Seven Food Allergy Myths and Mistakes I’ve Made
Updated Jan. 2024
This is not easy to write. To prepare for this episode, I’ve had to remember some of the scariest times we’ve had with food allergies. Knowing that things I did (even though they were accidents) could have caused harm, makes my heartache. The mom's guilt is real. And exposing my mistakes to the world is even harder.
Luckily, not all of these mistakes caused reactions, and if they did happen, they were mild: but I don’t know what I would’ve done if my daughter had had full-blown anaphylaxis (and even thinking of that is too difficult).
Let’s just say I’m SO THANKFUL that all the situations turned out well and we can now just call these situations learning experiences.
Whether your LO has been newly diagnosed, or you’ve been at this a few years, I hope this post helps you. And please know, I don’t write this to scare you. I'm hoping to show you that nobody's perfect and to help you learn from my mistakes.
So here goes.
7 Food Allergy Myths and The Mistakes I’ve Made as a Food Allergy Mom
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 1: Allowing my daughter to have food with a “may contain” statement on the label.
This happened early in our food allergy journey. At the time, we were unsure whether the companies using “may contain” statements were “covering their butt”, or if we had to worry. Well, when my daughter reacted with swelling on her face and hives, we realized quickly that “may contain” statements could contain what they say they do.
Just after this incident, I ate a cereal that had a “may contain almonds” statement. When I poured the cereal into the bowl, what did I find? A WHOLE almond. Yes, that cereal contained a whole almond, even though it only said: “may contain almonds”.
After these two incidences, I’ve never allowed my daughter to have anything with a “may contain her allergen statement" again. I know that if the company goes to the extent of putting this statement on the product, don’t take it lightly.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 2: Not knowing the symptoms of anaphylaxis and delaying action.
When my daughter was 3, we went to a friend's house for a playdate. This mom knew of my daughter’s allergies. My daughter and her friend were in the playroom. About an hour into the playdate, my daughter came to me with the WHOLE side of her face swollen. My first thought was that she hit her head, but she wasn’t crying and there was no bang, so I just couldn’t figure it out. The other mom said to me “Oh no, my kids ate peanut butter in there yesterday”. Now I started to panic. I knew this could be a reaction, but honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was or what to do.
We left the playdate and I went home and gave my daughter the antihistamine prescribed by our Allergist. After a tense morning, the swelling went down, but as I look back on this situation, I think I was afraid to use the EpiPen. I kept stalling and ALL THAT TIME PASSED from when we left the playdate to driving home, to waiting for the antihistamine to work. This is why I now refer to my daughter’s Emergency Plan (which I’ve gone over with her Doctor), so whenever we suspect a reaction, we know EXACTLY what to do, and we don’t doubt ourselves or wonder if it’s severe enough to use the EpiPen.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 3: Assuming Teachers know how to navigate food allergies in their classroom.
Ok, I have SO much to say about school and food allergies. As of recording, my allergy daughter is in grade 10, and I just have to say that out of all of the 13 years of school (including kindergarten and preschool), we have had maybe 2 or 3 teachers who truly understood the importance of food allergy management.
Even then, they may have understood how to use an EpiPen, but they still didn’t fully consider inclusion in the classroom, because FOOD is EVERYWHERE at school. Now, I’m not about spreading fear, so I don’t want you to be afraid of school. BUT WHAT I do want you to know is that YOU will need to advocate for your child. You will need to know what to ask for and do it in a way that fosters collaboration and teamwork.
I have a School Food Allergy Template that is 10 pages of things to go over with your school and Teacher at the beginning of every school year. This template is a game-changer because there are so many things to think about, and this template is extremely comprehensive.
I also have something called the School Success Pack that helps you to get Teachers on your side in ONE email. Yes, you will still have to meet them to educate and go over everything, but I with the school success pack, we dive deep into overcoming some of the biggest barriers to cooperation when it comes to food allergies in the classroom. So if school is coming for you, definitely check that out.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Teachers are NOT out to get food allergy kids. They WANT to help, and they care. The problem is that they just don’t know what they don’t know because they’ve never LIVED with food allergies, and unfortunately, food allergy awareness at school is lacking.
I will be talking about this more on the podcast, but for now, I want you to start preparing for the fact that you will need to take a very active role when it comes to school.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 4: Being lazy about reading labels.
I’m usually pretty good about reading labels, but there have been times when I was overtired or feeling lazy because I’m buying a product that we’ve bought several times before.
This happened to me a couple of years ago with pita bread. I bought the same brand I always bought so I skipped reading the label at the store. It wasn’t until I was home that I realized the label had changed and it now had a “may contain tree nuts” statement.
At the time I didn’t realize that product formulations, manufacturing plants, and production lines can change at any time. It all depends on the company’s needs, which will change if an ingredient becomes difficult to source or they need to use a different production facility due to demand.
Now I read labels EACH time I shop. Then re-read before I store the food and again before I cook the food in case I missed anything the first time.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 5: Assume a product won’t have an allergen in it because it doesn’t seem likely.
This was my hubby’s mistake, but it’s something anybody can do and a learning experience for both of us. We were lucky in this situation because the mistake was missing wheat in a pack of Twizzlers.
Luckily for us, my daughter is only gluten intolerant and doesn’t have a severe allergy to wheat, so it wasn’t life-threatening. But it goes to show that you need to read the label every time, even when you don’t think you do.
Not only that, if we're EVER unsure of a company OR if there could be chances of cross-contact between foods, we contact the company directly before giving the food to our daughter.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 6: Thinking that I could buy snacks and non-perishables at our travel destination.
Ok, I want you to use your imagination for a second. Do you remember what shopping for groceries was like RIGHT after diagnosis? If you were anything like me, it was a HUGELY frustrating and discouraging time. There are SO many labels to read and so many don’t work for your allergens.
I think I may have broken down crying once or twice.
Remember that it does get better and you settle into finding your safe products and although it still takes a long time to shop, it’s not AS discouraging anymore.
So when it comes to traveling with food allergies, I don’t want you to make this mistake. No matter how allergy-friendly you’ve heard the destination is, DON’T make the mistake of buying all the snacks and non-perishables at the destination, instead PACK THEM.
Why? Because a vacation is meant to be relaxing, fun and exciting. It’s not a time to relive those days of frustration trying to find safe foods!
Instead, take the time to PLAN your food before your vacation. Pack all the main non-perishables AND snacks and then only buy fresh meat and veggies at the destination.
This is so much easier and allows you to feel way less worried! Trust me on this one. We have traveled all over the world and used some form of this on every trip.
If you want the most relaxing vacation ever, check out my Food Allergy Travel Workshop where I dive into ALL of my travel strategies that we’ve used traveling to Ireland, Spain, France, the UK, Mexico, Bahamas, and all over Canada and US. I even have a Travel Planning Pack that will help you figure out what food to bring and how much so you never have to feel like you can’t feed your child.
Food Allergy Myth or Mistake 7: Take the wrong coat after a birthday party.
Ok, this may seem a bit silly, but honestly, I feel like this story shows how food allergies affect EVERY part of our lives, which is why I thought I would tell the story.
This happened when my daughter was around grade 3.
My daughter had the same coat as another child at a birthday party. It was a cold day and my daughter had the zipper done up and the coat was one of those warm and cosy ones that went all the way to her nose.
When we got back to the car, she mentioned that her face was itchy. Sure enough, we looked and found a couple of hives on her face. It took a while to figure it out, but she had the wrong coat. The child who owned the coat had eaten peanut butter or some sort of nuts and got them onto her coat. She was ok, but since then, we always make sure to label our daughter’s coat & take the right one at the end of a birthday party.
Speaking of birthday parties with food allergies.
If you’re wondering how to quickly and easily educate hosts about food allergies and want an easy checklist to follow so you don’t forget anything, check out my Birthday Party Success Pack. I’ll post a link in the show notes. It will save you so much time during the birthday party season!
Do you know I have a series of low-cost workshops to help with some of the biggest struggles of food allergies?
90-Minute Variety Booster - Your Quick & Easy Way To Get More Allergy-Friendly Variety You & Your Kids Love
Get Others To Take Food Allergies Seriously - Easily get others to take food allergies seriously and help you keep your child safe instead of making you feel like you're being super vigilant for no reason.
Get Over The Fear of Trying New Foods - Feel calm instead of nauseous so you can give your child the new foods your doctor recommended.
Calm Epinephrine Workshop - Help you and your child feel positive about the epinephrine injector so you never hesitate if it’s needed.
School Allergy Plan Template - Your detailed guide to keeping your child safe and included at school.
Food Allergy Travel - Our family has traveled worldwide with multiple severe food allergies. Learn my BEST tips and get all the planning checklists and planning templates you need for a trip with food allergies.
Dining Out With Food Allergies - Make dining out as safe as possible and feel confident knowing when it’s safe and when to leave.
Have you had food allergy mom myths mistakes or learning experiences that aren't too scary to post? Share with us in the comments.
