steve.clarke.weblog

I finished reading my latest sci-fi book late last evening. Before I pick up the next in the series I'm going to stop and read a book that we ordered from Amazon a month ago; one that I should have read it before traveling to Florida; one that, of course, Janice read as soon as we got it.
Time for me to start pulling my weight in making sure I know as much as I can about Christopher's allergies. I've been guilty of leaving too much in Janice's hands.

The book is called The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies. Here's an excerpt from the Foreword:

While the majority of children "outgrow" allergies to foods such as milk, egg, and soy, one of the most alarming trends in the past decade is the increasing number of severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) that in the vast majority of cases result from food allergies to peanuts and nuts. In fact, several studies have shown that anaphylaxis due to food allergy is the leading cause of severe allergic reactions treated in hospital emergency rooms.

For parents of food allergic children who know that just a small bite of the wrong food can spell big trouble, the vigilance must be constant: every ingredient label must be carefully scrutinized; every activity must be carefully monitored. It can drive even the most reasonable families to distraction...

In Florida, the only safe place that we could go to eat "out" was still good 'ol MacDonalds. They're the only restaurant chain that you can count on to properly label their food and ensure the greatest safety against cross-contamination of foods. Even then, our menu is pretty much limited to nuggets, fries and burgers that don't contain mayo (egg).

One good thing about the U.S. is that their ingredients labeling is far better than Canadian labeling. At least they seem to tell you what type of lecithin and vegetable oils are used, and will make statements like "May have come in contact with peanuts", etc in bold print. (That may have something to do with how Americans are generally much more litigous than Canadians; I guess there are upsides to that.) Instead of eating out we bought groceries and ate most of our meals at the condo.

Anyway, I'll likely be making more comments here as I find interesting things in the book.