Did anyone send highly allergic child to overnight camp?

tova7

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 9:03 pm

My ds is 12 and is interested in going to camp.
His friends are going and staying home is boring.
It would be a good experience for him but not at the expense of his health.

Does anyone have experience with sending a severly allergic child to camp?
Is it possible and is it worth the risks involved? What precautions do we have to take?

allrgymama

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 9:53 pm

What is he allergic to?

My cousin went to sleep away camp with celiac, though I do realize that isn't the same thing. My aunt prepared two weeks of meals for her at a time which the camp kept in the main kitchen freezer. She restocked her on visiting days and in between halves

BetsyTacy

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 9:59 pm

I think that the most important thing to do is to speak to the camp director and directly to the head of the medical staff. I spoke for a long time with the camp nurse months before camp to determine what protocols were in place. How far was the nearest hospital, what procedure did they have in place for common allergies (nuts, tree nuts). What procedures could they put in place for less common, but airborne allergies? See if the nurse/doctor knows his/her stuff or is just winging it. The only time there were problems was when the veteran nurse was not there and they instead hired a new nurse for the month. I would only send if you have the confidence that the medical staff is really on top of things and that the nurse/doctor that you speak with will be the one there for the camp session that your ds will attend.

amother

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:04 pm

a colleague's mother is the camp nurse at a sleep away camp, she says that there are many allergic children at this camp. she deals with the medical side, while the camp cook often prepares more than one version of the same food depending on the kid's needs etc. (and I suppose would deal with parents who need to send their own food to camp as well) --so aside from the camp director, you will probably want to talk to both the camp nurse and cook.
a friend of mine sends her allergic child to camp. I have an allergic child and have thought about this often (since I loved summer camp!) but he is not yet old enough to go. IYH he will outgrow the allergies prior!

cbsmommy

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:31 pm

I have Celiac Disease and as a child I was allergic to certain fish, apples and bananas (thankfully, I outgrew the fruit allergy in my teens).
I went to overnight camp starting from age 10. My parents strongly believed that I needed to learn how to navigate my diet in the real world.
That being said, when I was 14, I was stung by a wasp nest at camp, had a horribly AWFUL allergic reaction, and after that my parents decided not to send me to overnight camp.

sped

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:39 pm

My cousin sent her highly alergic son once he was old enough to be responsible for himself. This was years ago, before there was such allergy awareness. He is severly allergic to milk and dairy (among other, less common things). I remember him saying that he would only eat bread from packages that he opened himself. He knew not to trust anyone, and would rathergo without.

amother

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:43 pm

What is he allergic to? My kids are asthmatic and are allergic to nuts fish and sesame.bh we never had a problem. Im not sure if I would send a child with milk and dairy allergies, that would be too complicated.

bigprincess

Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:53 pm

amother wrote:

Someone I know sent her son that is allergic to milk to camp. He had no problem. If there was too much dairy served he and another boy also allergic to milk were sent outside to eat.

tova7

Wed, Jan 11 2012, 5:34 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Good idea.
My son has a very severe allergy to peanuts (even the smell can trigger a reaction) and knowing that there's a proper back up plan would make me and him alot more at ease.

deams

Thu, Jan 12 2012, 12:47 am

first you need to talk to the camp and see if they will take the proper measures for your sons allergies. If you are comfortable with that then talk to your son and prepare him in what it will be like for him. Don't forget that new places can trigger the allergies more. eg. if he would have asthma then he might have to take his inhaler more often.
camp can be the most amazing experience for kids this age. If all the right precautions and safety rules are put in place Why Not?

shoeboxgirly

Thu, Jan 12 2012, 2:22 am

From my experience of being a madricha, whenever we had anyone on our camps with any allergies, we went to the maximum effort to ensure nothing bad happened. In fact we had kids with all kids of conditions, allergies, epilepsy, asthma and several others, and we're always made aware and given a what to do if X happens cheat sheet. On one of my tours, we had someone with such a fish allergy that other tours from other groups who were doing the same route as us were also banned from having any fish. Just give them a call, that shouldn't be a problem.

I just don't think any kid should have to miss out.