Hi,

We just joined this list, so here's a bit of background about why we're here.

Our 3 year-old daughter, Avigayil, is seriously allergic to milk. We are told that there is a danger of anaphalactic shock, although she has never experienced it, because we have been very careful to keep her away from all contact with milk and milk derivatives. We hope that we won't need to find out what happens next time she ingests something she shouldn't. She's also allergic to peanuts.

We carry Epipen with us just in case. So far her reactions have been progressively more severe to successivly smaller contacts with milk. Mostly she vomits severely and comes out in hives. Her skin test reaction is among the most severe our allergy specialist has ever seen.

I was thrilled when I read the question about milk staying on surfaces. Avigayil would get a rash on her face from sucking on toys when she was a baby and we figured out that it was from the milk residue in other babies' saliva which was still on the toys which caused the problem. It's exciting and comforting to know that we are not the only ones!

Plastic absorbs milk molecules and in our experience at least, the residue stays a while. Avigayil got a rash from sucking on a clean plastic spoon which had been used for milk a week or two previously. I think it depends on the surface. I know from keeping kosher, and the rules involved, that glass does not absorb foods, but plastic does. So far, we can see from Avigayil's reactions that this is true. We could never let her eat from a plastic plate which had been used for milk. Someone more versed that I in the laws of keeping kosher could probably tell you more about which surfaces absorb.

The only good thing about her having a milk allergy is that we live in Israel where everything is very clearly labeled as containing milk for the purpose of keeping kosher.

Right now we are thinking about pre-school for next year. What happens with Epi-pen where you are? Here the teacher is not allowed to administer medications in the classroom unless there is authorisation from the Ministry of Health - which we will, of course, have to get.

We are apparently entitled to an extra aide in the classroom, in order to supervise Avigayil when there is food about. The aide would be assigned to the class, not just to her, and would be with the class all the time - so going to pre-school with our daughter is actually an attractive option in terms of adult:child ratio!! She wouldn't single her out - just be an extra pair of eyes to see that she didn't take something she shouldn't.

Do any of you have any tips on dealing with pre-schoolers and milk allergy? We are teaching her to say no thank you to any food unless we OK it first and she's pretty self-disciplined for her age. We try to provide alternatives for parties etc and so far so good but new ideas are always welcome.

Thanks for this list. It's nice to know we are not alone!

Debbie & Joel