2.Bring along any specialty foods you may have trouble finding.

3.If you are crossing the border, check what you are allowed to bring with you. Most countries are OK with dried goods, but fresh meat, fruit and vegetables can be restricted.

4.We eat most meals in our condo, and bring snacks or lunch to the hill instead of eating in the restaurants.

5.Wash the dishes in your rental unit before you use them.

2.Ensure the hill has a variety of runs to suit your family’s skiing abilities.

3.Check out what other activities they have for après ski for non-skiers.

4.If putting your child in lessons, make sure the instructor knows about the food allergies and keeps the auto-injector inside the child’s clothing so it won’t freeze.

5.Find out how far the drive is to the nearest hospital before booking.

“Let’s ski the Peanut Trail again,” exclaimed my daughter Taya, as we rode up the chairlift at Silver Star resort in British Columbia. I found the name of her favorite run ironic – since she is allergic to peanuts as well as tree nuts, sesame, kiwi and soy.

The Peanut Trail is a narrow run through the trees with lots of jumps, but fortunately no real peanuts on it. This is exactly the kind of run that 8-year-old Taya and her sister Kieryn, 10, love to ski.

My wife Keely prefers the wide, groomed, cruising runs which Silver Star has lots of, but she was not getting to ski them much since the kids kept insisting on that Peanut Trail.

Ski vacations are great fun for families, and I recommend them as well-suited to people with allergies or gluten intolerance. Condos and chalets with full kitchens are common at most resorts, so you can make your own safe meals.

There are ski resorts within driving distance of most major cities in Canada and the northern U.S. Many resorts now have other activities for après ski, and to keep non-skiers entertained as well.

Our top priority when booking a ski vacation is to always find a place that has ski-in and ski-out access to accommodations. This is a huge advantage with allergies because you can go back to your condo for lunch and snacks and not have to eat at a restaurant. It also means you can start late or stop early and not have to worry about driving or finding a place to meet.

Check the location out carefully though, some places that advertise ski-in, ski-out may be a long walk for little children carrying skis (and even longer for adults trying to carry small children and skis).

Another thing to consider is finding a skiing area that suits your group. Ideally that means a good mix of runs for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers.  Also consider whether non-skiing activities like a swimming pool or shopping are important to your group. A large resort may have a greater variety of runs and après ski activities to appeal to the whole family.

We tend to prefer mid-sized resorts over the largest resorts because the condos are usually closer to the runs and less expensive. After skiing all day, we’re usually content to relax in our condo and don’t use a lot of après ski activities like spa services or fancy restaurants.

When signing up your allergic child into ski lessons, make sure that you clearly communicate the allergies to the instructor and give the child an epinephrine auto-injector to wear inside his or her ski clothes (so it does not freeze). Find out if they stop for a snack during the lesson, and provide your own snack if necessary. If it’s an all-day program, we bring our daughter with allergies back to the condo for lunch.

Another option is to pack a lunch for your child, but be sure to give clear directions to the instructor about how to manage your child’s allergies.

Check where the closest hospital is to the ski hill before you go. All resorts have on-site first aid, but some are more isolated and a long drive from a major city. We try to ensure that we are within a one-hour drive of a hospital.

Many ski resorts are also good destinations for a vacation outside of ski season. It’s common to find them open year-round with golfing, swimming, hiking and biking in the off-season, when prices are lower. Because condos are popular at ski resorts, it’s easy to find a place with a kitchen.

Skiing is one of the few sports that you can do as a family. Unlike soccer or hockey, you actually ski with your children instead of just watching them. In fact, my kids and I often go with my 86-year-old father – he still loves to ski. There is nothing like spending quality time skiing with your kids on a sunny spring day. But watch out, my kids are already skiing faster than their mother and grandfather. It won’t be long before I can’t keep up either.

See Also:

• Our Ski Vacations-with Allergies
• Ski Vacation Tips
• Food Tips for Safe Travel

Share your allergy stories in the Comments section.

The Situation:

My family lives in Ottawa, where the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) has been using Grade 5 and 6 students to supervise children during snack and meal breaks for the past few years. This included children at risk of anaphylaxis. The practice was undertaken for efficiency – because teachers didn’t have enough time outside of classroom duties to supervise all the children at lunch. In the OCDSB most students eat lunch with their class in their classroom instead of a common lunchroom.

The system worked like this: in each classroom two student monitors would watch over students in Grades 1 through 6 while they ate. One adult (teacher or staff member) would rotate through four classrooms over the course of a 25 minute meal break.

The duties of the monitors came to light after a couple of situations in which they’d overstepped their bounds. (The OCDSB hadn’t set out the limits of their responsibilities. In one case a girl with allergies was disciplined by putting her out in the hallway to eat alone – without her EpiPen.

This created a stressful situation for parents of children with anaphylaxis like my wife and I as well as fellow members of the Ottawa Anaphylaxis Support Group (OASG). Our younger daughter (Taya) is allergic to peanuts, nuts, sesame, kiwi and soy. While our allergist has stressed that it’s critical to ensure that epinephrine is given promptly in a reaction, it was hard to see how that could be achieved when the student lunch monitors hadn’t been given any emergency training, and certainly hadn’t been taught how to recognize an anaphylactic reaction or what to do in an anaphylactic emergency.

Had the lunch monitors’ parents been aware, they might have wondered about the level of responsibility being put on the shoulders of kids who are mostly 10 and 11 years old – not even old enough to baby-sit.

The Process:

Two years ago, a group of us from the OASG presented our concerns to several of the trustees at a meeting organized to discuss anaphylaxis policy, but nothing was done.  Then last year, we found out that the school board was reviewing the policy for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

A group of us from the support group prepared a 20-page presentation for the school board staff in charge of the review to explain our concerns. After that meeting, we realized there were too many problems to solve all at once so we prioritized the changes we felt were most critical.

We focused on three key areas: ensuring that children with anaphylaxis were supervised by an adult while they were eating; accommodating the allergic children inclusively, so they were not put in a room away from their friends at lunch; and requiring teachers to get parental permission before giving food to anaphylactic children.

The Resolution:

After many meetings and support from several sympathetic school board trustees, the policy for students with life threatening medical conditions was amended to include all three of our key recommendations. See the sidebar for the new section of the policy and a link to the complete policy.

We are extremely pleased with the changes; however we’re aware that the devil is in the implementation details at the schools.  While the new policy has been communicated to the school principals, it is now up to the principals to find a combination of teachers, casual workers and volunteers to ensure that anaphylactic children are properly supervised.

If you have concerns about the lunchtime supervision at your school, speak to other allergic parents and your trustee.  Once they were made aware of the issues, the trustees proved sympathetic to the needs of the children with serious food allergies, and pressed for a workable solution. Never sell short that others without allergies are still people who can imagine what it is to stand in your shoes. It is possible to win changes, but it does take work, and organization.

See Also:

• The Fall 2009 article “Who’s Watching Lunch”
• New OCDSB policy

In 2002, we took our first summer vacation in Europe with two children. Kieryn was not yet 3 years old and Taya had just turned one. We flew into Toulouse in the south of France and rented a car for what should have been a simple two-hour drive on the motorway to our villa near Perpignan.

We were barely onto the motorway when Kieryn called out: “I have to go pee!” Fortunately the French have a lot of rest stops, and we pulled over briefly. Back on the motorway, we’d only driven 15 minutes more when Kieryn again had to go.

She was toilet training, and we were trying to encourage that, so I pulled over at the next rest stop. Back under way and, you guessed it, 15 minutes later, Kieryn “had to pee”. I was a bit frustrated, but once more pulled over.

While my wife Keely and Kieryn were in the bathroom, Taya, our younger daughter, woke up crying; she’d soiled her diaper and it had leaked right up her back. I got her out and began cleaning up the mess. Keely returned to help, first giving Kieryn some bread with cream cheese to keep her occupied. We had Taya cleaned up and dressed when I noticed Kieryn had just spread the cream cheese all over the front seat.

At this point I lost it, asking Keely, whose bright idea was it to go on vacation to Europe with two small children. She calmly pointed out that it was all mine, to which I replied, “That’s why I married you, so you’d talk me out of these crazy ideas.”

Traveling with children, even without food allergies can be challenging, but it is also highly rewarding. Despite that rough start, we had a great first trip with two kids, and we find that enjoying new experiences as a family can be uplifting.

It does, however, take careful planning to travel with children with life-threatening food allergies. The good news is that our food requirements are complicated – so if we can do it, you can, too. Taya has multiple allergies, including peanuts, nuts, sesame and kiwi. Keely and I are vegetarians, and Keely is allergic to eggs. As well, I have allergies to dust and cats.

Our fundamental approach explains the “Have Kitchen” title of this series: we always stay in places with a kitchen, and prepare as many of our own meals as humanly possible. Not only does this keep us safe, it also saves money, especially in Europe where eating out can be expensive.

City or Countryside?

Europe has a wonderful selection of self-catered villas and apartments for rent, usually for a minimum of one week. While many people think villa vacations are for the wealthy, in fact, there are villas in every price range. Sharing these acommodations with family or friends makes them even more affordable.

If you want to spend your time sightseeing at museums, churches and landmarks, then look for an apartment in a city. If you want to spend it relaxing in the country or at the seaside, then there are lots of villas to choose from as well. For the best of both worlds, consider one week in a city and one in the country. (Remember that if you are renting outside a city, you will need to rent a car to get around for sightseeing day trips and for groceries.)

The Internet is a great source for finding villas. If you can travel outside of high season, you’ll find the best selection and prices. It’s possible to rent directly from an owner, but I recommend that first-time renters book through an agent. Check that the agent has seen the properties recently, and have a list of questions ready to ensure you get a villa that suits your family.

Our European Trips

England/Ireland – England is the most accessible of the European countries for English speakers, and what better way to experience it than to stay in an historic building. The Landmark Trust is a charity that rescues heritage buildings and gives them new life as places to stay. There are 185 “Landmarks,” including forts, manor houses, mills, cottages, castles, follies, gatehouses and towers (www.landmarktrust.org.uk).

We stayed in a 17th century house called Shelwick Court near Hereford, with beautiful countryside. The Irish Landmark Trust is a similar organization with properties throughout Ireland (www.irishlandmark.com/home/self-catering-ireland.html). You can also rent apartments in London and other major cities in the U.K.

Next: France, Spain, Italy

IN 1993, BEFORE having children, my wife Keely and I went trekking in Nepal. We felt so adventurous, traveling with just a guidebook. We walked from village to village, staying in huts without electricity or running water, and eating at local restaurants.

Keely and I knew when we had children that our days of backpacking through Asia, Africa and South America were over, but we still wanted to travel and to instill the love of travel in our children.

When Taya, our second child, was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, including peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, barley and kiwi, it seemed like travel was going to be impossible.

Our food requirements were already complicated since Keely and I are vegetarians and she is allergic to egg yolks. As well, I have environmental allergies to dust and cats to consider.

However, we have discovered that you can travel safely with anaphylaxis and allergies. With careful planning, by always staying in places that have a kitchen, and by bringing our special foods with us, we have been able to continue to travel, albeit in a different style.

So far Taya (who’s now 6) has been to Jamaica, Grenada, England, France, Spain, and even Morocco.

Next Page: Villa Vacations in the Sun

Owl’s Head – For more than 20 years now a large group of 50 family and friends has gone skiing every spring at Owl’s Head (www.owlshead.com) in the Quebec Eastern Townships, about 1.5 hours east of Montreal. Owl’s Head is one of the last family-owned ski resorts in Canada and also one of the best values. The resort offers one- to three-bedroom condos with full kitchens with excellent ski-in, ski-out access. It is rarely crowded, has a good mix of runs for all levels, but après ski activities are limited. Views of Lac Memphremagog are stunning.

Mont Tremblant – We have been to Mont Tremblant (www.tremblant.ca) in both winter and summer. It’s located 132 kms north of Montreal and consistently rated the Number One ski resort in eastern North America. It is pretty much the opposite of Owl’s Head, and is a full fledged four-season resort with shopping, swimming and lots of restaurants. It also has golfing, swimming, boating and biking in the summer. Tremblant has studio to four-bedroom condos with good ski-in, ski-out access. There is a good mix of runs and lots of après ski activities. But it can be crowded, and sometimes very cold.

Smugglers Notch – Smugglers Notch, Vermont (www.smuggs.com) is about 165 kms south of Montreal and is consistently rated the Number One ski resort for family programs in North America. Accommodations range from studio to five-bedroom condos with full kitchens and good ski-in, ski-out access. There is an excellent learn to ski program for children as young as 2½ years old, as well as more non-skiing activities for children than any resort I have been to. These include: a fun zone with inflatable slides, bouncy house, pools, basketball and mini-golf. Resort has a good mix of ski runs for all levels, but can be crowded on weekends because there are no high-speed chairlifts.

Sugarbush – My favourite ski area in the east is Sugarbush, Vermont (www.sugarbush.com), 235 kms south of Montreal. It has studio to five-bedroom ski-in, ski out condos with an outdoor, heated swimming pool and hot tub. There is a great variety of skiing, with lots of easy and intermediate runs as well as among the best expert terrain in the east. The luxurious new Claybrook Residences have a valet to park your car, a ski valet to stow your skis and a boot valet to dry and warm your boots.

Silver Star – My daughters’ favourite ski trip was to Silver Star Resort (www.skisilverstar.com) in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, about an hour from Kelowna. There are reasonably priced studio to six-bedroom condos and chalets with excellent ski-in, ski-out access. The chalet we stayed in was so close to the run at Silver Star that the kids could ski right onto the back porch. It has a good mix of runs for all levels, lots of après ski activities and rarely gets crowded.

Big Sky – My wife Keely’s favorite ski area is Big Sky (www.bigskyresort.com) in Montana, 70 kms from Bozeman. The village has ski-in, ski-out studio condos to five-bedroom homes. It features lots of groomed, intermediate cruising runs as well as easy and hard runs and never has crowds. There are swimming pools, restaurants, a spa, shops and it’s also near Yellowstone National Park.

Whistler Blackcomb – The largest resort in North America is Whistler Blackcomb (www.whistlerblackcomb.com) in British Columbia. This is a huge resort, 125 kms from Vancouver, which will host the alpine skiing event of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It features over 200 trails for every level of skiing. There are three villages at the base of two mountains with studio to six-bedroom units. Some of the accommodations are ski-in, ski-out, but others require you to walk or shuttle to the lifts. There lots of activities to keep you busy, regardless of whether you ski or not, but it is not cheap.

Next Page: More ski resorts.

1. Stick to countries where you speak the language. So far, that has limited my family to English- and French-speaking countries. It is critical that you can explain allergies clearly to people without any risk of miscommunication. When our younger daughter, who has multiple food allergies including peanuts, nuts, eggs, dairy, barley and kiwi, is a little older, we may relax this rule and there are allergy translation cards available. But for the first adventures, I recommend abiding by this rule.

I will never forget our trip to Italy when Kieryn (our older daughter who has no allergies) was a year old. She spiked a fever of 40 degrees C on the first night at our rented villa. We were staying in the middle of nowhere in Umbria and did not know where the nearest hospital was.

I called the villa’s agent for directions. She not only drove us to the hospital, but also translated what the doctor was saying. I can only imagine that this experience would have been even more stressful if we were dealing with an anaphylactic emergency in Italian.

2. With allergies in the family, it’s essential to know the distance to the nearest hospital before you book accommodations. We like to stay within an hour’s drive of a hospital, and to know that there is also a doctor or a clinic nearby.

3. Given my environmental allergies, we try to find places with tiled or wood floors instead of carpet. We look for wicker furniture or leather instead of stuffed couches. We always ask if the place has dogs, cats or other pets, as some villas and ski chalets are also people’s homes for part of the year.

4. Research local food labeling laws. If you’re thinking of traveling to the Caribbean this winter, I can report that much of the food is imported from the U.S. and Canada. So labeling on these products is not a problem. But you need to be more careful with locally produced items.

5. Check the import restrictions on the country you are going to as well as any countries you will be connecting through on flights. Like the U.S., many countries have restrictions on bringing in meat, fruit and vegetables, but most are OK with dry goods.

The Flight

We limit the number of flights to get to our destination, and avoid connecting via a third country. Since we’re traveling from Ottawa, this means looking for places we can fly to directly from Toronto or Montreal. We prefer not to fly through the U.S. because if we bring meat and fruit for the meal on the plane, we’ll have to throw them out if disembarking to catch another plane.

Time To Eat

1. Our motto and Number One rule for traveling with anaphylaxis is: Have Kitchen, Will Travel! We always try to stay somewhere that has a kitchen. There are a surprising number of options, including condos, villas, ski chalets and hotels with kitchenettes. We wash all pots, plates and cutlery on arrival, since we don’t know what foods were on them before.

2. We bring our own food for our daughter for every flight. We never let our daughter eat something if we don’t know the ingredients, and she never eats anything without her auto-injector on hand. We carry at least four EpiPens on every trip.

3. We pack and check one suitcase full of non-perishable food for every trip. You can’t count on being able to buy allergy-free foods abroad. Some items to consider (depending on the allergies): egg replacer; sesame-free bread; nut-, dairy- and egg-free cookies; nut- and dairy-free cereals; and gluten-free pasta. You can include a small freezer bag for perishables (like dairy-free margarine).

4. Bring enough food for your first day, so you don’t have to shop the moment you arrive. Think pasta and a can of pasta sauce for a first night’s dinner – or instant noodles for an overnight in a hotel room without a kitchen.

5. Are you staying longer than a week? Then bring allergy-free bread loaves and freeze some once you get to your destination. That way, the bread will last.

6. We eat as many meals as possible in our rental unit’s kitchen. When we go out for a day trip, we pack lunches and snacks to bring with us. If we absolutely have to eat out, we will not count on a waiter to communicate about the allergies. We try to speak directly to the person preparing the food and explain: the allergies, the fact that they are life-threatening, and to ask about possible cross-contamination. We prefer smaller restaurants because you have a better chance of speaking to the cook.

Stick with plain, simple foods (no sauces) to reduce risk. For example, plain rice, plain pasta, plain vegetables and grilled chicken or fish. Ask if an allergen has been on the grill before ordering.

Related:
• The scoop on air travel
• Traveling to sun destinations with allergies
• Tips for traveling with allergic kids

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