|
Essentially, any place that you go has the potential for nut-contamination,
but the risk is especially high in any place that is frequented by children.
The cause can be as simple as a reaction from your child's touching a
railing on a set of stairs. If the railing has been contaminated, your
child's hand could pick up the protein. Without proper and immediate hand
washing - the next time their hands go into their mouth or onto something
that goes into their mouth - they risk an allergic reaction.
By now we all realize that it is impossible to avoid situations where
your child is risk of a reaction - basically, they are always at risk.
It is how you handle the situation that counts. Control the situation,
and be prepared. You cannot stop your child from touching everything he
wants to touch - but you can teach him that with thorough hand washing
the risk is much less as well as the all important factor of keeping their
hands out of their mouth.
When you go to play/entertainment facilities with your allergic child,
take your own snacks and drinks unless you have checked ahead to verify
they have safe alternatives. Be sure to personalize your child's cup so
that they will always recognize it and use it - this will prevent them
from using a cup that is identical to theirs but not theirs. Let them
write their own name on their cup or draw a sunshine on it for them, this
will make it unique to them.
If you need to eat while at the facility and do not have food with you,
be sure to ask all of the appropriate questions, or perhaps purchase only
pre-packaged foods that you recognize as safe.
One other suggestion I have is to take a baby blanket or some other lightweight
cloth to put on the table top where you are going to be eating. As you
likely know, cleanliness is not foremost at many of these facilities.
|