First hols were in the UK , in Devon, and cornwall.

Our big problems were dealing with the eczema, and williams body responded with hives on contact with the salt water.

We tried the special beach tents for babies, and gave him some toys, and using a babies blow up paddling pool with a splash of bottled water.
But still it was a painful experience for him. The sand alone used to rub his skin raw.

The other three children loved the beach, and it seemed difficult to deny them that treat , when all of us avoided other common treats at that time, like resturants.

We decided to compromise, by going on a holiday that wasnt just about beaches and sea, but had other entertainment.

We went to france , camping on the euro camp sites.
We could pre plan our sites, work out the hospitals, the supermarkets , and a french /english dictionary.

We also brought translation cards for emergencies and for restaurants.

We also brought a lot of safe snacks in the car!!

At that time our son had food allergies to egg/peanut/all beans/ kiwi fruit/tree nuts

I suppose because we are not dealing with dairy , things were OK with the restaurants.

In fact over the years we have been to france, eating out was not that much of a problem.

We had two reactions on home (UK) holidays, mainly due to egg cross contamination.

We eventually found a wonderful beach type of holiday, esp as william at 5yrs oward was a good swimmer and loved it.
We went to france on hols that had a large lake, with added ‘beach’.
This improved his skin, and mine as well!!

From the ages of 7 yrs ownard we realised that the holidays are useful tools in teaching our son about allergy management.
We spread our wings and went to italy, we learnt how to read the french and italian labels for peanuts/treenuts/ beans/ kiwi etc while also adding williams new allergies to the list.
the open air markets for fresh food was a good way to find safe food.

We found out that the same resturant rules apply whatever country you go to.

pick a resturant, look at menu, book if you can, phone ahead to explain allergy.

If this ideal isnt possible, still try going in,

remembering you can still leave at any point you are not happy that they understand.
We have done this plenty of times.

We go early, when the kitchen is still clean, to cut back on the cross contamination risk.

Also early means less people and more time for the staff to absorb your allergy info.

We pick plain safe food,like plain burger or steak, fries, jacket potato.

we dont eat the dessert, we leave and find something that william can have.
Now that he is older, if we want the dessert he has a drink and then demands a substantial something the other children dont get. ( however he can get carried away with this idea, so it might not be much of an idea to start!!)
Last year we took a huge step with our family, and went to USA for three and half weeks.

It was our first time flying for a start!!
Lots of pre-planning, and research went in to it beforehand.
Finding seperate health insurrance that deals with anaphylaxis was something that we would recommend.

We had no allergy problems whatsoever. well, apart from my hubbys hayfever!!
I have to say that our early eating did depend on macdonalds, ( early research to check labels, as they do vary safety wise from country to country)

We didnt plan the hospitals, we made sure we had working mobile phones, and of course two sets of will’s meds.

We traveled through the desert, and went to las vegas, grand canyon,new york etc and ended up in Sanfrancisco, in a nice fish resturant.
William tried a varity of new foods , that we knew were safe for him. But trying new foods for an allergic person is a big step forward in confidance.

So to see him eating different fish, and clam chowder with enjoyment was really wonderful.

He also began to ask the waiters himself about the safety of the food and explain about his allergies, and hand over his allergy cards.

I really want william to travel when he is older, to not be afraid of trying something new, simply because he has allergies.
We always say if you take your meds you can go anywere. Eat carefully, read labels, have your meds and the world is your oyster.
He nearly tried one of those once, but sensibly after watching my face after eating one, he declined.

He also declined the frogs legs pizza, and the snails.

Its worth telling your child that they are allergic to the common foods in life, which means such delights that are rare, may be enjoyed.
However horible they look!!

Next summer william will be going away with his school year for a week in france.
So we are planning ahead to get him confidant and aware enough to cope with this.

This is a achievable goal for our boy.

we are going to spain this year for a week.
I am sure I will suffer with terrible heat rash, but oddly enough we are all looking forward to a bit of sun.
Am quite jealous after seeing your holiday , such a nice blue sky………..sigh…………..