>In a message dated 98-03-19 13:40:45 EST, skempf writes:
>
><<  BOTTOM LINE--if your child has an anaphylactic reaction to milk, eating
> out isn't worth it. >>
>
>Couldn't agree more! Bring a special meal for your severly allergic child.
>It's not worth the alternative!

My son is now 11. He's anaphylactically allergic to milk, eggs, and all
nuts. We eat out about twice per month, and it clearly is worth it. We've
gotten quite good at discussing the restrictions with the wait-staff, and
the better restaurants typically send out a supervisor to get the straight
scoop. We always take Josh's med kit, and so far, he's only had one
reaction from restaurant food - that was a Sunday lunch out, and we're
fairly sure that the burger was cooked on the same grill as some
brunch-time eggs.

We start out by saying that our son is seriously allergic to milk, eggs,
and all nuts, and that the kitchen needs to be certain that the items that
we would like to order are free of all of these. We select fairly "pure"
foods - not likely to have any other ingredients, and we request that it
not be cooked in butter or margarine unless the margarine is pareve.
Whenever there is bread or a roll or bun involved, we ask if we can check
the label, since it's not always obvious which ingredients are
milk-derived. If we're going out for a burger and are not certain about the
buns, we take along our own, just in case.

By doing this repeatedly over several years, Josh has learned

   1) that it's not a big deal to ask,
   2) that you have to be quite clear about the special need and the risks
   3) that you have to assess the likelihood of the person getting it right
   4) that you have to check the meal once it's served.

On Friday we went to "On the Border" for Mexican food. He loves it, and so
do I. I am also dairy-allergic. He ordered his own food, told ther server
about his allergies, told him it's more serious than lactose intolerance
and that he could have breathing troubles if they got it wrong, and was
served a very nice meal. It took them approx 1/2 hour to serve us, which
suggests that they got it wrong the first time. When it was served, the
meal was great, but the extra side order of beans and rice had cheese on
it. The server hadn't noticed - Josh had. We pointed it out; they fixed it.

As I said - it can be nerve-racking, but it's worth it, and it sets a fine
example for Josh, who needs to learn how to live with it. He can now even
go to the bagel shop by himself and ask them to use a clean knife.

Mark


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Mark Feblowitz