Allergies and Aggravations

c.c.cookie

Mon, May 07 2012, 11:13 am

I have a sister who thinks my son's allergies are just one big joke. (None of her kids have it, ergo the whole thing just doesn't exist.) When her daughter offered to hold my son when he was younger, she said, "Are you sure he's not allergic to her?" And started laughing, like it was the funniest joke of all time. Rolling Eyes

c.c.cookie

Mon, May 07 2012, 11:18 am

Just recently I had an interesting experience at my son's gan: I went to pick him up, and as he was leaving, the assistant handed him a treat - chocolate covered pretzels. They looked pretty light, so I said, "It's not milchigs, is it?" And she said, "It is. Why, he can't have it?" I was surprised she didn't know, to say the least, but I just told her no, he's allergic and left. I called the morah later on and told her the story, and she appologized and said yes, of-course the assistant should know about it yada yada yada. Well, just recently my dh went to pick up ds, and the assistant gives him chocolate again.
DH: It's not milchigs, right?
Assisant (same one): Yes it is, why, he can't have it?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

anonymrs

Mon, May 07 2012, 11:32 am

c.c.cookie wrote:

My mil is very nervous about dd's allergies and she does try to be careful but it really annoys me how she makes fun all the time. Is she allowed to have water? <smirk> Am I allowed to put her on the chair or is she allergic to that too? <wink> And every time dd complains about something she says "oh don't do that/give that to her, she's probably allergic." Seriously, I feel like telling her to just stop talking about it in that mocking tone of voice. Allergies are no joke! You're lucky that you didn't have to do this with any of your kids but this is my life and you are "belittling" me for taking care of my daughter properly.

anonymrs

Mon, May 07 2012, 11:33 am

c.c.cookie wrote:

And this is exactly why I'm so nervous about sending my dd to gan. It's amazing how slow people can be sometimes. Sorry that you have to deal with this. Sad

amother

Mon, May 07 2012, 11:49 am

In March, we attended a Shabbaton. There was a huge group meal for lunch and for Shalosh Suedos. Shabbos dinner was by a family. In terms of our allergies, there wasn't much I could do about the huge group meals. I've been on these events before, and there isn't so much to be done about large meals and buffets. Many of the allergies we have, it's not just the food itself, but nothing permissible can even come in contact with anything we are allergic to. (For example, a salad without one of the foods still isn't OK, because who knows if the same knife was used to cut and not washed!) So, I have learned not to even bother asking for a separate plate at these events.

Anyway, I expected that at least the dinner would be OK. I gave the host a list of allergies, who said it wouldn't be a problem. We are sitting there, and she comes out with a dish filled with one of the allergic foods. Her explaination: "My kids really enjoy this dish, so I made it anyway. I hope you understand." Understand? Um, hello! It has nothing to do with understanding! Couldn't she have served it at one of the two other Shabbos meals? I was nervous the entire meal!

What do all of you do at events, especially buffets? What do you do when eating out at people's homes? I am often in situations where I have to eat out, and we have a whole long list of alleries in our family!

bigprincess

Mon, May 07 2012, 12:12 pm

c.c.cookie I would suggest you should take your son out of this day care. My son's day care teacher has a child that is anaphylactic that's the only reason I'm sending him there.

My mother in law has children with sever allergies and I thought going to her would be safe....How wrong I was. She made fruit salad, placed the kiwi's in a separate plate cut with a separate knife but when it came to serving the other guest who were there she used the same spoon for both.

I went to my sister in law for shabbos. I told her everything my son can't eat but when serving the fish she put a mayo dressing on. When I told her my son can't eat it, she was like why it doesn't have eggs....my poor son lived on a few wafers and apple sauce I brought from home all shabbos.

My mom is usually careful but she loves chocolate with nuts. So whenever she kisses my son he breaks out in hives.

By the way this thread is pretty old nevertheless it's good to have a place to vent a little to someone who will understand.