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Hi all, my 14 month old has severely hypersensitive milk and soy allergy (enteropathy). Secondary transfer is a huge issue. Has anyone heard of a daycare provider in the Kanata area that is providing a completely milk and soy free daycare environment? OR- we would love to find a nanny that could come into our home- any suggestions?
If coming into contact itself with milk is an issue then no group care situation is going to work because after drinking milk at meals or before coming to care young children drool, etc. and then touch things so there will constantly be transfer.
There are several allergy support groups in Ottawa that might be able to give you ideas or even offer care. Your best bet is going to be a nanny into your home I would think where you can provide the food for both the child and the nanny so nothing from outside comes in.
For a home daycare I would contact some of the agencies to see if they have anyone listed on their roster anywhere in the city - it may mean a drive out of area - that fits your needs.
Soy would still likely be an issue but another avenue to look at is someone offering a pure vegan home where milk and eggs is not eaten. However soy often is used as a substitute so that would have to be looked into but it would solve half the problem.
Hi Andrew, I don't know if you are still looking for daycare. We are in the same position - looking for daycare for our milk-allergic daughter who reacts on contact. We haven't been successful but I was wondering if you have. I would even move to Kanata for a reliable daycare!
I'm not in your area but I have a little boy in my daycare with a milk allergy and I had a little girl in my care with a nut/peanut allergy a few years ago. There are definitely daycares like mine who are willing to accept children with allergies so make sure you post it in your ad and you will find someone. It may be necessary for you to provide specialty food, which is something I insist upon, just because of the extra costs. Good luck!
Please send me a private message if you are a daycare provider, or if you have a reference for a daycare that can accommodate my child. I think I am looking for the impossible...a milk-free daycare, or a vegan daycare. I don't see how else it could work for my milk-allergic kid who reacts on contact to milk residue on toys and surfaces. I live in Orleans but I would consider anywhere in Ottawa. Thanks in advance!
What kind of reaction does she have in the sense is it something considered life threatening or just something annoying she may have to learn to put up with. I know that sounds bad but it may be something that you won't be able to protect her from coming into contact with unless you go the nanny route. Is she expected to outgrow the reaction. I have had kids that would break out in a rash on their hands when touching certain things but that is as far as it went. The rash would go away over the next hour or two. With one child it was milk - she would eat cereal that had been dipped in milk - ie just enough milk added and left to coat the cereal and soften but not make it soggy. For awhile she was fine but over the next couple months she started getting a rash on her hands when doing this. She was tested for allergies and it all came up negative. Doctor said it was just the sensitivity degree of her skin and not to worry about it because the rest of her body wasn't having a reaction. She outgrew it. Not saying that applies to your child but always nice when a child does outgrow an allergy and you don't need to worry about it anymore. How much contact does your child need before they have a reaction? Are you sure that accidental contact from saliva for example is an issue or just milk direct? Would a daycare where the children eat only at the table, washed after be ok?
She was diagnosed with a milk allergy following a scratch test. When we sent her to daycare she got multiple hives on her face and hands. She also touched her eyes and her eyes swelled up. This was from touching and playing with toys. She was not in the vicinity of any milk products and she was not in the daycare during mealtime. The swelling and hives went down after a few hours and with some benadryl. It did not require the use of an Epipen but obviously it was more than a simple annoyance. Getting one or two hives is ok, but I can't send my child to a daycare where she will have swelling and hives the entire stay, and it may worsen eventually or become fatal potentially.
She will be re-tested every year and her allergy may go away but for now we have to assume that she still has this allergy. We are going to go the nanny route if we don't find a vegan or milk-free daycare.
Another option might be to tap into the homeschool community in your area. A lot of families that choose to homeschool also have very definite ideas on the type of lifestyle they want for their family and you might find one there that could accomodate the allergy as well as care for your child throughout the primary grades at least and school her if the allergy does not go away. That way she would be more able to take care of herself and know what to touch and not touch.
The nanny route does seem like a good way to start too. Then you can bring other children in to play with your daughter instead of her having to go out.
That was going to be my question .... What happens when she goes to school? All schools have milk programs.
There is a provider in kanata that days she offer vegan alternatives but it also says she offers milk.
When she is older, we can teach her to wash her hands, not to put things in her mouth, not to share her food or snacks with others, and so on. In school, she will not have to share her toys with teething and drooling babies. In addition, in case of a reaction, as she gets older she will be able verbalize any symptoms, and right now she can't. Obviously we will still need to work with the school to minimize exposure but our concern right now immediate, and finding care is difficult to say the least.