seminole88

From our research, it seems to be that most of the allergy related deaths each year (about 150 in the US annually) are teenagers. Some of very careful and something still gets by them, and others become nonchalant, just as @5yearscouter is seeing. I understand that some Scouters have seen 'fake allergies', for us and our children (we also have a younger daughter with the same type of severe food allergies) it is very real and very life threatening. I appreciate all of the advice and tips from people here on the board. We have considered trying the Peanut treatment in which they build up the immunity, however, it is still in the testing phase and there is also a medicinal school of thought which is testing to find out if exposure to allergens actually makes it worse in some people. Our son's allergic reactions have gotten worse with each reaction, so his doctors have now prescribed that he carry two epi-pens and administer both in the event of a reaction. I have gotten some great feedback so far on the boards, and while it is not easy (the only easy day was yesterday, right?), I am optimistic that we can work with our troop and the local Scout camp to take reasonable steps to allow him to fully participate in Scouting. Thanks, again for the helpful feedback.

I appreciate the feedback from everyone. While I understand the frustration of the Scouters who who have experienced 'made up allergies', I am dealing with the kind of kid that carries an epi-pen, that I have seen have reactions such as hives, wheezing, difficulty breathing, etc. dozens of times and have personally made numerous trips to the emergency room with. As some advice for all the Scouters who I get the feeling are tired of dealing with the fake allergies', I would treat each one as a serious allergy and have a sit down meeting with the Scout and the parents. They need to list the allergies, list the reactions, explain and show the treatment. If a parent can do all of this and the boy wears a medic-alert bracelet and carries a fanny pack with epi-pens, benadryl and emergency contact info, you can be sure that no one is 'faking it'. If they can't produce all of it, than perhaps you are dealing with a food intolerance (yes, onions give you gas) or a dislike of a specific food. Either way, you are ensuring the safety of the boy and making the parents accountable without you ending up in a bad situation for a real allergy 100 miles from the nearest hospital (which is the only place that can deal with anaphylaxis). Thanks again all.

I found this post looking for ideas and feedback on how we can transition our 11 year old from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. When our son was in Cubs, it was fairly easy to ask parents to not bring snacks with nuts, and very quickly, some of the boys became our son's advocate, telling their parents that their friend has allergies (our son has various levels of allergies - nut and shellfish are the epi-pen and hospital trip kind, soy, wheat, and others are less severe, but all in all add up to a mostly fruit and veggies diet). Now that he is entering Boy Scouts, we have been working with the leaders to come up with a reasonable plan for overnight camp-outs, and next year, how to handle back country and Scout camp. As a rule, people have become much more informed about Allergies over the last five years or so, and we rarely run into people who don't believe or want to challenge it. We just completed our first overnight with the troop, I attended and we brought our own food, so he can cook and eat with the troop, but safely. We are looking for ways to handle Scout camp next year and in the near future, a 50-miler. I appreciate the thoughts and feedback of everyone on the boards, and I am happy to share what we learn.