Training is Key

I recently received an EpiPen trainer, and once I had it, I wondered why I didn't get one sooner. (As in, right when Ella was first diagnosed. In fact, I often wonder why they don't give you one right after the allergy test is done.) For those of you who don't know what a "trainer" is, it's an EpiPen that contains no needle or drug, but works just the same as a "real" EpiPen. So it allows you to practice using an EpiPen, so that if an emergency arrises, you'll be ready.

Aside from being able to practice myself, I have found the trainer SO useful for teaching other people how to use it. When I first showed it to people, most of them didn't know how to use it - including those I had previously showed the real EpiPen to, and who I leave Ella with on a regular basis. Scary! But having the trainer available has allowed me to give them a much more hands-on training, so that now I am assured that they will be able to use the real thing if they ever need to. I actually carry it around in my purse, and I'm surprised at how often people are interested in checking it out.

So, perhaps you're wondering where to get one. If you have a kid with an allergy, or if you are a caretaker of a kid with an allergy, or if you are an organization which cares for kids (like a church or a preschool), you NEED and EpiPen trainer. The best place to get one is the EpiPen website - all you have to do is sign up for the "EpiPen Resource Centre" and you can order training materials totally FREE! In fact, you can order one Patient Starter Kit every year if you want. The kit includes a training DVD, a quick reference guide, and an EpiPen trainer. If you are an organization, you can get a bigger kit which also includes posters.

Just as an extra note, the EpiPen website also offers some other great stuff. You can set up a reminder service for up to six EpiPens, so you will get an email when they are about to expire. There's also a recipe centre, for allergen-free meals and treats.

Easter Candy!

I must admit that I was not looking forward to Easter this year. Not because I don't want to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, but because I didn't think I'd be able to find any safe candy. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I thought I would wander through the Easter section, just to see what was there. I didn't expect to find anything that Ella could eat. But to my delight, they had almost a whole aisle filled with "no peanut" chocolate! Chocolate bunnies, chocolate kittens, chocolate wiener dogs, chocolate chickens, chocolate princesses, chocolate monster trucks...you name it, they had it! I was in heaven! The only problem was choosing what to buy.

I ended up picking a chocolate bunny, a box of small caramel filled bunnies, some rabbit shaped ju jubes, some jelly beans and a chocolate Iron Man (nothing says "Happy Easter" like biting into the head of a chocolate robot-man).

So, thank you Wal-Mart. Now if only you could do the same at Valentine's Day and Christmas.

All About Restaurants

When Ella was first diagnosed PA, we didn't go out to eat anywhere for a while. I just couldn't handle the thought of someone else preparing her food, and not being able to read the ingredient lists myself.

But we're getting a little more adventurous, and I've started doing a lot more research. So in case you are in the same boat as us, wondering what's safe and what's not, I'd like to share the fruits of my labour with you.

Remember, this list is just what I've learned so far, as I keep learning every day. But at least it's a starting point if you're new at this whole allergy thing!

Safe Places

• McDonalds (except for the McDonaldland cookies)
• Wendys (except desserts & salad almonds)
• Panago
• KFC (except desserts)
• Taco Bell

Unsafe Places

• Dairy Queen (peanuts & nuts everywhere!)
• Tim Hortons (bakery environment: high possibility of cross-contamination)
• A&W (most burger sauces have "may contain" warning, and they could easily end up on the surfaces where they prepare other foods)
• Burger King (turns out that many of the foods cooked in the deep fryer "may contain" nuts or peanuts, which makes everything cooked there unsafe)
• Any bakeries (way too much risk of cross-contamination)
• Any ice cream places (hardly any ice cream is safe)

"Sit Down" Restaurants

• Red Robin (no allergen info, but we've talked to them and they're good)
• Boston Pizza (no allergen info, but we've talked to them and they're good)

Tips for Eating Out

• I always wipe Ella's hands & face, then the table & chair, with a baby wipe as soon as we sit down
• Of course, we always always have her emergency kit
• If I haven't been able to read a full ingredient list online beforehand, I have an in-depth conversation with the waitress, who usually checks with the kitchen staff as well
• We always stay away from desserts, even if they appear peanut-free, because they are prepared near other desserts which probably have nuts/peanuts in them
• My biggest tip: do your research!

I hope this has helped! Unfortunately, most of the research I've done has been for fast-food places, but that has more to do with the fact that we're dining out with two toddlers, rather than the peanut allergy.

I just wish more restaurants would publish their allergen information online. It's so much easier than talking to the staff, and I feel much more comfortable if I can read it myself. I have started emailing restaurants to request this info, but it will take a lot more people doing the same thing if we want them to change.

If you know of any other "safe" places, leave a comment!

Another Trip to the ER

So, we got to go to the ER again the other day. This time in an ambulance. Ella thought it was all very exciting. Here's what happened...

We were at a friend's place in New Westminster when Ella started coughing and wheezing. I knew it wasn't an allergy attack because she didn't show any skin symptoms (hives, redness, swelling), which almost always come at the beginning of an allergy attack. Nope, it was her asthma again. But this time we weren't at home, so we didn't have her puffer.

I watched her for a couple of minutes, because I know that she can usually get over the wheezing on her own within half an hour, even without her puffer. But the wheezing kept getting worse. And worse. So I decided to call 911, just to be on the safe side. I didn't want it to get to the point where she couldn't breathe at all.

The fire truck arrived, and then the ambulance, and she was still wheezing (although not as bad), so they decided that she should go to the hospital. Ella was very excited about this, because it meant a ride in the ambulance. The whole way there she kept asking what everything was, and where we were going, and on and on and on. (So by this time, I knew she was fine.)

But we got there and the doctor checked her over and then we left. No big deal. But I did learn a valuable lesson...never leave home without her puffer!

My emergency kit keeps getting bigger and bigger (actually, it doesn't all fit in my little pencil case anymore, so I need to get a new bag). Just in case you're wondering, it now contains:

• EpiPen
• Emergency Plan
• Benedryl & spoon
• Puffer & chamber & mask

Safe Snacks at Starbucks!

I love Starbucks. I love their coffee beans (I have three different types machines at home just for making coffee), I love their espresso drinks (caramel latte is my favourite), I love the atmosphere in their stores, and up until recently I loved their baked goods.

Then came Ella's peanut allergy, and the days of going out on a mommy-daughter date to Starbucks and sharing a banana loaf or ginger molasses cookie went out the window.

Until now!

Starbucks has recently started selling Lucy's cookies. They are free of wheat, gluten, dairy milk, butter, eggs, casein, peanuts and tree nuts. Which, I admit, made me a little skeptical at first, but we tried them anyway. And they are AMAZING. So yummy! And it was less than $2 for a bag of 4 cookies, which is totally reasonable.

So, thank you , Starbucks! Because now I can once again go out for coffee with the kids in tow, and there's something for them to eat and keep them busy while I get 5 minutes of peace.

Celebrities With Peanut Allergies

I was curious to see if there were any famous people with peanut allergies, so I decided to Google it. Turns out there are...

• Joshua Jackson (OK, he's allergic to tree nuts, not peanuts, but close enough)
• Serena Williams
• Ray Romano
• Alex Kapranos (from Franz Ferdinand)
• Kelis
• Robert Kennedy Jr's son, Conor
• Tom Poti (NHL player)
• Clay Aiken (tree nuts, not peanuts)

Dr. Oz Talks About Anaphylaxis

I must admit, I've never actually watched The Dr. Oz Show. But my mom mentioned the other day that he had done a segment on anaphylaxis, so I thought I should check it out. Here's the video:

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. I love that he's creating awareness and teaching people what an anaphylactic reaction looks like, and what to do about it.

However, I also had a couple of issues with it.

First, he made it look like the only symptoms of a reaction are the skin symptoms (hives, redness, swelling), the mouth symptoms (tingling), and the lung symptoms (wheezing, coughing, hoarseness). He didn't even mention the gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, pain) or the cardiovascular symptoms (weak pulse, paleness, lethargy, unconsciousness). And he said that the breathing problems were the most serious, but the rapid drop in blood pressure is also a major factor in whether it's going to kill you.

Also, I don't think he should have had her hold the EpiPen like a pen. I know you don't need to apply a whole lot of pressure to get the needle to deploy (you really don't need to stab the person), but holding it like a pen doesn't give you much control over the device. It's much better to hold it in your fist, like so:

Anyway, creating public awareness for anaphylaxis is awesome. Good job, Dr. Oz.