Do you travel much with your allergic child?

[Likeaninjanow]

Ds2 has multiple allergies and we carry epipens etc. We've o ly taken him abroad once and never go anywhere too remote.

I thought it might be good to share where we've been and how easy or difficult it was to find suitable food.

We went to the Vendee in France and it was amazing! They were extremely accommodating in restaurants and we had no reactions. The food on childre's menus is very healthy & basic which worked well for us. The only thing we couldn't find was soya free spread. Looked everywhere.

Anyone else like to share? We'd love to go somewhere elsebut it's a bit daunting

Weta - once you hit Asia, would the dairy allergy be less of a problem? Am thinking in terms of maybe getting a hot meal during the layover in Singapore...it's a very long time since I was there (sobs at being so old my post A-Level trip is almost 20 years ago!) but I seem to remember dairy not being widely used in a lot of their cooking...

Found this thread really interesting. My DS is has severe allergies to milk, wheat, egg and nuts. We carry epi-pens, piriton and inhalers wherever we go. My DD has recently been diagnosed as coeliac too. We have a house in Spain so holiday there a couple of times a year and I speak Spanish so can read all the labels in the supermarket. Thing is, like beachesforme, I've never felt able to order a meal out for my son in the UK, never mind abroad. If we eat out I either take food for him with me or occasionally allow him to share a plain salad with us and add tuna or ham that I've brought with us. I just can't believe that any restaurant can guarantee no cross-contamination (eg frying chips in same fat as breaded food etc). My DH is allergic to nuts (but thankfully never had anaphylaxis) and recently in Spain I ordered an ice cream sundae for him and specifically said in Spanish no nuts but when it came, while there were no nuts added, they had included turron ice cream which contains nuts! If that happended with my son he could die. How can I take that risk? Does anybody with multiple allergies eat out regularly and if so, where and how? I tend to feel too embarassed to even ask the staff if they would be able to accommodate my son's allergies. Asking for gluten-free for my DD is much easier, partly because it's more well-known & understood and partly because if they make a mistake it's not life threatening. Any advice would be great (and sorry for hijacking!)

Thanks trixymalixy and Acekicker and nottirednow - sorry only just saw your last messages! Thanks so much for all your suggestions, I really appreciate it and will take them on board.

I know Asian cooking doesn't use dairy so much, but I'm so freaked out by the whole thing that I'm terrified of buying a meal in Singapore, except maybe hot chips, as our usual policy is not to buy food prepared by other people (and we have had problems on the odd occasion that we have). Somehow 'dairy not being so widely used' doesn't feel like enough of a guarantee :) but maybe I'm too overprotective, I don't know. Last time I took a vacuum packed meal that the airport restaurants could heat up - no good for plane but fine where there is a microwave.

I think my big problem is that the length of time involved is just so long. We will actually drive/get train up to Frankfurt the night before and stay overnight (for fear of snow problems etc), so it's not really possible to make sandwiches etc 24 hours in advance. Then we have a 12-hour flight, followed by 12-hour stopover and then another 12-hour flight. So the whole thing is about 48 hours...

freefrommum I can't really advise you as to be honest I have the same policy as you. But lots of sympathy!

We are the same regarding eating out. In France we only ate in good quality restaurants. In the UK we go almost anywhere. DS2 has the same allergies as your DS babybarrister, minus the celery.

I can count on one hand the number of times we've had to leave somewhere because they couldn't deal with his allergies. We usually ask for some grilled chicken and new potatoes & specify no butter. The only time DS2 has felt a bit left out was the place that used soya oil to fry it's chips! That was a surprise... Many places we've been will explain which items are fried together as well, to reassure you. All the questioning takes a bit of getting used to but, I think, it's worth it.

Sorry, rambling on a bit!

That's interesting likeaninjanow - we were previously living in France and are now in Luxembourg and I am always amazed how much more allergy awareness there seems to be in the UK, like chain restaurants that have lists of allergens etc. Apparently it's because there is a much higher rate of allergies in the UK for some reason.

BB have noted your suggestions for long-haul flights, thanks. I know you have had really severe reactions plus multiple allergies so I think if you can do the eating out thing we should be able to as well... though we have had a reaction to bread in our local Italian restaurant (bread is usually fine but this must have had milk in it), spots etc after eating in a restaurant that supposedly used no milk products because the owner also had problems, a reaction from eating soy icecream in an icecream place (presumably because of prior contamination from dairy icecream) and a reaction to soy hot chocolate in a cafe (checked ingredients etc so presumably because of dairy contamination in the machine). Hence being so wary!!

We have been to Disneyworld Florida a few times with ds who is allergic to nuts and until a couple of years ago was allergic to eggs.

The staff here were great when it came to eating in the restaurants and fast food type outlets in the parks and Disney hotels.

The concession stands in the parks all had a folder that listed ingredients in each product and in restaurants, the chef would usually come out to discuss the menu and often prepared a suitable meal if none were listed.

I would also agree that a cruise is also a great way to travel with a food allergic child. The cruise we travelled on was run by an American company, which meant excellent levels of service and attention to detail.