Does anyone send a severely allergic child to camp?

My 10 yr old ds is severely allergic to peanuts. Most of his friends go to overnight camp.
I'm trying to think of different options what he should do this summer.
Does anyone have experience with sending a severely allergic child to overnight camp or have any ideas what he can do.

Posted: Wed, Feb 16 2011, 1:50 pm Post subject:

my dd is 4 so no overnight camp for her yet.... but I would think there are camps today are peanut free. I would call camps and ask them and find out what the policy is with kids own food that they bring....

you would have to clear with the camp that they are ok with it. and they need to be equipped and know exactly what to do in case of emergency.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 24 2009 Posts: 2433

My DD has an allergy (not peanut, BH) that requires an epipen. She can be in the classroom with said allergen, but she can't have it. Every year I go through teaching teachers and counselors about how to use it. The school has a NO NUT rule now (they don't want the liability).

I think it depends on the camp. I'm assuming that the overnight camp I want to send my girls to will probably put all the "allergy" kids in one bunk (yeah it's not ideal) so that not every counselour has to be trained.

But seriously - if my kid had a nut allergy I don't know that I would just leave it to the undertrained teenagers who are camp counselors - day camp or sleep away camp. The camp staff would have to show me they were really prepared...
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Senior Member Joined: Apr 28 2009 Posts: 248

Is it an airborne allergy? How is he with his allergies, does he talk up when he is having a reaction. My almost 11 year old has a airborne nut allergy and allergic to all nut and other stuff. We found other good options for camp for her and discussed when she is older to do a overnight touring camp, with a smaller group to control the nuts.

Beginner Joined: Sep 28 2010 Posts: 17

I am a camp nurse at a nut free camp. All the parents are informed that anything with nuts is not allowed to be brought to camp nor sent to camp in a package. the office staff does go through the packages to make sure no nuts were sent. the kid carried an epi-pen with him and we always have extras in the infirmary. epi-pens are sent on every trip off campus even to wal-mart. also, counselors are trained to use epi-pens in case of emergency.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 24 2009 Posts: 2433

That's the camp *you* work at.

It depends on the camp.

Especially in the more chassidish camps, things are more tsuflagen. I know some camps will take just an EMT-B. If your kid has an airborn nut allergy then you can sent them unless there is a nurse or EMT-P or PA on staff. Also how far away is the closest hospital? Is there Hatzalah or another ambulance near by? Where is it garaged? How far is "help"?

If your kid has an airborn allergy, I wouldn't sign your kids up unless you've spoken to the nurse.

Posted: Thu, Feb 24 2011, 1:55 am Post subject:

Well, my kids don't go to camp, but I was the ultra-allergic kid in camp...we just didn't know it. AND were lucky not to learn the hard way until a few years later.
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Silver Member Joined: Aug 23 2010 Posts: 570

As a mother of children with allergies, some more severe than others, I agree with several comments from above posters.
If allergy is airborne, it is more severe. My niece had a SEVERE reaction just from walking into the camp dining room where techina (and falafel) was being served. She is allergic to sesame.
My child was the shy type, who would NOT approach anyone for help and thus did not go to camp until absolutely NECESSARY - learning camp.
If there is Hatzolah on premises, it would make my decision easier.

It really will take some effort on your part to research the particulars in the camp you are interested in sending to, how well equipped they are in dealing with emergencies, how far from the hospital they are- if Epi-pen is administered, transport to the hospital in mandatory, what their rules are regarding allowing nuts/peanuts/sesame into camp.
If it is a milk/fish allergy it is even MORE difficult, as the menu in camp is something much harder to work around. Also there are nosh that contain fish gelatin, that your child might not be alert to. (there is a new taffy that contains fish gelatin, that my son had a bad reaction to).

Good Luck and don't feel guilty if you keep your child home longer than other children, you are doing it for her/his safety.

As everyone else has said, it depends on the severity of the allergy.

I have a 13 year old cousin with sever celiac (I know, not the same thing as a food allergy, but it does have some of the same struggles) and my aunt prepares two weeks of meals in advance for her daughter to take up to camp with her to last her until visiting day. She has a freezer to keep it in and I think she goes with something to heat it up in. On visiting day, she restocks.

If you're just concerned with cross-contamination (because air-borne isn't an issue), you can do that. If your child has already had nut-related reactions, you have some idea of what to expect. You and your child should decide if that's a risk you're willing to take.

Also: there are some camps that allow kids to come as daycampers. It does cut down on the risk somewhat and would allow you to feed breakfast and dinner at home.