travelling with food allergies

[gigismom]

Hi everyone...

We are planning a trip this summer that will involve a domestic air flight to an area of the country where we will likely not have access to many of the foods that we eat regularily.  I have a few questions specifically about the flight..

do you think I need a note from the allergist to allow the epi pen and benadryl in my carry on?

How about snacks for the plane... can I bring food and drinks in my carry on?  maybe they have to be unopened and sealed?  I am thinking of bringing some fresh fruit and veggies to munch on the plane or maybe some raisens or other dried fruit.  We leave at 5am so the kids will be hungry on the plane.  I don't know if outside food is allowed but I will not trust anything they serve us.  We don't eat cookies and crackers and pretzels anyway and ds is IgE to all nuts and tree nuts (among others). 

I want to bring some foods in my checked baggage that I know I won't be able to get where we are going.  This should be fine right?  It will just be some canned foods to get us through the week... so non perishable. 

Any other advice for making this more doable?  I am travelling by myself with my 3 kids.  We are essentially on the GAPS diet and ds is IgE to nuts, tree nuts, soy, fish and eggs.  He has a medical id bracelet with this info on it as well as my cell phone number.  '

thanks for the input in advance

jen

[Momo123]

I'm no expert since I've only been on a plane once since DS was born, but we had no issues with the epipen. You are allowed to carry it onto the plane: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1374.shtm#4

I just put them in a clear plastic bag and pointed it out to the security officer but it was scanned with the other items going through security. I didn't carry the whole bottle of benadryl onboard (packed in luggage) but I put some in a smaller container for carryon and put it with the other liquids but medications are no problem for carryon (See below).

Yes, you can bring any type of food onto the plane (opened or unopened) so that should not be an issue. As for liquids, this link http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm says breastmilk/formula/food/medications can exceed the 3 oz rule, but I'm not sure about special milks/juices. I think you may have to pack those in the checked baggage. You can pack whatever food you want in your checked baggage, even fresh foods if you want since it's a domestic flight. Hope this helps... Have a safe and fun trip with your family!