The scariest night of the year is coming up – especially for food allergy parents. If your kids with food allergies are like mine, they are excited to get out and go trick-or-treating, and the last thing I want to do is be a cloud of doom and gloom over the fun. But, as we learned a couple of years ago, even when we are careful and teach our kids to ask before opening, sometimes things just slip through the cracks.
Here are some quick tips so maybe you can avoid spending Halloween night in the ER as a parent or family with food allergies.
Tips for Staying Safe on Halloween
- Make sure your EpiPen is recent, easily located, and that any capable person in your home is trained to use it.
- Send a quick reminder to your child’s teacher and any other adult they will be with that day (carpool driver, piano instructor, etc). They probably already know, but a quick note that says “Hey, as you already know, my child is allergic to X, please be sure any goodie bags are secured and sent home so we can check them first!” is brief, to the point, and can save a lot of heartache.
- Come up with a plan with your partner or another parent you trust if you have other kids who will need to be watched in the event of an emergency. Who can you leave your kids with while you ride to the hospital should an allergic reaction occur? And who can come pick you up after? We were fortunate that my husband was in town the year we had to go to the ER but we all know that’s not always the case, and having a prearranged plan can really help with an emergent situation.
- Go over the typical symptoms with your child that they experience when they have accidentally ingested an allergen . Remind them that the sooner they tell someone that they are feeling off, the faster we can get help. Do a practice run through if they are feeling anxious- ” I will have you lie down like this and then I will take care of the medicine and call 911. Ms. Meg will keep your sisters at her house and I will go with you to the hospital.”
- Remind your child not all candy is well-labeled. I like to tell my son two popular brands of candy that will reliably be peanut free so that he can grab something as he walks from house to house. That’s not always possible with food allergies, I know, but giving them a safe food to eat while with friends lessens the likelihood my kid will try to sneak something to fit in.
- Triple check all candy hauls. Have a second adult do a check if possible. You WILL miss something the first time. It’s okay. It’s why we do it three times.
- Together, pick a safe treat they can trade what they received in for and have it on hand for that night.
Happy Halloween! Be safe, be prepared!
Xoxo,
Another allergy parent
Any other safety tips for allergy kids on Halloween? Drop them below in the comments!
