Family Travel With Food Allergies – A Mother’s Perspective

Written by: Dr. Silvia Bernardini

Travelling as a family has so many advantages.  It is a wonderful opportunity for families to relax and to spend quality time together.  It also allows families to explore and learn about other countries and their respective cultures, traditions, and histories. When I learned about my child’s anaphylactic allergies to tree nuts and sesame seeds, I thought that our days of travelling as a family were over. I was incredibly anxious about how I could keep my child safe from his allergens while travelling to countries where I had limited knowledge of their language, their cuisine, and their practices with respect to allergies.

Thankfully, I quickly remembered my motto “every problem has a solution”. I decided that my solution needed to be two-tiered. First, I needed to reframe my thinking in the following ways:

 1) Children have anaphylactic allergies all around the world and they too live safely in their countries

2) My child is continuously exposed to his allergens in his own country (whether I know it or not) and he has been safe because a plan is in place to ensure his safety

3) My child travelled to other countries prior to his diagnosis and he was safe even in the absence of allergy precautions.

The second part of my solution involved devising a safety plan for travelling. I tried to foresee and to plan for situations that could be risky. What follows is the plan that I have developed and revised over the years to keep my son safe on our many travels to different countries.

• When travelling, I ensure that I have many Epi-pens with me and that I also have Children’s Benadryl. I ensure that all medication is in its original packaging and that it is labelled with my child’s name on it for airport security reasons. The rule of thumb in my family is that if my son does not have his Epi-pen, then he cannot eat.

• Prior to a flight, I call the airline and inform them of my child’s allergies.  I ask them if they are able to provide meals and snacks that are safe for him to eat.  Irrespective of their response, I always bring many easy to pack meals and snacks for my son to eat on the airplane (e.g., pizza, sandwich, fresh fruit and veggies, crackers, and cereal snacks).   At the airport, security personnel always ask if you are carrying food. I indicate that I do have food for my son that has life-threatening allergies. I have never had a problem as long as I have been truthful in indicating that I am carrying food.

• In my checked luggage, I pack safe snacks for my child to enjoy during our vacation.  In this way, if I can’t find safe snacks for him to eat in the country that we are visiting (which has been extremely rare), then I know that I already have safe snacks for him.

• Prior to travelling, I do some research and I translate my child’s allergies into the language of the country we are visiting.  I write them down on a card so that I can show it to restaurant staff or I can use it when I am reading labels on packaged food in stores. On this card, I also write down the translation for “my son is having a severe allergic reaction” in the case of an emergency.

• Through Anaphylaxis Canada, I have purchased cards that list ingredients or food names that contain the allergens that my son is allergic to.  I carry these cards with me everywhere and especially when I travel.  In this way, I can safely assess the food that my son is eating in different countries by asking questions or reading labels.  For example, if travelling to Greece, I would know that my son cannot eat hummus as it contains Tahini which is made with 
sesame paste.


• I always carry disinfectant wipes with me when I travel. When we are seated at a restaurant, I use the wipes to clean the area where my son will be eating. This ensures that the surface is free of any contaminates that my son is allergic to. 


• When travelling, having a place to stay that has a kitchenette is handy so that you can prepare safe meals for your child.  However, I have found that eating at restaurants can be safe as well when you use the precautions that I have listed above.  Eating at buffets carries a greater risk as there is an increased chance of contamination between foods.

• When travelling, I will not stay at a hotel or a resort that does not have an in-house doctor or that is not close to a hospital in the case of an emergency.

The precautions that my family takes to keep my son safe while travelling do not require a great deal of energy and have become automatic for us. Because we know that the precautions are effective, our entire family has been able to repeatedly enjoy many wonderful, relaxing, and adventurous vacations together.

Article written by Dr. Silvia Bernardini for AllergySense.com

Last 5 posts by Dr. Silvia Bernardini

• How To Help Your Child With Food Allergies Not Feel Alienated - March 15th, 2010
• Thanksgiving With Food Allergies - October 9th, 2009

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