Labor Day weekend is the perfect time for families to get away. It's right after the school year starts for many, which gives you and your kids the ability to take a breather before heading back into the chaos of a new school year. A road trip is a great way to bond as a family while spending some time away from home, but when you have a child with food allergies, the thought of embarking on a road trip can be daunting.
Despite how challenging a road trip may seem, you don't have to let your child's food allergies get in the way of a memorable family vacation. To help you plan for this kind of adventure, we speak with a food allergy expert who shares three tips for a successful Labor Day trip for moms of children with food allergies.
Tips for a Successful Labor Day Road Trip
©Romvy/Shutterstock.com
If your child's school starts in August, making it to Labor Day feels like a great accomplishment. The long weekend is a chance to regroup before diving back into the school year. On the other hand, if your child doesn't start school until after the long weekend, it's a chance for one last minute summer getaway. But no matter when school starts for your family, heading on the road when your child has food allergies can be overwhelming. However, it doesn't have to prevent your family from having an exciting vacation.
Debbie Taback, mother of three and co-founder of Latitude Food Allergy Care
We speak with Debbie Taback, a mom of three kids with food allergies and co-founder of Latitude Food Allergy Care. As a mom who knows what it's like to haul EpiPens, liquid antihistamines, eczema creams, and safe foods around the country, Taback provides us with three tips for a successful Labor Day road trip.
Pack Multiple Sets of Emergency Medication
When your child has food allergies, the “what ifs” probably cycle through your head any time you go on vacation. Unfortunately, this concern can keep you from truly enjoying your time away. As a parent of a child or children with food allergies, you know better than anyone how important it is to be prepared for an emergency. The key to a successful trip, according to Taback, is to pack enough for any scenario.
Although no parent wants to imagine an emergency will happen while the family is on vacation, packing multiple sets of emergency medication can give you the peace of mind you need to enjoy time with your family. Not every emergency medication has to take up a ton of space either.
Taback tells us, “The new epinephrine nasal spray option, Neffy, is especially compact and less sensitive to temperature swings, which is good for the beach or the ski slopes. I’m also a fan of dissolvable antihistamine tablets.”
It's also a good idea to pack extra copies of your emergency care plan for the sake of anyone traveling with you. Ensure your spouse or any other family members know where the emergency medication is in case you're not in the room when an emergency happens.
©FamVeld/Shutterstock.com
Do Your Research Ahead of Time
Before a family trip, most of us spend hours researching the best places to visit, eat, and play. As a food allergy parent, there's an extra layer to this research. It's up to you to find restaurants and stores that are allergy-friendly so that you don't have to scramble at the last minute. But the good news is, your kids don't have to miss out on all the fun just because they have an allergy.
Taback says, “Part of the joy of traveling is experiencing new foods, and you don’t have to give this up to stay safe. Search online ahead of time to find food allergy-friendly restaurants, and follow food allergy travel groups on social media where you can ask other families for recommendations.”
Doing this research ahead of time gives you more time to look for the best options and even contact restaurants or grocery stores if you need to. How much you need to prepare depends on how long your trip is. What's going to be most difficult is those long travel days — but that's also something you can prepare for.
“Assume that on travel days, you may have limited access to trusted foods — for those days bring along travel-size, shelf-stable versions of your go-to foods like applesauce pouches, single-serve sunbutter, or granola bars,” Taback says.
Be Proactive With Treatment
Food allergy testing and treatment isn't a one-time thing. How often retesting for food allergies needs to reoccur depends on a lot of factors, including the age of your child. Keeping your child's allergy test up-to-date is important because some allergies may resolve and you don't want your child to avoid certain groups of food unnecessarily. Back-to-school season is a great time to ensure your child's tests are updated, but it's equally important to be proactive before heading on a family vacation.
Taback tells us, “When families have confusing or even outdated testing, they may unnecessarily be restricting their foods and activities. Allergies can change over time, especially for very young children.”
If your child's allergies haven't changed, the research you've done will help your child have an enjoyable time and be able to eat yummy foods. However, an updated allergy test could reveal that there are some foods you can add in that you didn't previously know about.
Taback even had this experience with her own child and witnessed how quickly allergens can change. “My daughter’s list of allergens changed from five foods to one, in the short time from that initial diagnosis at 17 months to updated testing when she was three years old. When there is clarity on the allergy, treatment with oral immunotherapy (OIT) can lower the risk of reactions and in the long term open up an entirely new world of travel with less restriction and worry,” she says.
Planning A Trip Your Kids Won't Forget
Planning a road trip with your kids takes a lot of preparation, especially when you have to think about food allergies along the way. But allergies don't have to keep you from having an exciting and memorable weekend away. With some extra research, preparation, and proactive treatment, you can plan a trip your kids won't forget.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Sorapop Udomsri/Shutterstock.com