Starting nursery with allergies

[Clara35]

Hi all, just looking for advice which will hopefully calm me down a bit. Ds has cmp & egg allergy & due to start nursery in a few weeks? How do you mums relax & leave your kids with allergies in the hands of someone else? How do you trust other people to be as on the ball as us mums have to be? My ds has only ever come out in hives so no breathing problems but he reacts to touch so Im worried about milk spills or other kids drinking milk then playing with toys. How do I stop worrying?

Hi Clara,
I'm not entirely sure by what you mean by 'cmp' but nurseries are geared up for every eventuality! My little girl had a major milk allergy that caused a rash and itching (only cows milk) and it used to scare me senseless but the nursery girls see this so regularly that it becomes just a part of their daily routine! They know how to react to it as an allergy and how to integrate it in such away that that the little one won't fret or panic!
They will treat him just like the other kids and won't make him feel any different to them and sooner or later he will hopefully build up an immunity to it and no longer react!
It took my little girl about 4 months to stop reacting to cows milk and now she guzzles it down with no issues.
If you are seriously concerned speak to your nursery carers and they will helkp you in every way possible! Good Luck! x

www.getmilky.com

Thanks LHank for your reply. I mean cows milk protein by cmp. Glad your dd no longer has a problem. Hopefully once I get over the settling in period I will relax a bit. My ds is so excited to go with his buzz lightyear lunchbox as we are sending in his snack for him rather than nursery providing it. This will hopefully reduce the risk. The nursery do seem very switched on regarding allergies so I'm probably getting in a tizz for nothing! The joys of motherhood!

Ahhhhh you learn something new everyday! Good luck and hope everything works out ok. I'm sure he's going to LOVE it! I kiterally have to have to drag my little girl away!!! x

Thanks babybarrister, no they aren't cooking for him. Just a snack. I can provide own or they will make him toast If I send in a tub of pure spread. I will probably send him with snack until I get better idea of how the nursery does snack time. It's just the unknown at this stage makes it worse.

My DD is at nursery and she has nut, cmp, egg and soya allergies. They provide hot food and snacks. I went in and spoke to the manager and cook before DD started. I also did the online workshop thing on anaphylaxis campaign website before speaking to them because it raises really useful points like coming up with a combined care plan and thinking about non meal situations like when they are using cereal boxes to make things with making sure they are 'safe' cereals.

Our DD sits on a separate table for 'dietary needs' and food or snacks are only given when the children are sat at the table, and everything is cleared up before they leave the tables so that food doesn't get spread around the nursery. The child she sits next to does not eat any food containing allergens. One member of staff always sits with DD. They order in pure spread, oatly milk etc to sue for dd's food at no extra expense to us. They have been extremely supportive and helpful. Our DD has had several anaphylactic reactions in the last year, but none at nursery. I think the key is communication, it will give both you and the nursery confidence in managing your DS's allergies at nursery.

My DD started nursery at 9 months with CMP and egg allergies. It was very stressful, but I met with the nursery director and manager before starting to discuss how it would work. They asked me to provide her food, which frankly I was happier to do, and they asked for some Pure spread and soya milk for eating and for doing baking with, so she wouldn't be left out of activates.

My biggest concern at that stage was the contact issue and we agreed that high vigilance and wiping down toys before she got them would happen. Ultimately I has to accept there was a degree of risk that she would gave a reaction, but there is nowhere where she is free of that risk, not even my house and in fact the only place she has had reactions to CMP have been at home. I was very happy with our nursery's attitude and you need to be confident with them so go and talk to them. Good luck!

I work in a nursery and we are used to dealing with children with a wide range of allergies.
We have policies and proceedures that have to be followed to ensure that the child is not exposed to anything that could cause an allergic reaction.
These include:-

Comprehensive care plan updated at regular intervals
Risk assessments posted on walls of playrooms and kitchen
Picture of child with allergies on kitchen/playroom wall with details of allergy
Staff trained in use of epi-pens and allergy management
Ensuring that everyone is aware of allergies and what to do in the event of a reaction