Parents of kids with food allergies- do you travel internationally?

[gatorsmom]

Our family has another trip to France planned this summer and we are all so excited. For the last 5 years we’ve gone every summer for 2 weeks to different parts of France- Southern France near Avignon, the Loire Valley, Normandy, Alsace, and Paris. They have all been unique trips but mostly we have continued going to France because I speak the language there. My twins have severe tree nut allergies and that is the only reason I don’t want to travel to a country where I don’t speak the language. I’ve had many people disregard my concerns by saying, oh, just write down a few simple phrases to give to the waitresses and waiters and you will be fine. But we have gone to Mexico and had some allergy scares. I need to be able to read packaging and I need to be able to communicate with the wait staff how important this is and I need to be able to speak to a nurse or doctor if it comes to that. While traveling to a foreign country is fun, I can’t relax knowing my kids could end up hospitalized there.

So we have only mainly gone to countries where we speak the language. But what we really want is to go to Italy. And definitely Greece. How do other families with kids with severe FA travel internationally? Bring extra Epi-Pens and pray for the best? I see so many parents here talking about their exotic travel locals and I would love to try that but can’t see how I could do that with my twins’ FAs.

[MSWR0319]

My son has a severe peanut allergy and we have not traveled internationally for many of the reasons you mentioned. I don't like the thought at all of not being able to communicate with people who are handling his food. I also worry that if he would end up with a reaction that they may not be prepared or know how to treat it properly. So far, our international travel was to Canada DS loved it though, as he was able to eat his first ice cream sundae in a restaurant because they serve Chapman's ice cream, which is made in a peanut free facility. I worry when we travel in the US if the wait staff and chef are going to take his food preparation seriously, I'm not ready to be royally freaked out in a foreign country. I'd probably end up in a hospital with a panic attack!

[Philly Mom]

My dad has a fish and seafood allergy. My parents have traveled the world and even lived in Asia for part of his life. When he travels now, he often uses a tour guide who sets up restaurant reservations and communicates his allergy and the severity of it.


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[AmyZ]

I haven't used this service, but I've heard good things.

https://www.foodallergyconcierge.com/

[KpbS]

No, we barely traveled in the US for many years due to DC's severe allergies. But DC has outgrown some of his allergies now so it would be in theory possible, but still difficult due to the fact he is dairy/wheat/nut allergic still.

It would be outside my comfort zone to travel to a country where English was not widely spoken reliably.

[essnce629]

My dad has a fish and seafood allergy. My parents have traveled the world and even lived in Asia for part of his life. When he travels now, he often uses a tour guide who sets up restaurant reservations and communicates his allergy and the severity of it.

This is a great idea. My FIL has a severe shellfish allergy but they travel constantly, including to Greece and Vietnam at least once a year.

[jgenie]

My DS has a peanut allergy. I worry when we travel and waited until he was older to travel internationally. We’ve been to London, Paris, Italy and Portugal. My DH is good with languages and always learns to say DS has a peanut allergy. I travel with a laminated index card that states he has a peanut allergy. I worry more when he goes on play dates. I’ve found people here are desensitized to allergies and often downplay them which is dangerous. I host his friends as often as I can.

[Reader]

We have extensive food allergies, and we have traveled to several European countries where we don't speak the language. I speak French, so you'd think France would be easiest, but I find Italy to be easiest. They seem really aware and concerned. My allergic child had his only ever McDonald's in Italy because it was safe for him. We have cards in whatever language of the place we are visiting (chef cards) that explain the allergies in depth that we hand to the waiter. We manage peanut/tree nut/gluten/dairy. We take advantage of the fact that most EU food is labeled in English (albeit in teeny tiny font). My PN/TN child wants to go to Japan but I haven't been brave enough to attempt Asia.

[nfceagles]

I know exactly your feelings but we’ve been spreading our wings little by little lately. My 14 year old is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts plus a few minor things.

London and Edinburgh are quite easy. Very well aware and speak English. We’ve been to France twice but we keep the trips short and stick to McDs or packed food for DS. They don’t have the best reputation for accommodating allergies so if you’re OK in France you should do well in Italy. I’ve heard Italy is very good. The EU countries require disclosure of the top 14 allergens, but that doesn’t always mean they’re willing to help you or understand cross contamination. We spent last week in Barcelona and Madrid and had a good time but we mostly stuck to McDs, Taco Bell, and food we cooked in our hotel. We almost always stick to apartment style hotels so we can cook our own food as needed. We had fun grocery shopping. Google Translate is very helpful with that. We should have probably tried harder in Spain but at the end of the day I was usually too tired to try finding a safe restaurant. His allergies are extensive enough that sometimes the place might be willing to help but still not have anything for him. We were able to find safe churros and had them almost every day so that was fun. We really just have to focus on the non food elements of travel. We have allergy chef cards in various languages. Ours are printed on business cards so that we have many and don’t need to get them back from the chef. Still we hardly use them because everyone speaks English in these tourist places. I would suggest joining Allergy Travels Group on Facebook.


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[marinkitty]

DD has a tree nut allergy and while we do consider whether a place will make it particularly challenging, we have traveled extensively internationally and not had any issues. We bring her medications and I have gone the route of the laminated, detailed explanation but have rarely needed to use it. We avoid foods that are likely to have hidden nut ingredients rather than ask and go for things that are almost certainly safe (e.g., avoid baked goods, pestos and sauces in certain countries that might contain nuts). I have found that European countries are very sensitive to food allergy issues and almost always work with us. We had to work a bit harder in South America but have managed to navigate it. I haven't taken her to Asia or Africa yet. We did a big hiking trip last year and she has done some expedition type camps and those worried me most because things like bars and trail mixes tend to be nut heavy - so for those I was very careful to be sure everything was labeled nut free and that everyone she would be with understood clearly how serious the risks were of mixing things up.

ETA: Google translate is surprisingly helpful in situations where there is a language barrier. I haven't had to use it for the allergy issue, but over winter break we were in a tiny rural town in Mexico and DD got really sick and we needed to get some anti-nausea meds and an IV to rehydrate her and I was amazed how well using google translate in the small rural clinic with no English skills worked.