OIT & Me

FLIGHT – BRITISH AIRWAYS:

able to take a bottle of piriton through (not prescribed) but had to show my doctors letter in London. They didn’t ask for a letter in Tampa

announcement made both ways – although announcement was much clearer flying home. 3 announcements were made on both flights

if you have anaphylaxis, you can preboard the flight. This was fine in London Gatwick but they had issues with this in Tampa as they weren’t BA staff so got on a little later than planned

take loads of wipes to wipe down your seat, the screen and your tray table. Also wipe the seat belt. These seats were difficult to wipe down due to them being material not leather. I much prefer leather when flying with allergies.

in the toilet, they also have anti bac wipes so you can wipe down the toilet seat etc

I decided to wear a mask for both journeys due to covid but also gave an extra layer of comfort when flying with allergies (I’ve never worn a mask on a flight before however)

take your own food and drink. IMO, it’s not worth the risk at all of eating their food and drink. Even the plastic cups could be contaminated and not a risk I’m willing to take. If flying to America, you need to leave all meat products and fruit, veg and seeds etc on the plane so make sure you consume these products

FOOD / EATING OUT:

peanuts are everywhere in America it seems! They definitely love their peanut butter but don’t let this put you off

there is no language barrier so you can get to the point straight away

we ate on site at Disney and Universal and all great experiences. You can request a chef comes to your table and they will go through everything

most places now have full ingredient lists to show – this is great and breaks down every ingredient in a dish. The chef shows this typically on a smart phone or you can read it in an allergy binder if you’re at a quick service location

I have lots of restaurant recommendations – ask if you want them

we stayed in a villa this year so ate quite a bit in the villa too although it was harder st first to navigate safe products in the supermarket as labelling can be a little hit or miss

VILLA:

Most people shop at Walmart. This seems to be the go to for tourists however it is always really busy! I preferred shopping at Publix

with the help of US food allergy groups and the US snack safely guide, I was able to find safe products to make meals in the villa. Again, if you want some recommendations, just ask.

the cutlery etc in the villa weren’t very clean and obviously I couldn’t be sure if the previous guests had eaten loads of nutty foods so I took a more cautious approach

we put on a dish washer load of cutlery and dishes when we first arrived to give everything another wash

bought an anti bac spray and cleaned down the kitchen surfaces in case any traces remained

I also ourchased my own mug, cutlery, pan, plate and bowl to be extra safe

PARKS:

Take anti bac gel with you and wipes – they are not the cleanest of places

the parks involve lots of holding onto rides etc so your hands feel sticky quickly !! Try and get into the habit of anti bac gel after every ride – can be hard to remember !

because of covid they have anti bac sanitisers dotted around but they were often empty!!

when going on the more severe rides, don’t leave your epipens in the lockers at the front of the rides. You could be hours without them. Tell the staff on the gate that you have a medical bag and you can take it on then store it either in the child swap lockers or in busch gardens, the ride attendant held onto it for me

When you want to fly abroad, where do you start?

Firstly, I am a huge advocate of research. Unfortunately, when you are travelling with allergies, you can’t just book a flight and assume that everything will be ok. It starts by researching the airline.

Who should I fly with?

Now, this is very much dependent on your allergies. I can only speak about flying with a tree nut and peanut allergy – of which, peanut is my most severe.

In the UK, we are blessed with a range of airlines who do have accommodating policies. Many of which state the following:

• board the airline first to wipe down the seat area
• refrain from selling products containing nuts
• make an allergy announcement

However, if you have an airborne tree nut allergy this can be harder to navigate as many airlines have stopped selling peanuts or including them in airline meals but still include tree nuts.

Experience of accommodating airlines

British Airways – announcement, no peanuts sold and pre-boarding. They do however include tree nuts in dishes.

Virgin Atlantic – identical policy to British Airways in my experience

TUI – announcement, no peanuts sold and pre-boarding. They did however sell almonds as a snack in premium economy!

Ryan Air – announcement, no nut products sold and pre-boarding

Delta – announcement, they stop selling peanuts and make an announcement if they have an allergic passenger on board. However, Delta do sell peanuts on other flights so there is a risk of cross contamination!