Going to paris with severe food allergy!
 

This will be my 4th trip to Paris but the first trip with my daughter who has a severe allergy to peanuts and nuts. If we bring a note that states this food allergy in French will it be acceptable to pass it on to waters and at pastry/food shops so they can direct us to acceptable food choices? Will they be accepting of this? I know that sometimes waiting in lines at pastry shops they seem to not have much time for "talk"? Any suggestions?

While sometimes it is not easy to avoid items that can trigger a peanut allergy (especially when the real culprit can be the well hidden peanut oil), I do not think it is rude at all to state that you cannot have something containing peanuts or prepared in peanut oil. The service provider has every interest to meet your needs as you have every interest in avoiding a medical emergency.<BR><BR>I would suggest patronizing a shop during non-busy hours (not always easy of course). But you may also want to sit down with your daughter and decide on a couple of safe bets that you can easily order in case you are suspicious. This is something I do with my boyfriend who has problems with cream and cheese but still loves French food.

Alana,<BR><BR>Thanks for your good advice. It can really be life or death with this allergy.

aj my boyfriend is deathly allergic to peanuts and while in Paris last year, eating fried chicken strip he had a reaction- perhaps something in a sauce or the oil, who knows?<BR><BR>We always carry Benedryl and of course the big needle- ugh!<BR><BR>Definatley have the allergy written out but also talk to your waiters- most speak English very well. <BR><BR>The nice thing is that generally the European countries don't use peanuts but they use a lot of hazel nuts. So make sure they know that in your daughters case it is all nuts and nut products.

I would be very careful, as people in France are not nearly as &quot;aware&quot; of food allergies/intolerances as they are in, say, the UK or the US. Food wrappers do not necessary state whether traces of nuts are present.<BR>Carry a note explaining the problem very clearly in French. If you post the information you want to convey, i will happily translate it into French for you.

The above poster was right about being very picky. Often, ingrediants that are obvious to us are not to foreigners. The waiter may understand that no peanuts but does he actually know what every ingrediant is in every dish? I would say no. Have a well thought out plan in case she does have an attack and double check with your health ins. to make sure that she is covered abroad. This is your child and every effort should be made to make sure that this doesn't happen. Stay away from chinese at all costs as they love to put nuts in the food. The suggestion of a list of things you knew she can eat and go from there. I would also have a very detailed and specific request written in french and make sure they knew that she could go into shock and expire in their establishment. Dramatic yes, but they will take it seriously, and hopefully not serve her anything that could kill her. Another thougth would be to possibly pack some snacks that she can eat, just in case. Better safe than sorry. Also, if you do translate have a person do it, not a translator program on the internet. Your translation needs to exact and correct. If you have a college or university in your area, they probably have a French dept. who could help you with this task. Good luck and have a wonderful and safe trip.

Thank you all so much for your help. We have almost lost her several times to peanuts here at home and the thought of travel to a foreign speaking country is a terror to me but we want to go as a family this time. Hanl, thank you for your offer to translate the message for me. If you would like contact me at my e-mail address above and we can &quot;talk&quot; about the message. It is hard to live with the fear that food can kill you but live goes on.

I don't think it's rude. And anyway, I would very strongly recommand you to bring this note. And I would use a note which makes *very* clear that it's a *serious* issue. There are way too much people who don't take allergies seriously (they imagine that the allergic person is going to have a couple of pimples on the following day, not that they'll have to call the emergency services in the middle of the meal).<BR><BR> So be extremely clear in this note about what your daughter is allergic to, and about the possible consequences. Make sure that the waiter/shopkeeper will actually check the ingredients of the dish/pastry, etc...I know first hand (more exactly second hand, since it was my former gf who was strongly allergic) that these people don't care much, sometimes.<BR><BR>Finally, I would add that the word for &quot;peanuts&quot; in french is &quot;cacahouette&quot; but that for some reason peanut oil is called huile (oil) d'arachide. And though it should be common knowledge, a lot of people don't know that &quot;arachide&quot; oil comes from &quot;cacahouettes&quot;. And though peanuts are very uncommon in french cuisine, peanuts oil is very frequently used. So, make sure that your note mentions both words.<BR><BR>Seriously, I wouldn't even consider for an instant whether or not showing a note is rude when the alternative is to have your daughter visiting the emergency services. It's already difficult to get the point through when you're explaining the issue in your own language, so don't even try in mangled french or rely on the waiter's knowledge (or lack thereof) of the english language.

And by the way, allergy to peanuts is extremely rare in France (I assume its prevalence in the US is a consequence of children eating so much peanut butter at a very young age), which won't help, either.

By the way, you can send me a copy of the text of your note, if you want me to double or triple check it.<BR><BR>My e-mail adress is just above. Notice the two &quot;oo&quot; in clairoobscur. If your e-mail is bounced, try again later. That's because I seldom read it, and it tends to be quickly filled to maximum capacity by junk mail. I'll try to read/clean it later today.<BR><BR>Or just post the note here, so that several posters could give their opinion.

Agree with the above posters. I would suggest you print the note on an index card and laminate it. Have your doctor sign and stamp it. Even put your daughters picture. The more official it looks, the more attention it will get. Ask the waiter to show it to the chef, re cooking oil.<BR><BR>BTW, clairobscur, peanut is &quot;cacahu&egrave;te&quot;, not &quot;cacahouette&quot;. Hate to correct others' spelling but in this case I thought it appropriate :-)<BR>Can anyone confirm clairobscurs' assumption that there is a connection with the consumption of peanut butter? And if not, any other theories or ideas as to why this allergy is seemingly more prevalent in the US? Just wondering.