Food Allergies and Technology

Since my daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies just three and a half years ago, there have been so many GREAT advances in technology making our quest to live allergy-free much easier. The most obvious is the internet, but the number of beneficial websites/blogs has increased greatly! I have gleaned so much information from the internet - mostly from moms like me who have struggled with finding and implementing new foods that are safe for our families (and taste yummy!), or people who have already traveled this road and are helping the rest of us navigate our way to a more normal way of life.

Recently, however, I have been simply amazed at the info I have right at my fingertips anytime/anyplace! My cell phone is internet savvy and much like the iPhone (with all its applications, etc.). Not only can I instantly search the web for a particular restaurant's allergy menu when out and about, I have an application on my phone called 'Good Food'. It uses GPS and shows me on a map where I am and ALL of the restaurants I am near. I have used this numerous times and it has come in very handy. There are certain restaurants I KNOW are safe for my daughter to eat at so that application really helps me when we're traveling. Then, if there are no familiar restaurants nearby, I can use that app to get phone numbers for places I am near so that I can call them in an instant to find out about their food allergy policy. A friend told me that the iPhone has a Whole Foods Grocery app that might be helpful with finding foods that are allergy-free - so if you have an iPhone, you might want to check that out. (Thanks, Shannon!)

There are so many people dealing with food allergies these days and it has been very beneficial to me to read their blogs and websites. That's what I'm trying to do with my blog. I hope to help others who travel this path and be an encouragement to other mom's who find themselves struggling with this way of life. It isn't easy. It's sometimes scary. It's something that is always on my mind because it has to be. I cannot afford to let my guard down because my child's life is at risk. If I seem paranoid - it's because I am. I've witnessed severe allergic reactions and I'm quite sure that's the scariest thing I've ever witnessed in my {almost} 34 years of life. So, if this blog can encourage even one person, then I've accomplished my goal.

If there's any part of the allergic lifestyle that you'd like to hear more about, leave a comment and I will try to post on your topic.