Talking Allergies

Hello everyone,
summer is finally here and my kids are begging me to take them to the pool.
Even though they are 9 and 7 I never ever took them to the public pool before.
What are you thought about safety for anaphylactic kids....is it possible that they may get in contact with their allergens in water , considering other kids eating lets say peanuts before they come for a swim.
Any suggestions?Am I to paranoid? Thank you in advance
Sofia

I don't know if it helps but I belonged to a public pool for a while and I took swim lessons where there were tons of others kids swimming in the pool and I was always fine and I have ana to peanuts as well. I guess always keep your eyes peeled for people eating peanuts or peanut-ey products (if you can tell) and then if you see them touching slides or the handles to the diving boards just make sure your kids don't touch them or wash their hands right away.

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Associate Editor at Allergic Living.
Allergies to all nuts and legumes except soy and green beans.

My son has visited public pools on and off since he was approximately 2 years old. We've never had any food allergy related issues. I'm always with him and have his Epipen in the pool area with us, either on a hook or with the lifeguard's chair. I know that bleach is often used to rid surfaces of allergens effectively -- I think chlorine would serve the same purpose in the water? I find most public pools heavily chlorinated these days (almost too much).

I can tell you that I swim regularly in public pools and I've never had a reaction from what other people eat.

As for epi-pens, lifeguards in my city should be trained on how/when to administer one. When the pool opens for the season I introduce my son and explain that he has an epi-pen due to an insect allergy. i show what carrier it's in. My son always has an adult with him, and the adults are all trained, but in an emergency, seconds count and I want the life-guard aware as well.

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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

We swim in public pools and play at all the public playgrounds. I just wash DS's hands before eating. We haven't had a problem.

But to comment on the pool specifically, there's so much water that even if someone were to eat peanut products before getting into the water the peanut protein remaining on their skin would become so dilute in the water that I can't imagine it'd pose a problem.

This week my daughters had swimming lessons. On the first day, a little boy in my younger daughters class was drowning. When he was pulled out of the pool he threw up in it about 6 feet from my daughter. I realized he had thrown up after he was okay...and the instructors cleared out the other kids and started fishing the chunks out of the pool. My daughter had been in the pool near it the whole time...and NO reaction.

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DD age 9 1/2 -peanuts, nuts,
DD age 7 1/2 - milk, eggs, chicken, peanuts, treenuts, cats, dogs,
DS age 2 1/2
Husband- asthma, eggs, treenuts, fish, shellfish environmental
Self - penicillan, eurithromiacin, mild laytex allergy.

Jeez, that poor kid... Enough to put a little guy off swimming.

When you have seafood allergies, the exposures and water issue comes up. Is it safe to swim in the ocean or a lake? The answer allergists give is yes, just don't pet any creatures with shells or fins (depending on your allergy).

The pool and kids is a more interesting version of the same thing - since a pool is smaller and the likelihood of some pb eating reasonably high. But what's reassuring is that there are no such studies or incidents of f.a. reactions poolside in the medical literature.

When I looked at this topic before, I found lots of studies of chlorine's effects on asthma, aeroallergens and allergies, hayfever in swimmers, lots of contact dermatitis - but no reports of food reactions at the pool. I find that encouraging. If it were my child, I'd do what some of the others suggest and minimize exposure chances by wiping off hands and face. (And avoiding vomit! ew.)

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
It is reassuring to hear your good experiences and information you have.
We started swimming lessons last week and so far everything is fine.We chose a pool that have a saltwater chlorination system,....Next step is a public pool....
Thank you all again
Sofia
ps and the best part is - kids LOVE it !