Talking Allergies

Hi, I just found this website. I have received the magazine since it was first published but never checked it out on line. I have a 15 and 10 year old with severe allergies. They are allergic to peanut, milk, egg, soy, raw fruit and vegetables as well as dogs, cats, and enviromental allergies. We find traveling very difficult. We live in New Brunswick and would like to go to Toronto to the Roger's Center. We are very concerned that one of them may have a reaction to peanuts at the game due to others around us eating them. I am sure that many of you have gone there with your peanut allergies. Do you sit in a special place due to allergies? Have you had a reaction?

hello! i am not sure about a special section, but i go see baseball games often and there are shells everywhere. you might want to call in advance and see what they suggest. good luck! have fun

It is and always will be The Dome to me.

We don't go regularly, but my few visits have gone well. One time my husband noticed that the guy sitting next to me was about to open a bag of peanuts, so hubby and I changed seats. The guy looked at me like I had grown a third eye or something. I just explained that I was allergic to peanuts and wanted to put a bit of space between us. He then changed seats with the person he was with, so there were now two people between us. I actually felt OK about that. But, as he went to open the peanuts, he kind of stalled, and kept looking at me. Then just said "It ain't worth it". Put the nuts away and bought a package of red licorice (after asking me if it was OK). I regret that I didn't think until much later -- I should have bought it for him. I was just shocked that he did that for me, a total stranger.

A recent trip, there were a few people eating peanuts, but none were close to me. I have always found The Dome clean at the beginning of a game -- no shells on the ground or anything. And, our plan had been that if anyone too close to us was eating peanuts, I was going to ask security if we could change seats.

I would never go in there with a corn allergy though. Popcorn everywhere and even though I'm not allergic to it, I found it nauseating.

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Any other places in the GTA you're planning to go to?

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

Just thought I would bump this up to see if anyone else had any input. I had moved the post to the Travel forum but realized that it's better off in the Peanut allergies forum!

I myself have never been there, so I am not of much help!

Let us know how it all goes if you do end up at the Roger's Centre.

K.

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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

We have taken our son twice to the Rogers Centre (he has multiple food allergies, including peanut) and we have not encountered any difficulties. Having said that, we are always prepared to leave if a situation should arise, anywhere that we go, that we feel is unsafe. We did not eat when we were there... we made sure we ate before we went. We always plan excursions such as this to absolutely NOT include food! If we are going to eat somewhere, we always have a tablecloth, and wipes, and this would not be the case at the Rogers Centre. When we were at the Rogers Centre, our son played in the little play area for awhile, and I spoke to the person working in that area. The Rogers Centre is set up to have emergency care available, and often a doctor on at least 2 of the 5 levels to attend to emergency situations.

When we were there, we sat in the "family section", and we did not see anyone eating peanuts in that section, but I'm sure it IS allowed. It just so happened that no one was eating them that day.

Enjoy your trip!

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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

Hello there,

Forgive my ignorance since I am still new here (son was just diagnosed with a peanut allergy 2 weeks ago) but isn't a peanut allergy only life-threatening when ingested? Wouldn't you just feel an irritation if you had contact with the peanuts?

Again, sorry... still trying to understand.

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A+ tutoring
English as a Second Language + French + Math + English
www.tutorataplus.com

Hi rambec and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about the diagnoses.

I'm not sure how old your child is, but with small children they touch everything -- then rub their mouth or nose. This can cause an ingestion reaction. (I'm an adult and I've done it a few times.)

Also, many parents aim for 100% elimination of all contact with peanut protein in the hope that their child might then outgrow the allergy.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

Hi Everyone,

Besides the baseball games have any of you gone to see any shows? We just got tickets to watch High School Musical on Ice in December...we have floor seats. Does anyone know if they serve peanuts on these ocassions? Any help would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks in advance.

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7 year old daughter-Allergic to Peanuts/Nuts
6 year old son-No allergies
4 year old daughter-No allergies

i don't work at roger's centre, but i do work in a concession stand, and have had friends work at scotia bank place in ottawa, in my experience the menus for lack of a better word, don't change depending on what's going, unfortunately. even if there are no peanuts/nuts on sale in the building because people are getting aware of that, there are items which are supplied that have the items in question, such as ice cream, and chocolate bars which will sell like cra-zeee with kids around so it would probably be a matter of how comfortable you are being around kids who could have dirty hands with trace amounts of allergens on them

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

Thanks for the info...I kind of knew that they would still have products with the "enemy" in them.(that's what my daughter calls it ). That we can handle because she will be sitting in her seat and not walking around plus we wipe down everything everywhere we go just like when we go to the movies and I will definitely bring treats for everyone.

I'm more concerned about shelled peanuts, especially if they will end up all over the floor and the dust flying through the air if people are eating them. Sometimes I wonder if I'm over thinking things too much. I just want her to have fun. My apologies for the rambling, long day.

Thanks again,
Carla

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7 year old daughter-Allergic to Peanuts/Nuts
6 year old son-No allergies
4 year old daughter-No allergies

Hi Everyone,

I received a reply from Rogers Centre, I thought I would post it for everyone.
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Hi Carla,

Thanks kindly for writing.

I'm afraid I have some good news and some bad news for you.

The good news is that our own concession stands will not be serving peanuts.

The bad news is that doesn't guarantee there won't be peanuts (or other tree nuts) in the building.

You see for Disney on Ice, the promoting company handles the bulk of the concesssions (driving 90% of the concession sales in the venue).

I can't tell you whether they'll be selling peanuts or not, but will look into the matter.

The second and greater concern is that we have an open food policy here at the venue that allows people to bring in sandwiches and snacks of their own.

In that regard, I simply can't guarantee to you in any way that you won't end up seated by or near someone that is shelling peanuts.

I have been personally consulting with a pair of local advocates for the anaphylactic community to see what we can do here to improve matters for future years, but there certainly won't be any changes in place by December.

I do hope you understand.

Will Hill
Director, Guest Services & Fan Experience
Toronto Blue Jays & Rogers Centre

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7 year old daughter-Allergic to Peanuts/Nuts
6 year old son-No allergies
4 year old daughter-No allergies

We recently had a positive experience in Vancouver's GM Place. I posted how it went here:
http://www.allergicliving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2857 We had a great time, and I felt like we were able to manage the allergy.

I think by making sure to eat ahead of time as well as have your own packed food, you reduce the risks. As you have already contacted management, you also know their level of allergy awareness. I found my comfort level by being prepared for an emergency (carrying epipens) as well as understanding what I could control (the food we ate and washing up regularly) and knowing what we would do if we felt 'at risk' (probably move, but I was not sure).

Caroline

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son anaphylactic to peanuts

Wow, my daughter would also love to see High School Musical but she's never been to a large venue like that and I'm not sure if I'm brave enough....

Perhaps if we all email the Rogers Centre they will see the importance of making a change to policies.

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luvmikids

daughter allergic to dairy,eggs,peanuts, soy, intolerance for potatoes, whole wheat