7 Holiday Tips for People with Food Allergies

Many people and families with food allergies dread the holidays, eating out and the risk of ingesting some substances that won’t agree with them or their children.

Here are 7 tips how to deal with that:

1. Be aware of the foods you/your loved ones are allergic or intolerant to and what reactions may happen in the case an offending food is ingested by mistake.

2. In case of serious allergies, be prepared with the appropriate medications (epi-pen, Benadryl etc. as prescribed by your physician)

3. If needed, make a rule to only eat food you brought and prepared yourself and is safe to eat.

4. In case your child is affected, talk to her/him before going to a function about what is ok to eat and what isn’t and why.

5. Do not expect others to know what to do.

6. Do not say: “We’re coming over for dinner. Do you have something that’s safe for my son to eat?” Rather say: “Thank you so much for inviting us. As you know, my son has food allergies, and if it’s okay with you I’ll bring his own snacks and food.”

7. Do you wonder how you get your allergies in the first place? Read about it here.

4 Rules for children with food allergies:

• They should always ask you before eating anything.
• They should not share any food, cups, or utensils
• .They should always carry their epinephrine auto-injector with them – if they don’t have it with them, they can’t eat.
• They should tell you and others immediately if they are feeling unwell or think they are having a reaction.