This is not a joke! Like guide dogs (a.k.a seeing eye dogs), there are peanut detecting dogs. Dogs who can sniff out peanuts to ensure their owner is safe.
Please don't judge me, but I am not a dog lover. I like other people's dogs. Especially golden retrievers, burnese mountain dogs, and more recently some of the cute creations interbreeding has resulted in. I think they make a great pet, but a furry friend is just not for me. I think it's the OCD, but it's a safe bet that our home will be dog-free.
I heard about peanut dogs a few years ago from a magazine. They can be brought anywhere and everywhere because they are classified as service dogs.
For anyone interested, check out http://www.peanutdog.com I just called and apparantly they are not doing peanut dogs at the moment, but this can change in the future. Maybe they stopped doing them because the cost of a peanut detecting dog is$14,995. That is not a typo!
:)
J.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
No Sharing!
I’m on a 100% no sharing policy!
Since the boy was born I have been involved in different music groups, playgroups, gym classes etc… The moms always bring their toddlers snacks and sometimes these snacks get shared or grabbed by the other kids. Most of the moms are allergy aware and would never bring a nutty snack. Despite this I am still the mother running around ensuring my child does not take food from any of the other kids, eat off the floor or grab someone's snack, just in case. On the same note, I recognize people mean well by offering to share their child's snacks when another toddler seems interested in it, but in my opinion people should never feed other people's kids without permission. Sharing is caring, but with an allergy sharing is not so caring.
How do you handle these situations?
:)
J.
Since the boy was born I have been involved in different music groups, playgroups, gym classes etc… The moms always bring their toddlers snacks and sometimes these snacks get shared or grabbed by the other kids. Most of the moms are allergy aware and would never bring a nutty snack. Despite this I am still the mother running around ensuring my child does not take food from any of the other kids, eat off the floor or grab someone's snack, just in case. On the same note, I recognize people mean well by offering to share their child's snacks when another toddler seems interested in it, but in my opinion people should never feed other people's kids without permission. Sharing is caring, but with an allergy sharing is not so caring.
How do you handle these situations?
:)
J.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Exciting News!
I am excited to announce that my blog is now featured on peanutallergy.com
Peanutallergy.com has always been my number one reference for all things peanut related. The site has a wealth of information including forums where questions can be posted for just about any subject.
Welcome to all the new readers!
: )
J.
theallergicmom.blogspot.com
p.s Happy blogoversary to me! Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the blog.
Peanutallergy.com has always been my number one reference for all things peanut related. The site has a wealth of information including forums where questions can be posted for just about any subject.
Welcome to all the new readers!
: )
J.
theallergicmom.blogspot.com
p.s Happy blogoversary to me! Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the blog.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Definition of a Peanut Free/Nut Free Home?
As you all know by now, I don’t eat at other people’s homes unless they are 100% peanut/nut free. We were invited to someone’s home for dinner where the hostess actually had a peanut allergy. One would assume that if you go to someone’s house where there is someone with a peanut allergy, that their home would be peanut free. Wrong!!
Before eating, I asked if everything was nut free to which she responded ‘of course’. While the evening was really nice and the food was entirely peanut/nut free, I later found out that they keep peanut butter in the home for the peanut butter loving husband. My husband gave up peanuts cold turkey, so this could lead into a whole other discussion but it won’t!!
As soon as I heard that they keep peanut butter in the home, my heart skipped a beat. I don’t know why, We were finished dinner and I was totally fine. It’s not like the peanut butter was going to jump out of the pantry onto the plate, but I have been consumed by the whole idea of how people define peanut/nut free? To me it’s easy, a kitchen completely free of all peanuts, nuts and any product that states may contain traces of peanuts or nuts. With a jar of PB in the pantry this ultimately impacts the level of control one has in a peanut/nut free home. I could not stop thinking about when he eats it? Where does he keep it? Does he use a plate? Does he eat it near his wife? What if she touches the plate after? We all make our own decisions, and we know our respective comfort zones. The allergic hostess has been living with a peanut loving husband for a few years and she’s just fine.
The big question is I am posing is what defines a peanut/nut free home in your opinion. This sounds like a simple question, but there are many answers.
:)
J.
Before eating, I asked if everything was nut free to which she responded ‘of course’. While the evening was really nice and the food was entirely peanut/nut free, I later found out that they keep peanut butter in the home for the peanut butter loving husband. My husband gave up peanuts cold turkey, so this could lead into a whole other discussion but it won’t!!
As soon as I heard that they keep peanut butter in the home, my heart skipped a beat. I don’t know why, We were finished dinner and I was totally fine. It’s not like the peanut butter was going to jump out of the pantry onto the plate, but I have been consumed by the whole idea of how people define peanut/nut free? To me it’s easy, a kitchen completely free of all peanuts, nuts and any product that states may contain traces of peanuts or nuts. With a jar of PB in the pantry this ultimately impacts the level of control one has in a peanut/nut free home. I could not stop thinking about when he eats it? Where does he keep it? Does he use a plate? Does he eat it near his wife? What if she touches the plate after? We all make our own decisions, and we know our respective comfort zones. The allergic hostess has been living with a peanut loving husband for a few years and she’s just fine.
The big question is I am posing is what defines a peanut/nut free home in your opinion. This sounds like a simple question, but there are many answers.
:)
J.
Friday, January 7, 2011
New Diagnosis
Having a child with a peanut allergy or any allergy for that matter is a huge responsibility. It is not trial and error like so many aspects of parenting can be, as the error can be fatal. Anyone who has an allergy or a child with an allergy will establish their own way of handling it and develop their own comfort zones. Like anything, with time they will become more comfortable with the way of life that comes with it. Some parents are more relaxed than others, and some people like myself take the allergy issue to another level, and use extreme caution at all times.
In the past three weeks two of my friends have told me their respective son’s were diagnosed with peanut allergies. When I read the first email, I got teary eyed, not for her son who has to live with this allergy, rather I felt sorry for her. I sort of just accepted it with no tears when the allergist told me that my own son seems to have an allergy to tree nuts. I am used to this way of life, I know the ins and outs, the safe restaurants, the questions to ask at restaurants, how to use an epipen, how to teach the teachers about handling an allergy, how to explain to the other mom’s, what to teach the boy about not eating food from anyone but his parents etc… For my two friends who are new to this world, I can imagine how overwhelming it is. They have to figure everything out, and change so many parts of their respective lifestyles. Of course both mothers’ will make these changes, and they will eventually forget what life was like before they had to check ingredients every time their kid eats. They will educate themselves, and they too will become ‘experts’ on how to handle an allergy. Like me, they will have no choice but to go through life asking questions and reading ingredients.
We all know there are worse things in life. As my friend’s kids are growing older, statistically speaking I will get more calls, and I will tell them all the same thing, that it is scary but manageable, and to never let your guard down.
:)
J.
In the past three weeks two of my friends have told me their respective son’s were diagnosed with peanut allergies. When I read the first email, I got teary eyed, not for her son who has to live with this allergy, rather I felt sorry for her. I sort of just accepted it with no tears when the allergist told me that my own son seems to have an allergy to tree nuts. I am used to this way of life, I know the ins and outs, the safe restaurants, the questions to ask at restaurants, how to use an epipen, how to teach the teachers about handling an allergy, how to explain to the other mom’s, what to teach the boy about not eating food from anyone but his parents etc… For my two friends who are new to this world, I can imagine how overwhelming it is. They have to figure everything out, and change so many parts of their respective lifestyles. Of course both mothers’ will make these changes, and they will eventually forget what life was like before they had to check ingredients every time their kid eats. They will educate themselves, and they too will become ‘experts’ on how to handle an allergy. Like me, they will have no choice but to go through life asking questions and reading ingredients.
We all know there are worse things in life. As my friend’s kids are growing older, statistically speaking I will get more calls, and I will tell them all the same thing, that it is scary but manageable, and to never let your guard down.
:)
J.
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