Vacation planning can be tricky. So much time goes into planning a vacation in general —  where to go, when and where to stay.  But for someone with food allergies it adds on additional planning, lots of research, increased anxiety and you need to plan well in advance.  From the very start you need to find out details about…

• what airline will be safe for you to fly, or is it better to drive;

•  will the hotel have a refrigerator in the room or do you really need a full kitchen set up;

• what restaurants would be safe to eat at, and can I even go into certain places (what if they serve peanuts, nuts, or other allergens). 

•   Even if it’s an amusement park, zoo or other fun filled destination, those with food allergies have to ask unusual questions like what are the animals fed, what oils are food items fried in and so on and so on.

•   Where is the local hospital and best route to get there (just in case)

Always research as much as you can about where you are going in advance.  Places like Disney are very family friendly and tend to be excellent with food allergies, but some amusement parks are not. Just because they are family friendly, don’t assume they are food allergy friendly. Search the internet, read blogs, ask friends on Facebook for places that have worked out well for them, check websites such as www.AllerDine.com for food allergy friendly restaurants in the area and print out a Restaurant Allergy Card to give to the chef each time you eat out.  

 AllerDine.com covers many of the major vacation destination cities such as Orlando, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego, Toronto and many more with close to 1000 restaurant locations detailed with food allergy procedures, allergens on site, kitchen set up and much more. There is no reason that with appropriate research and follow up while you are there, you can’t go enjoy your vacation. But always be prepared and double check every step of the way. Always make sure you have all your medications with you before you depart, and it ‘s probably good to check expiration dates just in case.

Call in advance to ask questions, notify them of your allergens and when you will be coming in.  When you arrive, request to speak with the manager or chef directly to double check everything again for consistent answers. 

 Ask questions like …

•  if they have a label book or itemized book of ingredients, 
• how your meal will be prepared,
•   what is the kitchen layout (ie. Nuts in salads may be very far away from your meal)
•   what is safe to eat based on your allergens, make sure you have confirmed the chef will use clean gloves and utensils.

Don’t forget to wipe down where you will eat with a clean antibacterial cloth and then use a clean dry cloth to remove any residue, request or bring pre-packaged silverware (and pre-packaged crayons if coloring menus are given out), and always bring back up food, just in case you aren’t comfortable with anything.  Don’t be afraid to walk out if you aren’t comfortable, because this is your life.  Hopefully with the research you do in advance, you will be able to find yourself eating out safely and really enjoying your vacation to its fullest and creating happy memories to last a lifetime.

Wishing you safe eatings and travels!

Well, I have to say, I am not the typical blogger. I never really got into either the reading or writing of blogs but I was recently at one of the FAAN Allergy Walks and was invited to blog about my experiences with food allergies.

I was intrigued about the AllerDine site and what it might mean for my family. You see, my son suffers from a condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitus. It is a condition where naturally occurring types of red blood cells called eosinophils (E-O-SIN-O-FILLS) infiltrate the esophagus and wreak all sorts of havoc. There are different types of eosinophilic disorders whose symptoms vary with the type of disorder and the person’s age. They often mimic other conditions and many children go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed for years. If it wasn’t for my tenacity and the fact that my son developed an alarming number of food, environmental and drug allergies, we probably would still be wondering what was going on with him.

I mentioned an alarming number of allergies. He had 42 food allergies, 8 environmental (all the ones that they have tests for anyway) and 4 drug allergies. I say had because, well, because there is no other way of saying it. With this disorder, his allergies are not always IgE or IgG mediated. Most of them are T-cell mediated. That means that his body can actually cause his allergies to fluctuate, in amount and severity. In addition, there can be false negative results, which is something that cannot happen with your typical allergies. Bizarre. Isn’t it?? Many factors contribute to these fluctuations, like not getting enough rest or catching a simple cold. There are no current methods of testing for T-cell mediated allergies so doctors rely on standard skin prick and RAST testing for guidelines on what to eliminate or potentially introduce into a child’s diet, if at all possible. The standard treatment for many of the eosinophilic disorders is to pull kids from food and put them on an elemental formula diet, which oftentimes results in a gastric or naso-gastric feeding tube.

Fortunately or unfortunately - depends on how you want to look at it - that is not the best option for our son. Since he has a plethora of environmental allergies, any of which could trigger those pesky eosinophils to infiltrate his esophagus, he most likely would continue to be symptomatic and suffer from the effects of his disease. This leaves us with few options, and those are experimental! We have tried a few of them over the years and have had some recent success with an experimental drug - so far.

Now life, for us, is not normal. We strive to make it as normal as possible. That includes taking our kids (we have two - the older sister has no allergies whatsoever) out to eat. It allows us to be normal within such abnormal circumstances. We have three restaurants that we can “safely” eat at. It would be wonderful to expand our dining repertoire and this site offers a measure of comfort in knowing what to expect from where.

We live in a state of constant variables. There is no escaping that for us. We are just trying to live a life that offers our family the opportunities for a little consistency, or at least the illusion of such. Going out to dinner - something that many people view as no big deal - is a great deal to us. It allows us that illusion, that just for a moment, we are the typical family. I have become a master of disguise in that I play the part of the confident and knowing parent, when in reality, I suffer the same anxieties that every parent with a food allergic child endures. AllerDine helps me with cope a little better with those anxieties, so thanks.

Well, it’s a good thing that they have come out with self adhesive stamps and envelopes.  I just read today in the “Natural guide to gluten intolerance” that there are trace amounts of gluten in the glue used on the envelopes and stamps that are not self adhesive. It makes sense but I never really thought about it as something to avoid.
This is a great guide for those of us with gluten intolerance.  It
includes a list of grains that contain gluten and a list of gluten
free grains.  I did not know until recently that “buckwheat”  is
gluten free. I just assumed because it had the word wheat in it, that it was one of those grains to be avoided.  Did you know that gluten may even be in caramel color and hydrolyzed vegetable protein contains wheat.
Well to learn more invaluable info. about gluten intolerance be sure to check out these great websites:
www.celiac.org,www.americanceliacsociety.org,www.celiaccentral.org

Anna

Dining out with allergies is all about the planning.  Choosing the right restaurant, asking the right questions up front and bringing back up food will help you deal with the anxieties you face each time you take your allergic child out for dinner.  What’s in your control is much easier to deal with.  What’s not in your control is where our fear lives and grows.

As parents, we are always worrying about our children and their safety, as most parents do.  For the allergic family though, words like anaphylaxis, cross-contamination, epinephrine were a completely new language that only came into existence at some point in their child’s young life.  So when you enter a restaurant with your children and not realize that Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year, all your baggage and anxieties from over the past 5 years have just come pressing down on your shoulders. 

Do I stay?  Do I go?  “I’ve done my research, relied on my calling ahead, checked with AllerDine.com, read the menu online and spoke to the manager just days before”.  It is at this point that we try to move forward for our children’s sake. If it were up to me, I’d be in my car on the way home…but it’s not up to me.  It’s up to my children.  They are so excited to be dining out.  They love to dine out and want to do it more often.  So do it…believe me, those 4 hours a day in the kitchen preparing 3 meals a day for 5 people is exhausting.

I passed through this point of no return, brought my full family with me and 18 of us had a great mother’s day dinner.  What made it possible was the excellent staff.  The kitchen manager and waiter validated my research.  The kitchen manager, Kate, came out during the peak of dinner, sat with us and discussed safe meal options.  We did not feel rushed or that we were inconvieniencing her.  It seemed as if we were the only ones in the restaurant, when in fact there was not one available table.  The waiter made good suggestions as well and my family was safe, thrilled to be out and I was overjoyed with the fact I did not have to clean dishes, wipe floors or clear a table. 

The Keg Sheppard Centre in Toronto made all this possible on the busiest day of the year not just for my two kids with allergies, but for my sister’s son as well.  We can now confidently trust the Keg to meet our dining needs.    Please share similar experiences with us on AllerDine.com.  If you don’t see your favorite restaurant, please add it so that other families in your community can benefit from your successes. 

Well, I couldn’t have asked for a better start to a New Year.  I discovered that I have Celiac’s disease. (An intolerance/allergy to gluten which is found in wheat, rye and barley)  This explains why I have never outgrown my high school bikini and I am 41! Yes, stunted growth and having trouble gaining weight are just some of the many symptoms of this mysterious monstrous disease that severely impairs the absorption of nutrients and weakens the entire immune system.   I can remember way back when I was a little child going to bed with constant belly aches that people just attributed to a weak digestive system or high anxiety.  Oh, she is just an extremely sensitive child type thing.  As I grew up to a full five feet one inches … so did my symtoms: learning disabilities, inability to concentrate, skin rashes, moodswings, irritability, severe digestive issues that were diagnosed as IBS, endometriosis, severe allergies and chemical sensitivities (for a while there I thought I might end up like the boy in the plastic bubble), teeth rotting out due to weakened tooth enamel as a teen and later in my 30’s, really just about every symptom of a celiac I had for years and me and my Dr. Just attributed it to things like IBS, stress, leaky gut syndrome, and endometriosis.  Even most of my friends and relatives were stumped like what is going on with Anna?

Most people just attributed my symptoms to a traumatic childhood. That and I am sure growing up on a steadfast diet of McDonalds and KFC didn’t help matters.  Around 20 years of age I switched to a more whole foods/organic diet because I thought this would cure me. Well as far as we know for now, the only cure for celiacs is to go on a gluten free diet for the rest of their lives.  These past few years were the worst of all after having had major surgery for severe endometriosis and chronic stress really brought out the symptoms of Celiacs.  Interestingly enough some celiacs go for years  without any symptoms  until after major surgery or chronic stress. The disease most often affects caucasian women of European descent.  So for many years, I just felt awful alot and started to even look at some of my symptoms as just a normal part of being me especially the digestive issues and  the pregnant  belly  look which seemed to run in my family genes anyway.   Speaking of genes, Celiacs disease is believed to be hereditary.  Perhaps this would explain some of my relatives  crazy ways of behavin!

In my early 30’s I worked for a macrobiotic restaurant for two and a half years and ate mostly macrobiotic like brown rice, miso soup , salads, fish and did feel better at that time, but still had symtoms because I was still eating bread. I never suspected organic whole grains could be toxic to me. Due to alll these symtoms I was experiencing it impaired every area of my life, even my confidence and self esteem went down hill because I started to feel like a complete outcast and helpless to some extent.

Oh and the frustration of not knowing what was really causing all these problems is beyond words. Well…devastation is one word that comes to mind.  I still cannot believe that it took me so long to put two and two together, to figure out that Celiacs is at the root of a lot of my health issues.  I have worked on and off in the health/holistic foods industry for years.  One of my former co workers is a celiac.  About two weeks ago, I noticed a flyer hanging up at our local health food store that was posted for Celiacs to offer support and education and listed a few symptoms and as I stood there and read the flyer … I thought to myself wow! I have all those symtoms interesting hmmm., so I put it on backburner for a bit and pushed that intuitive voice aside  until about four days ago when I spent two hours on the phone with a woman who is ten years older than me and had just been diagnosed with Celiacs two years ago.  We spent most of the time talking of my symtoms and hers and how she suggested that I am a classic celiac and I should give up gluten.  I felt a sense of relief just talking with someone who experienced much of what I had until she gave up gluten.

I have been gluten free now for four days and I am feeling much better everyday.  I am so thankful that there are so many gluten free alternatives these days.  Even Trader Joe’s carries a gluten free chocolate, being the chocoholic I am I couldn’t give that up.

And I had to explain this to my Grandpa who was worried I was going to starve to death because of having to eliminate gluten from my diet.

I just have to read labels more carefully now…like I have to avoid products that say they are processed in a plant that manufactures wheat product

So if any of you find yourself  experiencing alot of these symtoms check out these websites to learn more:  celiac.com, celiac.org, allerdine.com or glutenfree.com.

Anna Maniex

As I dropped everything at work and raced to my son’s school, I was thinking…was this bullying, was this intentional…my god, how can kids be so uncaring.  Moments before I had received a phone call that my son was in the school yard and that some candy bar was being waved around his head that had nuts in it.    Having an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts, he began to feel short of breath and was taken to the office for observation.

As I was driving, I was thinking that it was impossible to have a reaction from a candy bar being near his head, but was more disturbed by the fact that this could have been an intentional and malicious act.   My anxiety level was quit high and as I found out when I arrived, so was my son’s anxiety. 

I walked into the office and noticed his appearance was fine.  He was thrilled to see me and a sense of relief came over his face.  I too had a huge sense of relief after a short but strong hug.  After understanding that this was not an act of bullying but kids just being kids playing around in the school yard, I lowered my level of anxiety even further.    My son continued to explain that he had a shortness of breath only when another student said “there may be nuts in that candy”.  What he had experienced was a panic attack, not an anaphylactic attack.    For young children it is hard to understand the difference and I’m glad he was given the necessary attention, just-in-case…

After telling my son he was fine and explaining what had happened he was off back to his class to finish out the day.  His anxiety was gone, but mine had begun again for a completely different reason.  I saw in myself the ability I have to influence my children’s anxiety so easily with a just a few words.  Telling him he was fine was all he needed.  This experience made me think of all the times I project anxiety around food allergies and how that must be contributing to his emotional toolkit.  I am at my worst with anxiety when dining out anywhere or when dealing with schools and their lack of understanding for the allergic family’s expectations (I’ll deal with schools another day).  For any waiter or waitress that I have had in the past 4 years, I do apologize.  I don’t mean to be belligerent or nasty, I just want my children to be safe and enjoy a meal out.  The question I ask inside is; “are they enjoying watching their dad stress out each time they dine out”?  My guess is no.  Kids see everything and absorb everything.  What you do today WILL impact their tomorrow.

As adults, we must realize we too have to continue to learn and evolve.  Launching http://www.allerdine.com has given me the ability to share the knowledge and ask others to share their positive and not-so-positive dining experiences.  The site is free to the allergy community because we are the ones that are populating it with information.    Creating AllerDine.com was easy compared to what I need to do next.  What is tougher is controlling my anxiety when dealing with my children’s allergies.  As we approach the New Year, my 2010 resolution will be to reduce my level of anxiety and “readiness to pounce” with all aspects of my children’s allergies.  Here is what I plan to do and can only hope that these suggestions are helpful to others as well.

1.       When dining out, speak to the waiter, manager or chef far away from the table so your children cannot see or hear your discussion – say you need go to the bathroom or something to get away from the family.

2.       Keep your level of concern high but your level of anxiety low.  People are more receptive when pleasant.  Anger doesn’t make them try harder – it may actually make them less focused on your very specific needs.

3.       In front of your children, compliment and thank your server, manager, chef

4.       Call ahead to restaurants if you need more information prior to going there

5.       If there is a problem, first ensure your child is safe, remove the unsafe food and then talk to the manager away from the table.

6.       In order to manage your anxiety, go to restaurants during non-peak times when there is less pressure for the restaurant and they can be more receptive to your needs.

7.       Leave a big tip! 20% or more is my norm, just because I am so thankful for their understanding and care.

I make no guarantees that this will work, but I need to try, not just for my blood pressure, but more for the wellness of my children.  Our children will be less anxious, hopefully enough that one day the words “You’re fine” and a hug will help heal a skinned knee or bruised toe and anxiety around food allergies will be a thing of the past.

Stever@AllerDine.com

So once again I dread going to my folks place for a holiday dinner.  I have two boys with severe food allergies and although my mother tries, there always seems to be a surprise when we arrive.

Days before we had called my mother and asked if we could prepare a dish to help with the dinner.  She suggested to bring wine, cake or rice.   For others without allergies, this might be ok.  For us, we needed to make sure we brought food that my kids could eat as a meal, in case all other foods were not up to our safety standards.

We only eat foods that are prepared with products from North America since the labeling practices outside of the US and Canada are very different and at times not accurate.  This can be a challenge when preparing a large meal as many products are in play. 

For families that are less familiar food allergies, you might want to let your host know well in advance your needs and have an open discussion around the menu.  For my mother, this would be a sin!

My mother takes pride in her ability to accommodate our food allergies.  She loves cooking and tries very hard.  Unfortunately, this is not always enough and mistakes happen.  The key to avoiding a reaction is to arrive early and interrogate your mother (or mother-in-law) about each menu item and the ingredients/packaging.  After years of interrogating my children’s loving grandmothers we still find mistakes.  They have the best intentions so tenderness is required when you mention that a dish is not safe (I’m still working on this aspect of the feedback I provide them).

Two other things you can do as back up are to bring an easy meal solutions like mac and cheese or a can of tuna or rush through dinner and visit an allergy safe restaurant on the way home.  Check out AllerDine.com for suggestions.

Off we go to enjoy the holidays, enjoy the family but keep a close eye on safe eating for our kids!

Season’s Greetings!

Stever@allerdine.com

Add your favorite restaurants to the site for other families to enjoy Food Allergy Friendly Restaurants.