I 100% believe teachers are partners and guides in our children’s education and want to keep them safe. To help ensure that my child’s teacher understands food allergy basics, and the specifics for my kiddo, I typically set up a meeting before school starts to review the Food Allergy Action Plan from our allergist and share and some additional high-level information about food allergies I’ve learned over the years.

Every time I’ve done this, teachers were grateful for the information and let me know that some of the information was new to them. Feel free to share this post with your child’s teacher or make your own handout customized for your child with any of these tips. This is certainly from my lens as a parent (not a doctor!) and is meant to be positive, affirming and help create a partnership in dialogue and action between me as a parent and the teachers caring for my kiddo. I hope it’s helpful for other parents and teachers!

10 things teachers need to know about food allergies

1. Know the student’s allergies and non-allergies. It is important to know what the student is allergic and not allergic to. Not every student who is allergic to peanuts is also allergic to almonds, or gluten or food dyes.
2. Physical safety is critical. Of course, the student’s physical safety is the most important thing – this means not allowing allergens in the classroom, avoiding them at lunch, preparing for how to manage a reaction and treating a reaction quickly. Some classroom activities you have each year may include food, such as Stone Soup or gingerbread houses. With just a little planning and communication, we can usually make these work with some minor adaptations. Please let the parents know if you are planning to use anything that has food and they can help you brainstorm safe options.
3. Emotional safety is important, too. Please also consider the student’s emotional well-being. Being excluded from birthday treats or sitting alone at lunch can be emotionally difficult and make the child feel isolated and lonely. Consider not allowing food treats for birthdays and instead focus on non-food items such as pencils. And be intentional about planning activities which are safe and inclusive for all students in the class. A great saying for this is to “Exclude the food, not the child.”
4. Frequent food allergy talk can make the student uncomfortable. Other than moments you are intentionally teaching the class about food allergies to keep the student safe, please do not mention the food allergies unless it’s really important. Please do NOT ask him/her to list off all the things he/she’s allergic to (you would be surprised to hear how many adults ask students this question before anything else). Instead talk with the student about their interests, such as their favorite game or sports, etc.
5. Food proteins can’t be killed. Food proteins cause allergic reactions. Unfortunately, you can’t “kill” them with cleaning chemicals or hand sanitizer – they need to be “removed” (washed away) with soap and water (preferably) or baby wipes. Using hand sanitizer just moves the food proteins around, like trying to get glitter off your hands with only hand sanitizer. Spraying a desk with Lysol won’t do anything to remove the food proteins unless you immediately wipe the surface with a clean paper towel.
6. Cross-contamination is a real thing. Also called cross-contact, this is when food proteins have transferred onto things you wouldn’t normally think would be a problem, such as tables, toys, water fountains, dishes or food that was touched by allergens or a person with those allergens on their hands. This can cause a severe reaction if it is ingested through the mouth or by even touching the eyes or nose. For example, a student eats peanut butter on their toast for breakfast and comes to school. They haven’t washed their hands and touched a table. Then the student with allergies touches that spot on the table. They’ve now been exposed to their allergen. If the item that’s contaminated touches the student’s food (from a chef’s hands or a spatula) then the child would likely ingest that allergen and be in danger.
7. Skin reactions can happen, too. Some people call this a touch reaction, or a contact reaction, and can happen when an allergen touches the skin but is not ingested. The student can break out in hives in that spot. It is generally not life-threatening, however, it could escalate if that allergen is ingested. If you see a hive on the skin (away from the mouth), it is important for the student to wash their hands and the skin where you see a contact reaction, monitor for other symptoms and check the action plan. Hives near the mouth are usually a sign that the allergen was ingested.
8. Anaphylaxis is serious. You’ve likely heard of anaphylactic shock. This is the same thing that can happen with a serious food allergy reaction – it is sudden in onset and can cause death. With food allergies, this happens when the body’s immune system tries to attack an allergen that has been ingested. The student’s blood pressure can drop, the throat, lips and tongue can become swollen and limit or stop breathing, they may vomit or have diarrhea and have red spots (hives) or red streaking on the face, neck and chest.
9. Time is of the essence. It is important to treat reactions quickly according to the student’s Allergy Action Plan – don’t hesitate to see if it will get better or wait because you are afraid of taking the next step. In a severe reaction, an EpiPen (or another epinephrine auto-injector) must be given within minutes. For example, hives on the face + even one or two coughs signal the need for epinephrine.
10. Have no fear. Don’t be afraid to use the EpiPen – it can save the student’s life! It won’t put the student in any danger and the only side effect is a fast heartbeat (like drinking a lot of caffeine). As parents, WE WILL NEVER BE MAD IF YOU USE THE EPI. Or a nurse. Or another parent. If our student needs epinephrine, please make sure they get it. This is usually when teachers tell me the school protocol for administration, which typically includes calling the nurse and having her/him assess the child first. It’s still important to me that they know that I will not be mad if they break school protocol or encourage the nurse to administer epi. I also pull out a sample EpiPen at this point and we practice it together.

If you are a teacher reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest and efforts to keep children with food allergies safe on your watch. Chances are really high that they will have a successful year because you are educated and care so much.

If you are a parent reading this, I’d love to hear how your allergy conversations go with teachers. If you use this list, please let me know if it’s helpful!

You can find more of my food allergy posts, tips & recipes on my Food Allergy page. I’d also love to connect with you on my Marketing Mama facebook page and twitter. This post, and all posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert and encourage you to consult with a doctor on your personal medical situation.

We aren’t in need of renewing ours anytime soon, so I haven’t panicked over it yet. However, I’ve been hearing stories from parents in Facebook food allergy groups having difficulty getting EpiPens from their pharmacies, or the ones they are given expire within 6 months, rather than the usual 12 months we all expect.

If you are trying to figure out your best game plan, here are some options:

1. Call Mylan customer relations at 800-796-9526 for assistance. This CNN article included a quote from Mylan encouraging people to call and that they’ve been able to successfully locate alternative pharmacies for patients who are having trouble finding EpiPens.
2. Consider other epinephrine devices. The other main competitor product is called Auvi-Q, featuring voice directions and a compact size. This includes the same epinephrine drug that is in the EpiPen, but uses a different delivery system. If your have commercial insurance and it doesn’t cover Auvi-Q, they have an Auvi-Q affordability program which may help. We had good luck using this program in the past. You can also explore a prescription for the Adrenaclick, which is most well-known for being sold at CVS as an alternative to the EpiPen. This epinephrine product gained popularity as a less expensive option compared to EpiPens when they were under scrutiny for pricing last year. Some parents have reported confusion in using the product because it has an extra step than the typical EpiPen, however they generally get the hang of it. Unfortunately, I’ve heard the Adrenaclick trainer does not automatically come with the medicine. You can find instructions on how to get a free trainer on the Adrenaclick FAQ page. It is the 10th question on the page.
3. Hang onto your EpiPens a bit longer. I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice, however, I encourage you to read about the Expired EpiPen Safety Study testing the medicine’s efficacy after expiring at 12 months. They reported that 29 months after expiration, the pens contained at least 90% of their stated amount of epinephrine. Pens 50 months — more than four years — past the printed expiration date had more than 84% of the medication. Link to study abstract.

You can always reach out to your physician or allergist for help as well, as they may be able to offer counsel. Remember, it’s important to keep 2 epinephrine auto-injectors on you at all times, and if any epinephrine auto-injector is used to call 911.

You can find more of my food allergy posts, tips & recipes on my Food Allergy page. I’d also love to connect with you on my Marketing Mama facebook page and twitter. This post, and all posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert and encourage you to consult with a doctor on your personal medical situation.

Friends, it’s amazing how far dairy-free yogurt has come. When we first entered the allergy world, there were very different options available and none of them very good. Now there is only on brand I will recommend to other people with food allergies – So Delicious. Their non-dairy yogurts are made with a coconut milk base, and come in all of these flavors below.

My husband cannot eat dairy and really loves the blueberry, key lime and raspberry flavors. We mostly buy these from Whole Foods, but occasionally buy them at general grocery stores as well. With all specialty foods, it’s important to double check the expiration date before buying. I’ve noticed these don’t move as quickly in the regular store and can expire more quickly than I’d prefer.

We also love the So Delicious ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches and non-dairy whipping cream in the freezer section. All staples in our house.

You can read more about our family’s experiences with food allergies by clicking on the “On Food Allergies” tab at the top of this page. Want to stay in touch? Join me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

It’s pretty amazing after avoiding a food for years for fear of getting sick, or even dying, to be able to eat that food. I remember at Avery’s first allergist appointment at 12 months old, when we first realized how severe his allergies were, the allergist said that most kids outgrow milk allergies and Avery “won’t be going to kindergarten” with that one.

Fast forward to kindergarten and Avery was still very much allergic. At age 9, about a year ago in 3rd grade, Avery’s tests finally showed a chance the milk could be outgrown and we had a baked milk challenge in the allergist’s clinic and has been eating baked milk each day since then. It opened up a few new foods, like goldfish crackers and Cheez-its. But it wasn’t really life changing…

Fast forward a year, and life has changed. Now the list of allergies we are dealing with has dwindled to egg, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and melons. It’s not likely that he will outgrow any of the other ones, but we are so grateful to have added dairy back to his diet.

Favorite foods now include: string cheese, yogurt and brie. Brie is Avery’s favorite of all the cheeses! Oh and pizza. Pizza is even better when you can eat the same pizza as your friends at parties and the Domino’s delivery at school!

You can find more of my food allergy posts, tips & recipes on my Food Allergy page. I’d also love to connect with you on my Marketing Mama facebook page and twitter. This post, and all posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert and encourage you to consult with a doctor on your personal medical situation.

One of the fun outfits I put together at Christopher and Banks: This is the Diamond Quilted Vest, CrissCross Neck Pullover Sweater in Mantle Grey

The last few years have been challenging for me, fashion-wise. Due to side effects from a new medication, I put on some weight that I haven’t been able to lose easily. It’s not good being uncomfortable in your clothes and like you don’t have any fun, attractive clothing to wear.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from the folks at Christopher and Banks, a clothing store based in Plymouth, MN, but with locations all across the country. They invited me to learn about their new fall fashions, which can be found in a range of “Petite (4P-16P)”, “Missy (4-16)” and “Women’s (14W-32W)” sizes. I think it’s awesome for women who are plus size to be able to find the same items on the same racks, rather than delegated to a separate section or store.

Last week I visited the Christopher and Banks headquarters to meet with their style/trend experts and learn about the brand and where it’s heading. They’ve been working to include more styles which appeal to exactly my age group – the ~40 year old woman who wants to look fashionable, but not like a teenager. I loved meeting them and hearing the “behind the scenes” of how they planned the fall fashions, which are just coming out this month.

Then came the BEST part – this weekend I went to my local Christopher and Banks store and shopped the styles with the help of a couple of their associates. I also brought a dear friend who has NO FILTER so she could keep me honest to make sure the items I liked looked good and reflected my personal style. I can’t wait to show you all the fun things I found!

This is one of my favorite outfits! I loved the wrap and brought it home with me. Notice the jeans have embroidery down the leg – what a fun detail. Links: Soft Hexagon Pull Thru Wrap and Embroidered Floral Tapered Leg Denim Jeans

This poncho was super fun and looked great with a denim shirt and dark denim jeans. It had shades of blue and cream and brown and gray and matched my blue eyes really well. Link: Marled Texture Poncho

This was another of my favorites! This “coatigan” was one of the feature fashion pieces for the fall line. I didn’t know how cute it would be until I tried it on and then I fell in love! I tried it with a cream shirt and this purple and liked the purple best. It also looked great with this long chunky stone necklace. Links: Embroidered Hooded Coatigan Sweater, 3/4 Sleeve V-Neck Essential Tee and Signature Slimming Career Straight Leg Denim Pant Average

You guys, I can’t remember the last time I wore anything with embroidery on it, let alone distressed (or ripped) jeans. These were both really fun. The detail on the green hoodie was great and the jeans were fun and will be cute at one of my son’s football games this fall. Links: Floral Embroidered Knit Hoodie and Distressed Tapered Leg Denim Pant

This outfit was so comfortable, I fell in love. Both pieces are from the relaxed. Restyled. collection, which is their active wear/weekend collection. The shirt has a great neck line with a small cowl and the pants are the most comfortable yoga-like pants I’ve worn in quite some time. They are a heavier weight with seams on the side, so they feel a bit more dressy than simple cotton. relaxed. Restyled. Color Blocked Cowl Neck Tunic and relaxed. Restyled. Side Seam Pants

Also, this shirt is adorable – it’s the same one as the grey at the top of the post, but this wine color feels a bit more dressed up and perfect for fall. Links: Criss Cross Neck Pullover Sweater in Cabernet and Embroidered Floral Tapered Leg Denim Jeans

I also loved all the great jewelry they have! So many on-trend chunky pieces.

These are all the pieces that I loved enough to bring home! I was able to choose one outfit as part of my partnership and I ended up buying many more pieces and opening a credit card while there! And my friend Jane also bought a lot of items and also opened a credit card! We loved the sale prices and credit card discounts/bonus points that made everything really affordable.

We just had to get a group photo after our fun time shopping. My girlfriend Jane is on the left, followed by Kim and Laurel from Christopher and Banks. THANK YOU ladies for your help shopping! You made it really fun and gave me a lot of ideas that I normally wouldn’t come up with myself. They told me that they pride themselves on all shoppers having a positive experience. If you’re interested in a personal shopping session at Christopher and Banks, you can walk in and ask for help putting together a special outfit or two – or you can call ahead to set an appointment and they will make sure you have someone who can be your own personal shopper ready to help you.

You can see more of the fall selection this Saturday, Sept. 16 for style shows at their stores across the country. If you live in the Twin Cities, check out the biggest show in this area at Eden Prairie Center, starting at 11 a.m. They will even have hosts from FM107 there to emcee the show and broadcast live!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Christopher and Banks, for which I am thankful. They provided me with some clothing and compensation for my time and sharing my honest opinions. All opinions and images are my own.