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Halloween Safety Tips...Part II
I blogged yesterday about a recent press release from the AAAI. The release talked about the dangers of Halloween for food allergy sufferers, and it had a link to a safety checklist for parents of children who are going trick or treating at the end of the month. The checklist had some great ideas for parents who want to be prepared; however, I also e-mailed our achoo! Allergy parents to see if we could come up with an expanded list. The results of the poll yielded some great tips and some even better ideas on the ways celebrating Halloween affects young allergy and asthma sufferers.
6 more Halloween Safety Tips from the staff at achoo! Allergy:
• Carry an Epi-Pen during trick or treat in case of a food allergy emergency. Everyone is in agreement that carrying allergy medicine or an Epi-Pen is essential. Make sure to go over emergency procedures with your child if you are not accompanying them. I suggest having your child carry emergency phone numbers as well.
• Dressing up in a crazy costume is half the fun of Halloween (eating an unreal amount of candy is the other half!). But, be careful of chemical reactions. Face paint, feathers, and masks may trigger eczema, irritate sensitive skin, or cause asthma attacks.
• Make sure children dress appropriately for the weather. Trick or treating in colder areas of the country may trigger asthma attacks.
• Remember to review your child’s candy bounty before you let them dig into it—check for mishandled packaging and check wrappers for your child’s safety. This also presents you with the perfect opportunity to remove some of the candy that you like to eat! (Thanks, Ashley)
• This idea may or may not work depending on the age of your child and their specific food allergies. Use two identical candy bags. Give one to your child and fill the other with candy and goodies that are safe for you child. After returning home, do a quick switch of the collected candy for your already pre-approved, bag full of safe candy.
• The barter system. Make sure that you communicate with your child the danger of snacking while they are trick or treating. When they bring back a sack full of candy, you can separate out the unsafe candy. Your child can then trade with you for other allergen free treats or non-food items like coloring books, books to read, toys, stuffed animals, cash, sports equipment, etc.
Posted by Jamie on Friday, October 10, 2008
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