What is a "Comfort Zone?" When it comes to food allergies, we all have a level of comfort of what we will allow and won't allow our children to eat. There are a variety of factors that go into this. It will also be determined by the severity of your child's allergy and how difficult it is to avoid.
For me, this is my "safety net" for Tyler. Sure, I don't allow him to eat any type of nuts. But I do my very best to avoid any cross contamination reactions. When he gets older, he will have to develop his own. My husband was recently diagnosed with tree nut allergies and is working this out for himself, as well.
Obviously if your child has a reaction, you might need to re-examine your comfort zone. Or, maybe not since some things are completely out of our control. Although my comfort zones have varied over the last three and a half years Tyler has never had a reaction (except for his allergist's failed food challenge).
How Do You Develop a Comfort Zone? Research, research, research!! I always tell people educating themselves is the best thing they can do for their child's allergy. If the research causes you lots and lots of anxiety, just take it slow. A comfort zone does not have to be set in stone either. As you will see, we have loosened ours a little to accommodate Tyler's recently discovered chemical sensitivities.
What Has Our Comfort Zone Been in the Past? When we were first diagnosed I thought it was law to label for cross contamination. It wasn't until last year that I discovered this was not the case. After he was hospitalized when his former allergist mistakenly gave him peanut butter, I did a lot of research and had a very, very tight comfort zone. In the beginning, I was nervous if he got around other children if I didn't know what they ate!
What Is Our Current Comfort Zone? I have refined it a bit in recent months. While I used to never allow Tyler eat anything processed in a facility with peanuts, I have revised this a little bit to allow him to eat healthier grains. This was not without an absolute ton of research and prayer.
I always contact the company if I have any question about a food's safety. If they have peanuts in their facility but have very strict procedures in place to thoroughly clean their lines or, even better, process peanuts on different lines, I allow him to eat a few things . I would not have felt comfortable doing this a year ago but, in a few cases, I am allowing it.
Why? The companies that have the healthiest, organic grains sometimes have nuts in the facility. (Nuts are healthy, after all!). As I will mention in a future post on eczema, organic whole grains have greatly helped his eczema problems. They are also just healthier. In the long run, I believe this will help his overall health tremendously.
This exception is only made for a few select products (a few organic flours and an organic oatmeal). I will not even bother to call on unhealthy foods like candy. Not worth even investigating.
Everyone is Different There are as many comfort zones as their are children with a peanut allergy! Everyone has their own idea. I often joke that if something is out of my comfort zone that I will have a reaction if Tyler doesn't. Developing something that keeps your child safe is essential when managing a peanut allergy is essential.
What is a "Comfort Zone?"
When it comes to food allergies, we all have a level of comfort of what we will allow and won't allow our children to eat. There are a variety of factors that go into this. It will also be determined by the severity of your child's allergy and how difficult it is to avoid.
For me, this is my "safety net" for Tyler. Sure, I don't allow him to eat any type of nuts. But I do my very best to avoid any cross contamination reactions. When he gets older, he will have to develop his own. My husband was recently diagnosed with tree nut allergies and is working this out for himself, as well.
Obviously if your child has a reaction, you might need to re-examine your comfort zone. Or, maybe not since some things are completely out of our control. Although my comfort zones have varied over the last three and a half years Tyler has never had a reaction (except for his allergist's failed food challenge).
How Do You Develop a Comfort Zone?
Research, research, research!! I always tell people educating themselves is the best thing they can do for their child's allergy. If the research causes you lots and lots of anxiety, just take it slow. A comfort zone does not have to be set in stone either. As you will see, we have loosened ours a little to accommodate Tyler's recently discovered chemical sensitivities.
What Has Our Comfort Zone Been in the Past?
When we were first diagnosed I thought it was law to label for cross contamination. It wasn't until last year that I discovered this was not the case. After he was hospitalized when his former allergist mistakenly gave him peanut butter, I did a lot of research and had a very, very tight comfort zone. In the beginning, I was nervous if he got around other children if I didn't know what they ate!
What Is Our Current Comfort Zone?
I have refined it a bit in recent months. While I used to never allow Tyler eat anything processed in a facility with peanuts, I have revised this a little bit to allow him to eat healthier grains. This was not without an absolute ton of research and prayer.
I always contact the company if I have any question about a food's safety. If they have peanuts in their facility but have very strict procedures in place to thoroughly clean their lines or, even better, process peanuts on different lines, I allow him to eat a few things . I would not have felt comfortable doing this a year ago but, in a few cases, I am allowing it.
Why? The companies that have the healthiest, organic grains sometimes have nuts in the facility. (Nuts are healthy, after all!). As I will mention in a future post on eczema, organic whole grains have greatly helped his eczema problems. They are also just healthier. In the long run, I believe this will help his overall health tremendously.
This exception is only made for a few select products (a few organic flours and an organic oatmeal). I will not even bother to call on unhealthy foods like candy. Not worth even investigating.
Everyone is Different
There are as many comfort zones as their are children with a peanut allergy! Everyone has their own idea. I often joke that if something is out of my comfort zone that I will have a reaction if Tyler doesn't. Developing something that keeps your child safe is essential when managing a peanut allergy is essential.