Life is feeling really difficult at the moment.

[beachesforme]

I feel like our life has been taken over by allergies.
We take food with us wherever we go for K every where as every thing says it has traces or contains one or the other.
Family won't cook for us as we are worried about traces.
Holidays are a nightmare as we take food to self cater take lunch for K and then end up searching for food for us that doesn't contain any actual,nuts, peanuts,eggs or sesame (we are also vegetarian) .
i feel like i am cooking the same food constantly. Shopping feels like a chore contantly and it feels like we are eating the same things every day.
we have just been away for the weekend and k ended up in hives from the bedclothes.
Added to this i end up carrying my hand bag then a rucksack with epi pens, piriton milton wipes,hand gel ,suncream,wet wipes,tissues and usual pencils and paper.

oh so sorry beachesforme. Know what it is like, honestly. Dd is allergic to many many things also. To go on hol is only ever just a wk end to see family in a premiere in. No more than 2 nights and only happens once in a blue moon with all the barrier sheets and antihistamines. No other places we can go really. We have to take food everywhere also. We eat same same same. Very boring. I dont have a handbag anymore either it's a medical bag!! Sun cream we find it hard to find one she can handle! Dd is dustmite allergic, allergy to pollens,allergic to peanuts (anaphylactic), varying food allergies to all corn products, green beans, peppers, beginning to eat a little tomato, cumber allergic, um scratching head but there is loads more. Blueberries are a no no - oh and banana, kiwi. ect. Reacts to horses and ibropfin.

Just remember your not alone. Some days do feel very unfair, but on the plus side it sounds like your doing fab for your dc. My dd takes her own little allergy sleeping bag, pillow and blankets when we go away but it is only ever just to visit dp's family, I am to afraid to risk anywhere else but would love a holiday of our own! We look like we are packing up for months when we do go for the weekend, all her special soaps/bath emollients and different creams and medicines. For my dd, I think staying anywhere else would end up a disaster eg self catering flat. Just going to a friends house for a party which she rarely does can lead to constant itching and an instant bath and antihistamines when she gets home.

Thank you do you eat things that she reacts too.Does she go to school we home educate .partly as school was making her worse.

We mostly eat what she eats as a family but sometimes we eat differently of an evening on an occassion. But having said that, we don't choose of any of the items we fear could make her react in anyway. We are a 'no nut home' but we ourselves will eat a choc bar which may contain trace but only of an evening no items with nut ingredients. Don't feel right, cooking sweetcorn, peppers,green beans ect things that may cause her eyes to start or any other symptoms. Her more minor allergy foods like cucumber and tomatos we eat. Yes she goes to school. This was not easy at first as she used to itch constantly and they had to have her special soaps and creams ect. She has two medical boxes in school with asthma pumps,periton and epipens. The're a good school and asked parents to not let their children bring in nut products so they do try. She always has her own food for lunch. She used to wear trousers all year round to protect her legs from the scratching and long sleeve shirts. She is a junior now and manages better at school. Last year or so she has managed to wear skirts/summer dresses but does suffer for it after as her eczema worsens and stings in the bath. People don't really realize though. Her eczema looks very controled now but it is always there under the skin ready to flare up and cause trouble. We've not got the egg allergy though.......

Has your DS ever had an anaphylactic episode.

what is your son allergic to?

why would you rather use the epi pen than not?

I totally agree with babybarrister. DS2 is allergic to milk, nuts, peanuts, sesame, eggs, soya, peas & pulses, all legumes really. He has been anaphylactic previously and we have epi-pens.

We do eat the food he allergic to, as I think it's important for him to understand that he is different and can't always have the same as everyone else (he's 3). I do ensure there are plenty night we do all eat the same food though.

We do give him foods which say 'may contain traces of X' and he has been fine so far. Maybe we've just been lucky, but I do suspect it's a legal 'get out' rather than anything else.

I should stress however that he currently does not have any issues with airborne particles.

I should have added that we do not eat nuts in his presence at all. He is so allergic to those that he reacts badly even after we've washed hands etc.

Dealing with allergies is stressful and it gets us all down sometimes. It's the relentless worry that used to grind me down, although I am more in the swing of coping now.

Cooking the same old 'safe' stuff (from scratch!) over and over again gets depressing and I'm always concerned about balancing our diet as it is so restricted. We used to be vegetarian, but DS is allergic to nuts, dairy, eggs and seeds (amongst other things - and he's not great with pulses either) so we eat a lot of meat now. It took me a while to get used to that, but I can't see any other reasonable option. Also, I'd love to be able to leave the house without a bag full of epipen, antihistamine, wipes, emergency food etc.

People cope with things differently, I know, but in my family we all eat the same things and have a more-or-less allergen free house. It makes my life much, much easier, and feels safer for DS (although he does know and understand about his allergies). I find the constant vigilance when we are out and about rather exhausting, and it's good to be able to relax a bit at home (e.g. have a shower on my own for 10 mins without getting stressed). DS is great at avoiding food when he's with his friends, but I like the fact that he doesn't have to worry about what he can and can't eat or touch when he is in his own home. On the rare days when we don't go out at all, I find that a whole day can pass without me thinking about allergies, and that's great.

beaches, I'm considering home education too - I've always liked the idea, so this is not just because of DS's allergies, but obviously his allergies are a major factor in my thinking. Some schools are great at dealing with allergies (lots of lovely, positive stories on these boards), but I've worked in my local school and would not really trust them to keep DS physically and emotionally safe.

Thats exactly how I feel greenbananas-about having a safe home. I was thinking about what the other posters had said and felt I could not relax taking a shower and leaving dd unattended without unease in our own home if I did that! Dd does understand about her food allergies and has never ate anything her school pals have given her without asking me first. Our schools never done an outright ban but ask parents for children not to bring in nut products. I think it is fantastic what they have done but it still doesn't mean she falsely feels like her allergies dont exsist and has a false consept of life. She still gets given birthday sweets all the time at school, which she consults with me when she arrives home to see if she can eat them and informs stand in teachers who try to give her chocolate. Home is definately a place we can forget about it all, well as much as we can anyway!