Talk to me about anaphylaxis and toddlers

[JiminaSlump]

My DD(2) has just been diagnosed with anaphylaxis from wheat. She's got her EpiPens. We've already got a bag with her other medicines in (inhalers for wheeze/allergic asthma type symptoms and antihistamine) - we've just ordered a bigger one to fit the EpiPens in, too.

What, in your experience, do we need? Have you found medic alert bracelets helpful? Are there any brands of storage that you've found especially useful? Do you have any tips for avoiding triggers? How do you deal with the worry? Do you have a dummy EpiPen, and has it helped your child get used to the whole thing? How do you deal with kids' parties? What do you tell older children?

What am I not thinking of while my head is spinning from all this?

Thank you in advance

It's so stressful, I'm sorry. Our 4 yo was diagnosed with severe allergies earlier this year and it came as a big shock. We have had to use his EpiPen when he had a reaction to a trigger we weren't aware of (cashew). Luckily we had the EpiPen for his other allergy. I would say buying a load of stuff won't really help. If she already has a bag for medication that probably enough. I have seen badges/lanyards that you can personalise with the allergies which could be useful for parties? Especially as she is young and won't understand. That's basically what they do in schools.
Getting her used to an EpiPen would be a good idea. Our poor son had his first encounter with one when it was jammed into his leg (much too hard as we were in a panic) and I regret not practising more and trying to show him he shouldn't be scared. Now he is terrified and I'm worried it will make the situation worse if it happens again.
I'm still getting used to it all myself, but I think you just find your own routines as a family. For a while we kept forgetting to bring his EpiPen out when we weren't expecting to eat, but now I just bring it everywhere.
Good luck with it all, I know it's so hard.