Traveling with Food Allergies- The One Thing I Will Always Do

When we travel sometimes I look at all of the stuff I pack and wonder…are we going for a weekend or a two-week trip?  My husband loads the car and I contemplate the necessity of all of the bags and boxes and miscellaneous items shoved in all of the available nooks and crannies. I am nothing short of prepared (over-prepared some, OK a lot, would argue) and many of the extra items are directly related to managing my daughter’s food allergies on the road- extra food, supplies to make and eat food at the hotel, bathroom essentials as hotel provided toiletries often prove unsafe.  But, one of the many things I have learned as a food allergy mom- it pays to be prepared and our trip this past weekend confirmed for me that all of my packing is worth it. 

I shared in a Facebook Post earlier this week that when we arrived at the hotel I immediately noticed that the hotel provided lotion and body soap had sesame as an ingredient.  A definite no-go for us with a sesame allergy.  I quickly removed them from the bathroom and replaced them with the items we brought from home.  

 

Sesame in the ingredient list-with our sesame allergy we definitely cannot use these!

Our hotel provided breakfast, which is a great perk, except when you have food allergies.  There were a couple of pre-packaged items that were safe, but a majority of the breakfast fare was unsafe, or questionable at best. We used our packed food to supplement my daughter’s breakfast.  She enjoyed getting a yogurt and juice from the breakfast bar but we added safe cereal and granola to round out her meal.  

I chuckled as we left and packed up our food realizing I had enough to feed my daughter for a few days still.....silly food allergy mom in her constant state of over-packing.  Then it happened, about three hours into our nine hour drive we started to have car problems.  We had to pull off in a small town.  We pulled off the exit uncertain of what was ahead- car problems on a Sunday morning in a small town didn’t seem like the best scenario.  My mind instantly went into planning mode- what were we going to do if we had to stay, how would we eat, how would we keep it safe.  

Fortunately, we found an open garage and were back on the road in just a few hours- and home in time to eat a late dinner at our own house.  But, my initial oh-my-gosh-what-do-we-do panic quickly faded as I thought through the arsenal of food and supplies I had.  We were prepared, even if we had to stay another night or two.  

I will always pack more than we need, because there may be a day in the future when we need it.  It wasn’t this trip, thankfully, but when it happens we will be ready!  Sorry hubby- more van tetris-ing is in your future! 

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Hitting the Road with Food Allergies: Great Apps and Screaming Goats

Yes, you read that right- screaming goats.  They have become an important part of our road trips, but more on that later. 

We hit the road for Spring Break- one of the many road trips we will make this year.  We drive everywhere these days.  We have decided, with the severity of our daughter’s peanut allergy, that flying is not a good fit for our family.  We will fly someday, but for right now driving is the best option for our young family.  We have gotten pretty adept at taking a road trip and have also found some great technology tools to assist us in our travel adventures.   A lot of us know about and use Allergy Eats to find allergy friendly restaurants, which is a very helpful app while on the road.  And, there are other great apps that can help to keep your travels safe.  My Thrive On 3 this week – 3 great apps for traveling when you have food allergies.

USA Rest Stops

We love rest areas for three reasons- they offer us a place to eat the picnic style food we pack for our road trip, they give us a fast option for bathroom breaks and provide some open space to run and play when we need a break from the car. We try, as best we can, to plan out most of our stops at rest areas along our route.

USA Rest Stop is an app that allows you to locate rest stops anywhere in the US.  It has several great features.  You can search by state to find rest stops for some pre-planning.   There is a also a GPS function that tracks where you are and allows you to find rest areas along your route as you travel, including telling you how many miles until you hit the next rest stop.  It will alert you if rest areas are closed (good to know if someone really has to go) and also details what amenities are found at each rest stop.  Need a place with picnic tables for lunch or dinner?  The app can help you find it.

findER™

When we travel we always like to ensure that we will have close access to medical care at our destination and we take steps prior to our trip to research the closest hospitals, but what about while you are driving to your destination?  The findER™ app has a GPS function that tracks your current location.  When you open it, it locates where you are and automatically tells you the location of the closest ER.  You can tap the link and it will give you directions to the closet ER or click the list link to see all of the area ERs, including distance from your current location.  You can also search by location for some pre-trip planning and there is a link to call 911 from within the app. 

Hopefully your trip will be free of an ER visit, but should you need to find one quickly this app will get you the information you need.

MyEpiPlan

Mylan, the manufacturers of the of EpiPen®, offers an app called MyEpiPlan.  It is a great resource for keeping a complete allergy profile accessible and offers some cool features to help you use and keep your EpiPens® current.  While not a travel specific app, I love that we have comprehensive information about my daughter's allergies at all times and a way to contact others should we have an emergency situation while traveling.

The app allows you to complete an allergen profile that lists all of your allergens (food and non-food).  You can establish multiple profiles if more than one member of your family has allergies.  The app also offers many other great features including an emergency contact section where you can log multiple emergency contacts, including doctor and pharmacy information.  You can also track your EpiPens®.  It allows you to indicate where you keep your EpiPens® and enter in the expiration date for all of your pens.  The app will send you automatic reminders when it is time to replace your pens.  There is a How to Use link that connects you to a video on how to administer an EpiPen®, a link that allows you to dial 911 from within the app, as well as a section with tips and helpful articles about living with food allergies.

Now back to the screaming goats.  Since we have opted as a family to drive for all of our trips, we spend long hours cruising the roads to get to our chosen destination.  We have gotten really good at road tripping and have lots of tricks up our sleeves for keeping it safe and real while we spend hour upon hour on the road.  But, it is inevitable that if you spend a lot of time in the car the collective mood in the car will go south at some point.  That is where the screaming goats come in.  When we have all hit our limit – kids are fussing and kicking the seats, we have watched a movie (or three) and mom and dad are cranky, the best option is to pull up YouTube and watch some screaming goat videos.  Perhaps it is the delirious state we are already in, but something about watching screaming goats lightens the mood, brings on uncontrollable laughter and we are ready once again to go the distance (try it- I dare you not to laugh).

Here’s wishing you safety and screaming goats on your next road trip!  Thrive On!


Product Disclaimer:
Thrive On Consulting does not sponsor or endorse the products listed.  Nor has Thrive On Consulting been paid to include these products.  Products mentioned here are provided as ideas and suggestions to help you Thrive On with food allergies.

If you find this post helpful learn more about Tami and her company, Thrive On Consulting, which helps families and individuals managing food allergies, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter