A NUT FREE HALLOWEEN!

So I am not sure how many of you know but my son was diagnosed with a severe peanut/tree nut allergy a couple of weeks ago. I am finding that people do not understand nut allergies! Its is not at all that i think that anyone would do anything intentional to hurt my child but that they are simply not educated in the area of food allergy unless they have a child who has one.

I have asked at several restaurants recently if certain food items contain nuts and the answer is no. People think if it does not physically contain nuts it is safe. Well this could not be further from the truth. If it is processed in a plant that also processes nuts it is not safe, if it contains certain ingredients such as coconut oil it is not safe! You must read and read and read!

So now on to Halloween my number one goal is to always keep my son safe. My second goal is to always let him do as much as he possibly can to be a regular kid. My third goal from now until forever will be to raise awareness about food allergies.

I do not plan to go to any church event or anything like that because it is just too dangerous. If Carson got a hold of the wrong thing he could end up in the ER. He can not even touch something that contains nuts!

I do plan to let him trick or treat a select few people in our family. I even considered having a PEANUT/TREE NUT free Halloween party at our house.

You are punishing your other children you say? well we don't have a dog because Meccia has asthma and it could cause her problems. We don't buy popcorn because Hali can not eat it due to he retainer. This is no different. We all make sacrifices for the ones we love! We are a family and we all want the same thing, for each of us to be happy and healthy! Hali is Carson's number one set of eyes! She will tell you very quick if something is not safe for him. Fortunately Hali has two precious friends with food allergy and she was quite educated on the matter before Carson was ever diagnosed. So there is my answer to that.

This year along with our trick or treat bags for candy we will also carry our trick-or-treat for food allergy education and research boxes. We will be taking donations for FAAN. You can order these boxes and help Carson raise money @ http://www.foodallergy.org/Support/Halloween/index.html You can order up to 5 boxes and have them delivered to your house for no cost! Yes it is free to help raise money to save lives!

I also wanted to list some of the candies I have found so far to be safe!
Tootsie rolls
Tootsie roll pops
Smarties both rolls and pouches
Dum-Dum pops
I would like to promote Dum-Dums they are not only tree nut/peanut free they are also milk,egg,wheat, and gluten free! I think this is awesome!
As I locate more candy that is safe I will be happy to list it!

I also found a really cool website oliverslabels.com that sales nut shaped stickers that say NO NUTS really big on them. These are great for those upcoming family get togethers over the Holidays. To help people to remember the allergy! They are also great for sippy cups your child might take into a church nursery.

Just a note...
I found that rabbit food contains tree nuts. Also that burger kings onion ring batter does too! It is the things you would never imagine that can catch you off guard!

As i research I realize there is no way to over react to this. people don't say well this person has cancer and it might kill them but life goes on. People also should not say well that kid has a food allergy and somethings could kill him but life goes on. He will get older and time will go on. He will reach a point when he is old enough to make his own choices and know what is safe for him. For now I am his mother his protection the only thing that stands between him and a food that he so innocently may pick up that could potentially kill him. I take that responsibility VERY SERIOUSLY! I plan to take every precaution possible to insure my son is safe.

Carson has really not been affected by this at all other than a few minor changes in our pantry. He is doing GREAT!

Love you all,
Cody (Mom of a kid with food allergies)