Monday, June 01, 2009
This Can Save Your Child's Life
Years ago, when I was in school, it didn't seem like food allergies were very common. In fact, growing up, I didn't know anyone with food allergies.
You would think that a person with allergies would inform people that he or she had severe, life-threatening allergies. Now, it is customary for us to ask if anyone has any allergies before we prepare a meal for them. I know in our household, I always ask our students to fill out a questionnaire before they arrive.
Well, there is one exception. I do remember being in high school and having an end of the season baseball party for the baseball team my Dad was coaching. My Mom made her Filipino BBQ and several different salads. One of the boys on the team (who was probably 17 at the time) kept going back for seconds and thirds and all of a sudden he started turning red, puffy, then almost purple! He excused himself and said he was going to come back. Hours later, his parents called us and said that the boy was in the hospital. He was allergic to nuts and fish, and the marinade for the BBQ included peanut butter. The dressing for the Caesar Salad had anchovy paste in it.
You would think that a person with allergies would inform people that he or she had severe, life-threatening allergies. Now, it is customary for us to ask if anyone has any allergies before we prepare a meal for them. I know in our household, I always ask our students to fill out a questionnaire before they arrive.It seems that now people are more aware of food allergies. My brother, who never had any allergies as a child has discovered just in the recent years that he has a few serious allergies. Serious enough to require him to carry an Epi-Pen with him. We were all surprised to discover that one of his allergies is to mushrooms! My brother loved mushrooms growing up! Mushroom caps, fried mushrooms, mushroom on pizza and in Chinese food. Now, if he's even in the same room as mushrooms, he can go into Anaphylactic shock. Very scary.
Hubby and I have nieces with food allergies, so we're also very careful and mindful of what we have in the house and what we serve. We know all too well how serious and even fatal food allergies can be.
Now, a friend I went to elementary school and high school with has started a company called BUDDY BANDZ. Lisa Sanderson is the President, Owner and Founder of the company that I am so proud to introduce to you.
Lisa's two sons both have food allergies. Her youngest son has a peanut allergy and her eldest has a shellfish allergy. Lisa came up with the idea of having a bracelet with "No Peanuts" around it to remind friends and family of her sons' allergies. This was the birth of Buddy Bandz.
Buddy Bandz is a Canadian company that operates from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. 
I cannot stress enough how important prevention is. Increase food allergy awareness and ease anxiety during stressful occasions like:
For more information on Buddy Bandz, click on the company's website address here.
Lisa's two sons both have food allergies. Her youngest son has a peanut allergy and her eldest has a shellfish allergy. Lisa came up with the idea of having a bracelet with "No Peanuts" around it to remind friends and family of her sons' allergies. This was the birth of Buddy Bandz.
Buddy Bandz is a Canadian company that operates from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. I cannot stress enough how important prevention is. Increase food allergy awareness and ease anxiety during stressful occasions like:*Summer Camp *Day Camp *Birthday Parties *Play Centers *School *Daycare
*Family Gatherings *Pinics *Playdates
For more information on Buddy Bandz, click on the company's website address here.
Because I am so excited about Buddy Bandz, and would like to take part in increasing awareness of food allergies, I am giving away TWO Buddy Bandz! I've got one "No Eggs" and one "No Dairy" band to give away. The "No Peanuts" and "No Shellfish" bands have already been spoken for. If you have a child with egg allergies or dairy allergies...or if you know anyone who has a child with these allergies, please leave me a comment. Recipients will be chosen at random and I will contact you for mailing details.
The deadline to enter for this give away is June 8, 2009.
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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23 comments:
totally checkin this site out chris- our youngest has nut allergies. all nuts not just peanuts or tree nuts including palm nuts which also means palm as in coconut which sucks because you know how i love things with coocnut in it!
Great idea and the bands are really cool looking.
HM:
I forgot about your youngest's nut allergies. Everything including palm nuts, eh? That must be a challenge with all the extra reading of ingredients at the store when buying groceries.
Anon:
Yes, I think so too!
Thanks for stopping by, Anon! Have you got a blog?
Oh! What a great idea! I've never heard of anything like this out in the market and with kids with food allergies this is really important.
My daughter is lactose intolerant. I would love to win this bracelet for her. Since no one has entered yet, does this mean I win? LOL!
Tracy at tracysworld@gmail.com
That is a great blog today. My 2 sons are nut allergic, as is my husband. the school here in assiginack has been very supportive,, but they hadn't kept it up, only started when my kids enrolled, enforcing the nut free zone. i was disappointed that it hadn't been done all along as it is a rainbow board policy, only so parents don't have to be retrained. But so far, it has only been positive at the school.
What a great idea! I don't know anyone with food allergies, but I love the idea of buddy bandz!
Thanks for letting us know about them!
As of yet I don't know any kiddos with food allergies so I don't want to enter the giveaway. Let someone who can use them have them.
I did want to say that this is a great idea for a product.
These are awesome C, tell your friend she is a genious.
Tracy:
So far it looks like you're in the running for that "No Dairy" BuddyBandz! Give away winners will be announced next Monday though :)
Thanks for commenting and come back again soon!
That is so true. I cannot recall anyone having food allergies growing up either. But it is so common now, and people are so much more aware.
That is terrifying that your brother is now allergic to mushrooms! They are so delicious :(
These bandz are a great idea.
Anon:
So glad to hear that Rainbow has a nut free zone policy.
I was listening to a program on the radio a while back about food allergies and having certain foods banned in public places. What a sticky topic this is. I mean, is it right to ban food because a certain margin of the population base is allergic to it? I say yes, because it can save lives. However, since food allergies vary, what do we ban and what don't we ban? Is it the responsibility of the food allergic person to just "take extra precautions"?
When children are involved, I think that education and prevention are key. I mean, it's impossible to help what people eat in the privacy of their own homes. What if a child had peanut butter and jam on toast for breakfast and didn't wash his or her hands before heading off to school? The oils from the peanut butter could easily be transfered from the skin. Likewise, the scent of the peanut butter on the child's breath could be dangerous for anyone allergic to nuts. It's a very difficult topic to approach. I may just save this for another post! :)
Tracy:
I'll let my friend know that you think they're a great idea :) I'm sure she'd love to hear that.
Jinxy:
Thanks :) Before I met my husband, other than the handful of students I had with allergies, I had never really been exposed to the severity of food allergies. My brother is in his early 30s and only recently discovered his food allergies.
Our one niece is allergic to gluten, which is in so many products. We really have to be so careful with cross-contamination and such. She's great though. She asks questions at restaurants when we dine out and she checks labels and ingredients. She probably has the best diet of anyone I know! Lots of healthy, fresh food.
Beach Mama:
Thanks! I'm off to FB my friend to let her know about the reception her BuddyBandz have received :)
Did I read correctly that you just may be headed up this way??? Wooooooo hooooooooo!!! That is the greatest news I've had all day!!! :)
Momisodes:
Isn't it odd how when we were kids, it was rare to find anyone with food allergies and now it seems as though it's not so uncommon?
I know! My poor brother! :( I love mushrooms!!!
These bands are such a great idea! I must check out whether we can get them here in Australia... Food allergies are so prevalent everywhere nowadays it seems.
That is very useful. I have a lit of allergies -- from eggs to pollen to dairy to dust. I want to believe that I have outgrown most but still get occasional attacks.
Michelle:
Thanks for popping by! I'm not sure if the BuddyBandz are available in Australia (yet). I'll have to ask my friend if she ships overseas. BuddyBandz are just catching on now, so I'm excited to see if they make it all the way to Oz and NZ in the near future! :)
LOL! Word ver= schrummo
Louann:
Are there a lot of food allergies in the Philippines? A Korean student of mine (or was perhaps it was one of my Japanese students) was telling me about someone from her country that was allergic to rice. RICE!!! Can you believe it? Imagine living in a country where you are allergic to one of the every day food staples? Rice is such a big part of Asian meals. My uncle (who is very Filipino! LOL!) says "a meal isn't complete without rice!" ;)
Hi C! Just wanted to let you know... I've decided to help Lisa and yourself tell the world about BuddyBrandz... I send Lisa an e-mail, and she'll be sending me some pamphlets as soon a I move so that I can help out. Meanwhile I think I'll look into oversea's shipping ideas for her since I'm in the transport buiz!!! I'll let you know what we come up with for your friend Michelle...
Keep up the great work on the BLOG, I love clicking on and seeing what's going on with you, Little one and Hubby on the farms... Some of the stories you have have me rolling on the ground!!!
Kisses to you and family...
Steph
Steph:
That's awesome! Lisa's BuddyBandz are a great idea, aren't they? She truly amazes me with all that she has done with her company and promoting awareness and prevention when it comes to kids' food allergies. Hooray for her! :)
My 6 yr old son has an egg/egg products allergy. I'd love to win one of those bands for him!
Thanks! Marie sweetmarie1@hotmail.com