First day at school...

[KLW]

:) Hi all.Have just signed up to this web site and its great to find other peoples advice and tips.
My eldest little girl is now 4yrs and 8mths. She has type 1 hypersensitivity to cows milk. She only has to touch anything containing milk to have a skin reaction. Her first reaction was when she was 4mths when given some baby cereal containing skimmed milk powder. Since then she is totally on soya milk, yoghurts etc. We have dealt with many reactions one being yesterday at a children birthday party. I took our own food for her and she sat down and within seconds she was saying that her backs of her legs were itching. She had on a skirt with bare legs everywhere where bare skin had touched the seat she had come up in hives. This happened so quicky we gave her piriton and that reduced the hives. I try very hard not to panic and my little girl always remains calm in a reaction. But if she ever cuts her knee thats another matter.
Would really love any advice on starting school and how to deal with lunch times and snacks. Had two meetings with the school so far and have been very helpful. She is currenty in the nursery which has made its self milk-free as she is so sensitive to tiny amounts of milk. We are just hoping that one day she may outgrow this allergy.

[Pam]

Hi KLW and welcome to the site. My little girl is 6 in a couple of weeks but fortunately doesn't have such a strong allergy as your daughter. It is good that your school are taking the time to have meetings with you, at least that is a start in the right direction. I have always supplied our own food, snacks and treats but there are obviously times when other children bring things into school (particularly when they have birthdays). I always used to supply a bag of dairy free treats for my daughter, to be kept in the teacher's drawer for when birthday sweets were given out. Then one day the teacher gave some of them to children who didn't like what was on offer so I decided that in future we would provide the alternative once we got home. And this was a teacher who was dairy free herself!!!

I think the risk of cross contamination with school dinners is probably too great a one to take so you will probably have to stick with packed lunches to be on the safe side. I have known schools to become completely nut free zones where they have had children with severe nut allergies but it will be harder to do with milk. Our key stage 1 children still get subsidised milk to drink in the classroom every day, presumably this will be the case in your school. It may be necessary to take your daughter to another part of the school until all the milk is cleared up and out of the way.

I have always provided packed lunches for parties and outings, this saves any confusion from well meaning parents, thinking they've got the dairy free bit right when they don't really know what they are looking for. Pre-school and nursery were fine because they always consulted me whenever any food was concerned but I have a lot less contact now she is in full time school.

I would recommend that you continue to have meetings and provide as much written information, posters etc as possible. Does your daughter have an Epipen? if so, I think there is a video you can get to show how to use it - take it to school and insist that all the staff watch it so that they are prepared. At the beginning of every year I provide the new teacher with a list of can have/can't have foods and my daughter is very good at saying "I can't have that, it's got milk in". You could also ask the Head to put her allergy on the agenda for staff meetings so that they can talk about potential risks, any reactions she has had and just as a general reminder.

Allergy UK might be able to provide some information or advice regarding starting school and might also be able to put you in touch with parents of children who have similar levels of sensitivity.

Sorry, this is all a bit long and rambling - I should be in bed by now! I hope it makes sense.

[KLW]

Dear Pam, Thank you so much for your reply. The school do have milk at break times but as holly can react to the smallest bit of milk on skin contact they have decided to have juice and water on offer instead. They have done that in the nursery so far this year and i have been amazed how supportive other parents have been. While this is good for us i would have completely understood other parents being upset by this. But all was decided by the school and having read other peoples experiences of schools on this web site i am feeling very lucky. We just have the lunch times to deal with. I think as long as the table is wiped down and no food is swopped we should be ok. Hoping that children can wash hands after lunch before going out to play as cheese, yoghurt on hands will be a problem if hols is holding hands at playtime. She is very aware of her allergy and is very happy to say that mummy must check the ingredients on that. And not to take any food from anyone uunless checked by us first. I also have isabel who is almost 3. Thankfully she is totally fine and does have cows milk food when holly is at nursey. But when together they always eat milk free foods. They both seem to fine with this and isabel knows that holly would be very poorly if not.Its so nice to chat with someone in a similar situation. Where we live i know of no one with allergies like hollys. Take care klw.

[Pam]

It sounds like your school is being very supportive. If you do experience problems at lunch times perhaps you will have to suggest that she eats in a separate place to the other children. Our main problems have been around food tasting and baking sessions, but if you badger the staff enough, they should get it into their heads to ask you before embarking on any food activities. Provide them with a comprehensive list of milk derivatives and ensure that they know about suitable margarine alternatives for example. With the best will in the world, someone who doesn't have to watch for these products on a daily basis won't necessarily pick up on some of the more obscure ingredients.

[rebecca c]

At my sons school there is a child who is allergic to peanuts. The school have told all the parents not to put nuts in kids lunches. They have a poster in the office for children with specific health problems so that all the staff are aware. The one thing I would say is they dont send out regular reminders so that parents dont forget or new parents arent missed.

[ellsie]

If you are worried about the table, pop a piece of kitchen roll in her box and get her to spread her food out on that;)