Talking Allergies

This is a survey for class.

If you would please take a minute to answer.

1) Do you (or someone you know) have allergies?

Yes No

2)Do you (or they) find grocery shopping hard?

Yes No

3)If there was a grocery store that catered to people with allergies would you shop there?

Yes No



comments:

1) Do you (or someone you know) have allergies?

Yes

2) Do you (or they) find grocery shopping hard?

Yes*

3) If there was a grocery store that catered to people with allergies would you shop there?

Yes

Comments: *I've had enough experience that it's not actually that hard now... but it was very hard at the beginning, and I found myself on the verge of tears (or swearing) more than once in the grocery store.

We still have to shop at at least 5-6 different stores to find all the safe food that we like. That is very time-consuming and at times frustrating, as the stores are not in our neighbourhood and sometimes not even in our city. And sometimes you go to that store and they no longer carry the one ding-dong product that you went there for!!

What has really helped me is our local support group and this forum. Others find safe products and share this info, which helps me find new safe foods.

It would be great to have an allergy aware store. You would think that health food stores would have a lot of safe products, but this really isn't the case -- they often have a lot of products with peanuts and nuts in them.

I realize that there are a lot of allergens out there, so I would never expect to find a store that is "allergen-free". That's just ridiculous since any kind of food can be an allergen. What I want is one that is highly "allergen-aware" and willing to bring in safe products when the customers ask for them.

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

1) Yes

2) No

3) Yes

_________________
15-year-old son: peanuts, nuts, raw egg whites, asthmatic
Self: allergic rhinitis, fragrance/chemical sensitivities, oral allergy syndrome

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes


As Karen says, at the beginning, it's not easy. Eventually, you get used to the rhythms of shopping for certain products and avoiding others.

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes

Shopping has gotten "easier" over time, but it was really really difficult in the beginning... especially when my son was first diagnosed and I was shopping with my not yet 4 yr old daughter and 1 yr old son. I found that once I found a few safe things, I just kept buying them week after week - It's very difficult to read many labels and keep a very spirited 3 (or 4) yr old occupied in the grocery store! haha. And as Andrea mentioned, it's frustrating when some of the allergens fall outside Canada's top 9 (eg. mustard). Many companies simply label for "spices", and I won't buy these products unless I can determine what "spices" they are talking about. (Mustard is actually used in a lot of foods with flavouring). Anyway, an allergy-aware store would be amazing, and I would definitely shop there - and pay more money as well. Because we don't ever eat in restaurants, I figure any money we might have spent there is money well spent on good quality safe foods.

_________________
14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
Wouldn't it be great to find a store that carried all of the foods you were looking for?
Even one stop shopping on the internet?
Moist wipes for cleanig off the shopping cart?
I agree with the no sampling or bulk items. I also agree that deciding which products is the most difficult part but when you can't find it on the shelves...it can be infuriating.

_________________
Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

1. Yes
2. Yes*
3. Yes

* When I say shopping is hard -- not so much in terms of finding safe foods to eat. With our food allergies, we don't have to give up too much in terms of grocery items. Because of the open bins of nuts in grocery stores, and food sampling, the grocery store isn't a safe place for my son and in that way, it's difficult. In the beginning there was also a steep learning curve in terms of understanding all of the terms for "peanuts" and all of the other "tree nuts" and fully understanding the cross-contamination issues with bakeries, restaurants, people's baking, etc.

Yes

No

Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes

I always think if you see a woman sobbing in the ice cream aisle, she has probably just had a child diagnosed!

Like everyone said, it's not difficult now, but the beginning was AWFUL. Feeling cut off from your favorite foods, and feeling guilty for missing them when they were deadly for your child. Making mistakes and throwing out food then feeling guilty about all the starving children but you are too scared to keep it in the house long enough to find someone who would eat it, feeling worried in case you made a mistake that would harm your kid. Spending 3 hours grocery shopping and coming home physically and mentally drained from all the reading and traipsing around the store trying to find things that would replace what you now couldn't have.

Pamela Lee said

Steven King could write a novel about food allergies. You know... seemingly harmless, even wholesome foods sit on the grocery store shelves. Anyone else can happily eat them, the companies use bright wrappings to lure you to them...but unbeknownst to you, some have been contaminated (it's not on the label) and if you or your family so much as taste the wrong food, it will set off a deadly reaction in your body that could kill you.
You've come armed with some money, a cranky toddler, a lot of overwhelming information and a hyperdermic needle that will give you about 15 minutes if you make the wrong choice. Do you know where the nearest hospital is?
OK, GO!

_________________
Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

Sounds like a bizarre reality show to me...!

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma