Allergies

I, too, suffer from food sensitivities and allergies but my doctor in Vienna told me about a product, an enzyme, Daosin, developed in Austria, that helps with food sensitivities. I don't know if this will help your daughter or not but it is sold in the US as "Histame." I hear that it works for some foods but not others. You may want to talk to her doctor about it.

Alternatively, there are nice-looking thermal bags (handbag size) available in the US that may help keep her epi-pen at the right temperature. So far, much of Europe has been unseasonably cold this year. I'm wearing a sweater and fleece jacket today (June 4) in Vienna!

Best of luck to you and I hope you have a great time.

Kathy, mostly I wouldn't trust a waiter to know what the chef put in the food, either here or anywhere else. There will be plenty of fresh food and fruit available in the shops and simple items in the restaurants. Just stay away from multi-ingredient dishes for her. The previous poster's suggestion of an insulated lunch bag for the epi-pen was excellent. It could also hold her just-in-case food items that you prepared yourself or bought. Take some small plastic containers and baggies, put a can opener and what else you think you'll need in your checked baggage and you'll be good to go.

Write out a careful description of what she can not eat and why, and have it translated by an expert into French. I would show it to the waiter. Sometimes it is hard to anticipate or know what will be added to a dish as part of a coating, a seasoning or a sauce.

Regards, Gary

Anna - thanks very much. I did not think to bring emergency food - but I think we'll need to do that. PB&J and applesauce will work.

Thanks to all for your kind suggestions.

Kathy

What the rest said. And, I take a small, collapsible padded cooler that can hold a frozen bottle of water, or a freezer pack. It will also hold an apple or banana, and a sandwich or two.

How long are you staying? An apt. might be just the thing for you. That way, you can cook and chill at will.

If you cannot do the apartment, then I have asked at the hotel I was staying at for them to chill my chill pack, and none have refused yet.

Be sure to take an extra prescription or two for the epi-pin. If she has to use it, it gets lost, gets to hot, etc. you will need a replacement.

Also, when eating in a restaurant, ask to speak to the chef and show him your note about allergies or have the waiter take it to him/her. Take more than one copy of the note. Does she have an allergy bracelet or a wallet card with allergies listed?

My Dr. does all his stuff on computer now. So, a question you could ask your Dr. if he does also is: Can you download her medical record to a thumb drive and take it with you. In an emergency at a hospital, this might come in really handy.

Good luck and hope you have a wonderful, uneventful trip.

See my post in your other thread regarding the particular problem with France and celery...

Hi Kathy,

I posted a similar response to Gary's this morning on the other thread you have posted under General Europe.

I would still advise doing so - having your situation clearly written on a card, in French, to give to the waiter.

If you were to pull out PB&J, in a restaurant in France, without first explaining your situation to the waiter, I think it would viewed as really rude.

You wouldn't want to ruin what should be a very enjoyable exprerience in a restaurant in France, by giving the wrong impression. I think, given an explanation, they would be much more understanding.