Corn Allergy

[delo4]

My daughter was just diagnosed yesterday with an allergy to corn. I know allergies in general were discussed on another thread, I'm wondering if anyone has had an allergy to corn. I didn't realize until yesterday that corn is in almost everything in the form of corn syrup, corn starch, dextrose, fructose and many many other things. I had no idea that this can even be in paper and plastic products, household cleaning items. Corn is used to sweeten, thicken, and used as a starch additive. It is in almost all breads, pancakes, waffles, muffins, cereals, soups, deli meats, chewing gum, ice cream, jams, jellies, etc. Sorry to go on and on, this is just unbelieveable to me what corn is used for.

Anyway, anyone with this specific allergy who has information regarding the food served on the ship would be helpful. Has anyone spoke with the dietician on board to see how prevalent corn products are used in the food aboard ship? We don't know whether to bring some of our own, or whether they will accommodate such an allergy. Thanks for any help.

 

[donnabres]

just bumping this up, hopefully someone with have information.

 

[sjm]

I had to deal with a corn allergy for a long time. It is really a pain and you are right, corn is in everything.

I would call or have your TA call and inform Disney of the corn allergy. Then when you board the ship, talk to the MaitreD. He will give you/your daughter the menu each night, for the next night. He will help you choose the foods that she can eat and will prepare food specialy for her.

When I traveled and could not eat corn/wheat/dairy, I brought my own crackers, cookies, peanut butter and a few things that I knew I could eat. I never touched them, but felt better knowing that I had them with me.

Just remembered when I would eat out, I could not eat marg, most has corn in it, olive oil is a good substitute.

Good luck and if you have any questions, I will keep an eye on this thread.

sue

 

[Gillian]

I'd second a trip to the health food store to stock up on things your daughter can eat. I'm sure Disney will do everything they can to help you, but it's nice to have something to snack on without having to think about it.

Corn is a tough one! Best of luck to you & your daughter.

 

[delo4]

Sue, thanks for your comments. You say you had an allergy, does that mean it went away? I will let them know on the ship and see what info they can give to me. I plan on taking snacks and some special foods for her to eat as substitutions. This allergy is insane. I can't believe all the products corn is in. I'm glad she is only allergic to one thing, I can't imagine adding wheat and dairy to the list!

Did you actually take a cruise and were you still able to find plenty of choices on the menu? Any info you can give will helpful as this is new to us.

Thanks again for your helpful comments.

Lanie

 

[sjm]

Sue, thanks for your comments. You say you had an allergy, does that mean it went away?

You are right, I had a lot of food allergies, corn, soy, wheat dairy and shellfish. I was able to get rid ot these allergies, by undergoing NAET treatments. This is an alternative medcine allergy elimination technique. I really think it is weird, but it is working and I am eating all of these things again.

_____________________________

This allergy is insane. I can't believe all the products corn is in. I'm glad she is only allergic to one thing, I can't imagine adding wheat and dairy to the list!

Corn and soy are the worst, they are in everything. Wheat and dairy are hard, but easier to see.

___________________________

Did you actually take a cruise and were you still able to find plenty of choices on the menu?

I cruised on the Pacific Princess with all of the food allergies I mentioned above. Also on the Grand Princess and the Crown Princess with a few of them.

When I ate in the dining room, they were always willing to cook something according to my needs. I would have a wide choice, but it mostly had to be plain, without sauces. Salads were fine, I used oil and vinegar, instead of regular salad dressing.

The buffets were harder and I had to watch myself very carefully and question everything.

If you get friendly with the MaitreD in the dining room, you can ask him about what would be ok from the buffet.

I also think that Disney should be very good with this. We had an adult at our table on the 1/25 sailing, who had some form of disabillity. They went out of their way to please her, even getting her something from the room service menu.

It is very hard, but it is doable.

How old is your daughter and when are you sailiing?

sue

 

[delo4]

Sue,

Thanks so much for your quick reply. We are sailing this coming Saturday, yikes!!! We have only been into this allergy for two days. We have something in common, we have also gone the alternative route. Our daughter, aged 16 was diagnosed in November with a rare auto-immune skin disease which they told us has no treatment or cure. Since then, we have gone the alternate route and the corn allergy was discovered by a kinesiologist. We were also told that after she goes off all corn products and they re-build her immune system, she should be able to eat corn products again. Their theory is that she has three problems, her weak immune system, a parasite, and an allergy to corn.

we were so excited to find an answer but were disappointed that the allergy was corn. We had a real setback today, she was outside in the sun and her skin rash got 100% worse. Not a good thing when you are going to the caribbean. I have contacted her naturpathic doctor and am waiting for a return call about what we can do. I hate that she may not be able to go in the sun until this is all cleared up and we have 6 days in which to accomplish that. Yikes!

I really appreciate the helpful info you have given and would be interested in hearing more about the way you got rid of your allergies. This is the first time we have dealt with an alternative doctor, but when the medical community all but dismisses you with "nothing we can do', well you begin to look in another direction. Thanks again for your help, nice to know she will at least be able to have choices on the ship and that they are very willing to work with us on this problem. I just hope she is able to go in the sun!!!

Lanie

 

[gfolchick]

Lanie,
My son, who is almost 4, had this allergy for 2 years. He was also allergic to soy, wheat, egg, milk and all nuts. I had to deal with him being allergic to all of the above at once. We did food challenges with him this past fall and he is now only allergic to milk and nuts.

My advice to you and your daughter, is to have her choose foods that are in there natural state. Fruit, vegetables, salads (watch dressings), grilled chicken, fish, steak. If she likes ketchup get a bottle of heinz organic. The cooking oil is canola so she may be able to have fries. Talk to the maitre d upon arrival to the ship (see dining changes section on navigator for time and location). They keep a list of passengers in the kitchen who have allergies or special dining requests which tells the servers which food items to avoid.

Hope this helps. She'll be fine.

 

[sjm]

gfolchick,

Good post, I forgot about the ketchup. I did bring my own, whenever I traveled.

I am glad your son outgrew some of his food allergies and hope with time he outgrows the rest of them.

sue

 

[sjm]

Talk to your kinesiologist and to the naturpatic doctor, they may already know about NAET.

You can go to www.naet.com for more information. You might want to buy the book Say Goodbye to Illness, it has a lot of information, including muscle testing. I have no connection or financial interest etc.

______________________________

This is the first time we have dealt with an alternative doctor, but when the medical community all but dismisses you with "nothing we can do', well you begin to look in another direction.

I understand, I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the medical community barely admits that it exists. I am fortunate that my doctor, an internist, believes in alternative med. and has studied naet.

I hope all goes well with your daughter. If you have any more questions, I will be glad to help. I will keep an eye on this thread.

sue

p.s. you can find the book in your local book store, don't have to order it over the net.

 

[delo4]

Everyone has been so helpful, I really appreciate the encouragement and I feel less worried about the situation. I will be sure to bring her own snacks and drinks. It is so hard to find anything for her to drink, especially that she likes! Thanks for the tip on the ketchup, and the info about canola oil. This is the greatest website!!!! Thanks again for all your help.

Lanie

 

[delo4]

Sue, I just checked out the website for naet. It was fascinating and there is someone in our own little town, about three miles from my house who specializes in this particular procedure. Who knew???? A really funny thing, is that this practioner also attends our church!!! Very small world. I will see if I can find her tomorrow morning.

 

[sjm]

Originally posted by delo4
Sue, I just checked out the website for naet. It was fascinating and there is someone in our own little town, about three miles from my house who specializes in this particular procedure. Who knew???? A really funny thing, is that this practioner also attends our church!!! Very small world. I will see if I can find her tomorrow morning.

It is a small world after all, could not resist the Disney song. Let me know if you find her and if she thinks naet can help.

There is another good source of information, the naet-list, it a message board you access via email. Once you register you can post to ask questions or just search their archives. There are a lot of naet prs, as well as patients who post there. If you are interested here is the link, there is no cost to register.

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/naet-l.html


Let me know what you find out.

sue

 

[delo4]

I missed the lady at church on Sunday who would be familiar with naet, but will try to catch her when we get back from the cruise. I spoke to my daughter's nutritionist today and he was not familiar with naet, but he said he would be glad to research it and let me know if my daughter would be a good candidate.

Thanks again to those who responded to this thread, you have all been so helpful. I am wondering though, how you handled breakfast and lunch if you aren't with your dinner servers. Do I have to explain to each server about her allergy. The last two times we have cruised, we usually ate in the dining rooms instead of the buffets. Of course, the last times we cruised we didn't have an allergy to be concerned about.

Will they keep things in a refrigerator for her if I bring them on the ship with me? I'm thinking about things like the only brand of orange juice without corn, pure butter, jam, and other foods that i know won't be corn-free on the ship. Is it better to keep them in our own cooler in our room and just bring what we would need for each meal? Is it also true that any food you bring aboard must be in its original container? That could be a problem, since some of her foods I would make myself, especially her snacks, like cookies, roasted pecans, brownies, etc.

Thanks again for any suggestions or ideas,

Lanie

 

[sjm]

am wondering though, how you handled breakfast and lunch if you aren't with your dinner servers. Do I have to explain to each server about her allergy. The last two times we have cruised, we usually ate in the dining rooms instead of the buffets.

If you prefer to eat breakfast and lunch in the dining room, you will be in good shape. When you first talk to the MaitreD, ask him how to handle it. He will probably tell you to ask for him when you come to the dining room. If I didn't see the MaitreD, I would tell the waiter that I was on a special diet and needed to see the MaitreD.

_____________________________

Will they keep things in a refrigerator for her if I bring them on the ship with me? I'm thinking about things like the only brand of orange juice without corn, pure butter, jam, and other foods that i know won't be corn-free on the ship. Is it better to keep them in our own cooler in our room and just bring what we would need for each meal? Is it also true that any food you bring aboard must be in its original container? That could be a problem, since some of her foods I would make myself, especially her snacks, like cookies, roasted pecans, brownies, etc.

Our cabin on the Magic had a refrigerator, I don't know if they all do. I would call Disney and find out how to handle the food you are bringing. Also ask them if pure butter, jam etc will be available. Then you will know what you really need to pack. Your home made cookies etc, you can bring with no problems.

Good luck, I am sure your daughter and you will do fine.

sue

 

[gfolchick]

It's me again. I know I've read that the servers have refrigs to keep specialty items for their guests (maybe that's how your opened bottle of wine can follow you). I would think that they have butter available but bring your own jelly since I'm 99% certain theirs contains corn syrup. Beverages may be tricky too since all soda and their lemonade will contain corn syrup.

When you get back if you need any help with brands I'll do my best to help out. I used to order regularly from a site called www.missroben.com They have a lot of corn-free mixes and ready made snacks. I got an email from them today saying they were adding to their corn-free section due to customer demand. A corn free pizza crust is coming soon.

 

[delo4]

Wow, ya'll respond fast!! Thanks for all the great tips. We can't wait to leave on Sat. We are all looking forward to a vacation after the last 5 months we have had with our daughter's illness. Thanks for all the encouraging words and websites to help us with this special problem. Will write when we get back and let ya'll know how we made out. Thanks again,

Lanie