoked
I've added another allergic mom's blog to my sidebar: Allergy Free in Loudoun. She's doing a great job of keeping on top of what's happening with allergies in the news -- give her a visit!
Also, I'm riding a great high after tonight's knit night. I helped out another knitter with a tough pattern, and then an hour later, we got to talking about allergies. Well, it turns out that her son was allergic to the entire world when he was a kid -- dairy, peanuts, dustmites, baby tylenol, the works. She even used to wash down the walls every night just to minimize his exposure to dustmites.
And now, as an adult, he's not allergic to anything at all. (She's probably in her 50s or 60s, so I imagine that her son is probably in his 30s.)
Wow.
I have nightmares all the time about Andrew's future, especially as he starts school next year and begins to live his own life. Her story just gives me so much hope.
And there are so many more options for Andrew than her son had. She used to give him cereal with water, because there was no such thing as rice milk back then. And nothing was labelled as it is today, so it would have been a nightmare to figure out what was safe for him to eat. And she didn't have nearly as huge a network as exists now, to help with ideas on what our kids might be willing to eat.
Also, I'm riding a great high after tonight's knit night. I helped out another knitter with a tough pattern, and then an hour later, we got to talking about allergies. Well, it turns out that her son was allergic to the entire world when he was a kid -- dairy, peanuts, dustmites, baby tylenol, the works. She even used to wash down the walls every night just to minimize his exposure to dustmites.
And now, as an adult, he's not allergic to anything at all. (She's probably in her 50s or 60s, so I imagine that her son is probably in his 30s.)
Wow.
I have nightmares all the time about Andrew's future, especially as he starts school next year and begins to live his own life. Her story just gives me so much hope.
And there are so many more options for Andrew than her son had. She used to give him cereal with water, because there was no such thing as rice milk back then. And nothing was labelled as it is today, so it would have been a nightmare to figure out what was safe for him to eat. And she didn't have nearly as huge a network as exists now, to help with ideas on what our kids might be willing to eat.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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.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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, August 27, 2007
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:
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?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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!
Hey, at this rate, we should start a webring!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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!
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:
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.
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.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.
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.
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.)
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.)
Sunday, August 05, 2007
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.)
(Yes, I'm horribly behind in my blog -- we just got back from our summer vacation.)
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