Food allergies and travel

There is nothing quite so nerve wracking to me than the prospect of traveling with Maymuna's food allergies. At home, we tend to buy the same, safe brands and frequent the same, safe restaurants... We have found products and places that afford us some peace of mind - and after your kid has had a few allergic reactions it is a great thing *not* to be worried for a change. So, to be completely out of our element and have a language barrier when it comes to explaining the severity of the situation has definitely been on my mind.

The other night I was reading tips online about how to travel with allergies. We really want Maymuna to do whatever she wants in life, and not to be hampered by her allergies - but still be safe. I found this brilliant website, which is so great I wanted to share it with the whole world.

"Select Wisely" makes "translation cards" which outline your allergy in the language of the country you are visiting. Seems like a small thing, but it is so smart and has afforded me a bit of peace of mind since ordering FOUR (sesame, egg, dairy, shellfish). The language is sufficiently severe to make it clear that it is not a "picky eater" we are dealing with, but a potentially serious medical situation: "If I eat this food or any food that has been cooked with it or touched by it, I will need immediate medical attention." VERY CLEAR!!!

I thought I would share this, as they do cards in a ton of different languages, and a bunch of different medical concerns as well, including celiac disease, diabetes, low-salt, asthma, latex allergy etc. I highly recommend looking at this if you are traveling anywhere exotic and have medical concerns!!!

Here is the link: http://www.selectwisely.com/