Holidaying in France and Italy with Cow's Milk Protein Intolerence DS

[cakeforbrains]

DS2 is Cow's Milk Protein and soya intolerent, and we've also be advised to avoid nuts. We're off to France and Italy in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know how easy it is to get dairy-free foods? Is there a particular chain of supermarkets that caters better for allergies? Any suggestions for brands etc? And does anyone speak Italian? I've got French translations from a friend but I do not know anyone who speaks Italian.

Sorry, big ask!

Have you got one of those personalised International Allergy card thingies?...you can get it made up to explain your ds's allergies in any language you like.

Useful in restaurants too.

have you been advised to avoid nuts because of a intolerence , rather than classic allergy?

and if not , what medical pointers are they using to advise avoidance of nuts?

as for food labeling, its fairly easy to understand.

most breads will have milk in them, like here, and i think this is where you will have more difficulty in finding replacements.

if you are travelling by ferry, its easy to bring some safe standbys for your son.

we stick to plain foods in resturants, like french fries/baked potatos, and burgers , steak.

good luck, am sure things will be fine, we have been to france loads of times, spain and italy once, and havent had a problem.
although we are dealing with different allergens, such as peanut/beans/egg/kiwi/yeast extract and others.

mumonthenet - I've not heard of those cards, I'll have a google and try to get one before we go, thanks.

bridewolf - the gastro paed at addendbrooks said that, given DS2's probs with milk and soya, there is a pretty good chance of him having an issue with nuts. As such, we've been told to avoid them until a time in the future when he can be allergy tested (he's only 15months, paed said that more likely to get an accurate result at 2yrs +).

I think I'm just feeling nervous, it's our first trip abroad with DS2. I'm still breastfeeding him so I also need to avoid the same foods, and I'm veggie so pretty unpopular in France anyway. thanks for the reassurance

Wish I had seen this earlier, I would have had a look in the supermarket in France for you. You could post a request in Living Overseas topic, there are a few of us living in or near France.

I do know that our local Carrefour has a big range of healthy/special diet foods, I have noticed gluten free bread there for instance.

Try this website for the cards: www.selectwisely.com/
and check out these tips she wrote:
www.godairyfree.org/200805062490/News/Nutrition-Headlines/Enjoying-Food-Travel-and-Cu lture-with-Food-Allergies.html

My son is severely allergic to milk protein, so we carry with us Benadryl and Epipen at all times and I take food for our whole family and a change of clothes if accident happens on the trip.(since he can not even be touched if dairy is present)
Have a good trip!

Thank MmeLindt, I will take a look at Carrefour (French supermarkets are fab anyway!)
Thanks Valcsika for the links, they look really useful.
I know I'm just being stupid, people with far worse allergies travel. I think we need this first trip to go well so that we feel brave again

I'm just back from France and I have to say it was a bit tough finding dairy free stuff, apart from soy milk and soy yoghurts. And I'm French myself, but never had to avoid dairy in my own country until I became a mom

Beware of sorbets in supermarkets, 99% of sorbets have milk protein (protéine de lait) in them. Also beware of baby cereal, I only found dairy free baby rice in organic shops.

Another thing I'd check is all supermarket cured meats, some have milk products in them as well, make sure you read the labels carefully.
Again local cured meats from the markets should be fine.

Breads should be fine in bakeries, it's not like here in the UK where they add milk/butter to the dough...

Hope it helps or doesn't come too late!

Italian:

My son is allergic to...
Il mio figlio e allergico a (latte, noci, whatever - make sure you know the words).

Italy is pretty good but people don't speak much English outside tourist areas.

Packaging is fine if you know the right words, they follow the EU labelling system. Sweet things are very difficult - most biscuits have egg and nut - so take your own. In ice cream shops, he may be able to have the sorbets but check carefully. Eating out, it really helps if you know what is likely to cause a problem - for example, pizza dough is almost always fine for us.

Ordinary pasta should be fine.

Bring all your medicines, make sure you have your EHIC cards, and work out an emergency plan (emergency numbers in the country, how to ask for a doctor, how to ask for an ambulance). I have used the Italian health service with my kids on various occasions and it's pretty good.

We travel with my DD who is egg and nut allergic. She has had reactions on holiday (in France we discovered she was allergic to prawns, and this year in Italy she ate a nut) - it is a less controlled situation so if you can bring stuff, swot up and know what to do in case of a reaction, you should be fine.