Planes, Trains... and Food Allergies!

This topic comes up every year: traveling with food allergies. Travel season is approaching in the U.S. and I have received a few inquiries on how we've managed transcontinental travel with food allergies. So perhaps my broader audience will benefit from a recap.

Planes
If you or your child has a serious food allergy and you are traveling by plane, call the airline! Different airlines have different policies regarding the food they serve and how they will accommodate food allergies. As recently as last week, I know that Continental served nuts on their domestic flights but do offer gluten free meals.

Obviously, peanut-allergic travelers must avoid Southwest. I've heard announcements on American flights asking passengers to refrain from opening packaged nuts because of a food-allergic passenger. But, I have also been on an American flight when the packaged snack pack they offered contained nuts. Their published policy is that they don't serve peanuts but do serve other nut products.

Depending on the severity of the allergy, in addition to calling in advance, you may also want to remind them at the gate and when you board the plane. A friend of mine reports that she has had good experiences with Northwest, KLM, American and Alitalia in terms of accommodating their allergy.

Get a note from your allergist that states that you are required to carry an auto-injector. In both domestic and international airports, we have not had any issues with security and the 4 to 6 auto-injectors we have in our carry-on luggage (Hey, it's a 14-hour flight!) In fact, I've never had anyone ask about them at all.

Bring your own food. As long as you stay away from liquids or gooey stuff, this should not be an issue with security.

Our biggest concern was trace nuts in the cabin. I read an article last summer quoting Dr. Hugh Sampson of Mt. Sinai, who recommends flying in the morning when airplanes are cleanest. My experience has been that international flights, which are thoroughly prepped before the journey are great. The domestic ones have a little more of the Ick factor. Having a little guy, it is not uncommon for him to spot something that looks like it could be pretty yummy, pick it up, and eat it. Horrifying, I know! So my husband and I had these nightmares... we're flying 30,000 feet over the Pacific. After a full day of connecting flights and layovers, we are fast asleep. Tanner finds some random who knows what stuck between the seats. And before you know it... anaphylaxis! I actually bought a hand-held power vacuum for the first time we flew across the ocean! Now, I recommend plane sheets.

Foreign Countries
"El no puede comer cacajuetes o otros nueces." I learned that from my cab driver in Mexico.

When we were flying through South Korea, a friend of ours wrote up a note to bring on Korean Airlines. (I don't recommend them since they themselves told us they were not equip to handle a medical emergency. We ended up switching to Philippine Airlines.) But translation cards are handy in countries where you don't speak the language. There are several companies that offer this product: Select Wisely, Dietary Card, Allergy Translation, Medu Data (free).

Hotels
A nod to Ruth at Allergizer, who covers travel planning tips for people who suffer from hay fever and pollen allergies as well as food allergies. She's got a great resource for allergen-free hotel rooms.

Restaurants
Nicole Smith at Allergic Child has a great list of restaurants around the U.S. that cater to food allergy families. She also has some helpful travel tips

That pretty much exhausts personal database of information. Bottom line is, food allergies don't have to slow you down! If anyone has any more tips and tricks, feel free to share.