Allergy ?'s

[nelle]

We just discovered that my soon to be 1 year old ds is allergic to nuts. Over the weekend my mother was watching him and gave him a PB&J for lunch and within minutes his face broke out in hives and eyes and mouth swelled and then his whole body was covered in hives. He has his first appointment with an allergist next week.
I was wondering if you guys could tell me how this testing goes? My husband seems to rember being poked up and down his arms with needles. I'm hoping that they don't do that anymore or that they atleast do it on their back or somewhere else. Does anyone know? It would be ok if he was 5 but at 1 he doesn't know what's going on other then that we are torturing him.
Does anyone know the number at disney to talk to about our PS's and his food? Also how are the quick restaurants are their any that we need to stay away from? Obviously we have to stay away from those yummy nuts they sell in Epcot.
Also do they allow you to take epi(sp) jr pens on planes and in the parks?
Any other advice or info is appreciated

Thanks.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

nelle,

My son had the testing done several years ago when he was six. They did a scratch test on his back. The nurse that did this was awsome with him. He did great. I have read recently that there is a new non invasive procedure that they can now use for allergy testing.It might not be in place at all places yet but I would sure call and see if one office might be doing this.

Sorry but we did not have to deal with the food allergies. There are however some post on the disabitity boards dealing with this issue. Check those out.Good luck with the little one.


Jordan's mom

 

[LaurenS]

I'm sorry that you're having to go through this. My daughter has food allergies and my son has an Epipen for his fire ant allergy. My son was recently retested for fire ants and we used prescription EMLA cream to numb the area for some of the testing.

Taking an Epipen into the park was not a problem two years ago. A letter of necessity from your doctor is probably a good idea, just in case. With the food allergies, we called CRO and had a note added to our PS. After we checked in, Guest Services helped by calling the restaurants. We reminded each restaurant when we checked in for our PS and then told each server as well. The Disney chefs were great! At each restaurant a chef came out to talk with us, walked me through the buffet (if applicable) to point out what my daughter could eat, and offer to make her other food choices as well. I believe that the counter service restaurants avoid hidden peanut products, such as peanut oil, but ask all of the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's the phone number for the WDW Executive Chef's Office: (407) 824-5967
They deal with all the menus at WDW (from full service to food carts) and will be able to help with your questions.

For your question about epipens, check the website for your airline or call and ask to talk to someone in the special needs department (they DO have one, even though some of the reservation people might not know it). In general, for syringes, they have to be clearly marked with what they are (like a pharmacy label) and you should have a doctor's prescription.
Sending lots of pixie dust to you for your trip to the allergist.

 

[laughinplace199]

We've just gone through the same thing with our 3 y/o. The test she had was a blood test. It was difficult for both of us - she cried so much, but I brought a little prize with us for when it was over.

We just got back from a week at WDW. We made sure that her allergy was noted in all of our PS arrangements. When we got to each restaurant, we reminded them that we needed to speak to the chef. They were very accomodating, even making sure there was plain vanilla ice cream that was safe for her to have for dessert.

If you call the Executive Chef's office, you can find out about counter service restaurants in the parks. However, I found some of the info. I got here to be incorrect. I was told that the ice cream shop on Main St. has ice cream in back that wouldn't have been contaminated with a scoop from another flavor, like butter pecan or something. When I got there, they had no idea what I was talking about and didn't seem to understand the whole cross-contamination issue.

I bought safe snacks at the grocery store and brought them with us wherever we went. That way, I didn't have to diappoint her if she couldn't have something. She just had one of her "treats" instead.

Good luck and have a great time.

P.S. We flew on United, and the only requirement they had for Epi-pens was that the box had to have the sticker from the pharmacy with all of the relevant info. There is no problem bringing the Epi-pens into the parks.

 

[nelle]

Thanks for the help. Boy a noninvasive procedure would be nice, however I won't count on it with where we live sometimes it seems like we are in the stoneage in this town . I will be sure to call the number and talk to someone about the menu's.
I used to be surprised to see a little boy in my dd's class with a sticker put on his back by his parents that says don't feed me I'm allergic to nuts. Well now that will be us . That will teach me to never think anything like that will happen to us.
Look for us in Dec with the no NUTS t-shirts on (only I could find some kind of humor in this sick isn't it).

Thanks and any other advice is appreciated.

 

[nelle]

laughinplace199, Thanks for the advice on bringing safe snacks. I'm still getting used to having to watch what he and we eat.
thanks again

 

[Debbie7452]

Another hint I remember reading is to thoroughly wipe down high chairs at restaurants that offer a Peanut butter play dough dessert. Sorry, I don't know which ones had offered it. Maybe the Disney people could help. I just remember that being a useful hint. Esp. for a child your son's age.

Sorry about your problem. That is a tough one. My daughter was just allergic to metal snaps and cheap jewelry. Not a life threatening problem, but just try to find baby sleepers without snaps!

 

[Twinsplus1]

I'm so sorry to hear about your son. We found WDW to be incredibly accomodating when it comes to allergies. Our 6 year old son was diagnosed with a latex allergy at 15 months after a hernia surgery. Unfortunately, he also has many many food cross reactivities including: bananna, kiwi, cherry, chestnut, hazelnut, papaya, passionfruit, mango, plum, etc. We noted his allergies on our P.S. and everytime, a chef came out to us to go over the menu and walk the buffet. Prior to our trip, a chef from Chef Mickey's called us and also one from CRT. We were incredibly impressed with how everything was handled! When we got home, I called our allergy specialist and the food allergy network to inform them of how easy Disney made our trip. We had actually put off going to Disney until he was older because we were concerned about how difficult it could be and had we known we would have gone sooner!

In reference to the scratch test. Our experience has been that it is sort of a board with pin prics and they lay the board on the forearm at one time. It is much easier than when I was a child and they had to do the repeated prics, ewww. There is also something called a RAST test where they use blood to test for allergies. It sounds good because they just take blood the one time but it has a high level of inacuracy. My son has had a negative rast for plum but upon ingesting goes into a level 3 reaction (respiratory difficulty).

I would strongly recommend joining FAN, the food allergy network, their information is truly invaluable. Also, it is a good idea to get a medic alert bracelet.

Good luck with everything, I know this can be emotionally trying.

 

[llp479]

You can take epi-pens on airplanes and to the parks. As suggested, keep the pen in the box with the RX label on it. I had an airport security guard ask me what it was when she saw it on x-ray, but didn't take it away.

Thankfully, you know what your son is allergic to. I know all the environmental things I'm allergic to, but can't identify the preservative, or yellow dye that causes my respiratory reaction. Hence, the epi-pen and the inhaler.

Unfortunately, my dds seem to have some of the same issues I do. Have them scheduled for testing next month. Planning a trip to Toys R Us when we're through.

Good luck!