Replies

Brow,

Your desire to promote raising kids aware and always asking doesn't always work, and we are vigilant parents as well.

Our daughter has a class 2 allergy to nuts. Nibbled on a cookie the other day that was supposed to be safe and her throat started to tickle.

It can sneak up on you, especially if you go out to dinner. I won't even go there, and we are on top of this and still you get caught off-guard.

I got a Christmas gift early the year, a bag to carry all the tackle I need on a daily basis, my pockets are not big enough, especially with the kids stuff including the Epipen and the Benadyrl Tablets.

taildragger, I know just what you mean. My parents were pretty stressed raising me. It's a very risky world if you are allergic to peanuts or just about any food. I'm glad you are on top of things, it can't be easy.

I came up in a world without Epi-Pens or even Ana-Kits (if you are old enough to remember them). My main line of defense was a 5 mg tablet of prednisolone and benadryl. I "rode out" many peanut reactions that luckily were survivable. I also was in ER or my local Dr more times than I'd care to remember with epi shots. I know from this that while all peanut reactions are serious (and quite frightening), they are not all lethal.

I'm not saying that vigilance and training always work, it can't, stuff happens beyond your control. There is always risk.

I'm saying that self-reliance and family is the best approach rather than relying on others, the government, or lawyers, or a table labeled "peanut free" that you have no way of checking.

Take a look at www.peanutallergy.com if you have not been there yet. There are discussions on "safe" restaurants and packaged foods, and how to deal with relatives who just don't get it (Thanksgiving and Christmas were nightmares for me and my parents until we simply dropped some people from our circle, yes, family).

www.foodallergy.com is good too, they have free email alerts when a food company goofs and puts "undeclared nuts" in a batch of food. I actually had some food I got at the supermarket that I got an alert on before I ate it.