This is my official Back to School EVERYTHING food allergy Blog!   We are at the end of my daughter’s first week of school while getting ready for my son’s first week to start.  As we push forward, I keep remembering what I forgot. Which really takes talent since we’ve at this food allergy and asthma game for 13 years. Hum, denial? Or too comfortable?  Whichever, I have realized that I needed to address a few more things this week and thought I would share my resources and reminders (thanks fabulous readers who have been offering great tips).  Our first step is always to visit with the allergist to confirm each child’s current health status and have all medical forms/doctor’s orders signed and ready for each school-including updating our asthma and/or food anaphylaxis action plan.  Here are some of my family’s favorite tools for addressing food allergies and Back To School:

special note:  as always, check in with your physician regarding the management of your child’s health and needs at school, after school, home, etc.  Each child is different and what works for my family may not work at all for you!

Classroom education for Younger Students:

Be A P.A.L. program –P.A.L. stands for Protect a Life and is downloadable from the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE)Website—hands down a classic and standard. I make copies of the poster and give one to each child (upper elementary aged). We review the 5 key points and focus on how powerful 5 simple points can be.
Binky Goes Nuts was a past favorite for the little ones too. This Arthur based cartoon character program offers fabulous teaching lessons and downloads for the classroom, including finger puppets and letters home to parents in both English and Spanish.
 Resources for Schools created by FARE is also a place I check in to find materials to share with my children’s teachers and other parents.  At this link you can find the Safe@School program.  I often use the tests provided in this training program.  Thanks to a very generous local grant, we were able to donate this program to every single school nurse in our district.
NOTE: for older students, we work with our children’s school regarding how they educate and address food allergies.  Often, the school nurse educates the students.

Image courtesy of Sue Ganz-Schmidt

Books we’ve enjoyed sharing with classrooms (younger students)

Nutley, the Nut free Squirell–The way Nutley called together his animal to discuss how they were going to help support him and find a way to make his new found allergy is exactly the kind of message I like telling to my children’s classmates.
Patty’s Secret: A tale about living with food allergies–I really enjoy how Patty demonstrates the importance of NOT keeping a food allergy a secret!
The Princess and the Peanut (the artwork is just stunning)-Just another classic with my family.  The story embraces acceptance and shows how the prince deals with a peanut allergy.

Lunchtime

Wrap N Mat — we’ve used these for years and years.  They are fabulous re-usable wraps that hold a sandwich and then unfold to become a place mat while eating.
Allergy Apparel sells offer Lunch boxes with allergy information printed on them and allergy tags and stickers as well  tags that can be put on lunch boxes. I like this information on my daughter’s lunch box since this is only her 2nd year at this school and folks are still getting to know her.
Placemats–don’t forget that placemats are an additional great barrier between an unseen allergen on the table and your child.  I take my daughter over to my local Kohls store to pick out a few styles that can easily be folded into her lunch box.
Handwipes –my kids wipe down their table area and hands.  We pack them in their backpacks and lunch boxes.
Wash hands — washing hands before eating is a great step for food allergic kids.  I forgot about this step and have now reminded my daughter to wash her hands before eating!

Image courtesy of Allergy Apparel

EpiPen® and Auvi-Q® Carriers and Holders

Check out My blog about EpiPen® and Auvi-Q® Carriers for a list of popular and loved carriers.  We purchase several different types of carriers and holders based on the activity.  There are carriers that can be worn during athletic activities, belts for recess and bags for back packs.

image courtesy of the University of Utah Medical School

Additional Education Resources on the Management of Life Threatening Food Allergies and Anaphyalxis

A Shot to Live- University of Utah Medical school online program geared at teachers–but is very important for everyone!–it’s the only source I found that offered both videos on how to use the EpiPen® and AuviQ®.  We recently presented this at my son’s school and what I like is that this program is free, provides a good general overview and you simply need the internet to access it.
EpiPen Online Training for Anaphylaxis Course from EpiCenter™ provides very impactful training that is broken up into short modules including tests.  The program was created in Canada, so some terms may be unfamiliar,  such as soya instead of soy.  This program is geared for the general public and not just schools and is focused on how to recognize and respond to an emergency.  The program is low cost and can be purchased for businesses, individuals and is truly the only anaphylaxis training program on the market.
Schools @Allergy Home— this website offers an incredible amount of resources!  You can find tools for educating teachers, nurses and students and offers 30 downloadable posters too!  It’s pretty impressive and worth a peek around.

Medical IDs and Awareness Jewelry

 Medic Alert- If 911 is called, emergency responders can have immediate access to your child’s medical information and history by calling the phone number on this bracelet (or necklace). I prefer Medic alert since one phone call reveals this data. I know many folks who are very pleased with simple food allergen ID bracelets too
Lauren’s Hope offers a very comprehensive line of medical ID bracelets ranging from flat out elegant to hip and young!  Just beautiful!
Allermates sells darling awareness tags and  bracelets that are quite popular with the young ones including restaurant cards.
Allerbling is another style of bring food allergy awareness bracelets focused on younger children.

Please share if you have some other tools and resources that make your Back To School better!