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Allergies & Special Diets

If you have children with special diets, moving to a foreign country can be quite daunting. Don't despair, Jakarta offers more than you think.

Children that require special diets can sometimes be more easily dealt with in Jakarta as you can afford to train your own cook to cook food from scratch. Many imported special dietary items are now available in supermarkets or speciality stores.

It is advisable however to stock up on products when you see them, especially if they have good expiry dates as sometimes stock will sell out and not be re-stocked for months.

Indonesian labeling laws are not as strict as other countries and some imported products use different packaging for Indonesia so ingredients become vague e.g. 'contains flavoring'. Check all labels and if in doubt avoid and find an alternative.

For those with severe allergies who require an epipen or epipen junior, you will need to stock up on these during your home trips. You may also want to stock up on medicines and creams while in your home country. A lot of medicines are available here for allergies but from experience the locally produced medicines are not as effective. On the other hand a lot of medicines are available without a prescription e.g. Ventolin inhalers and Ventolin Nebules for nebulisers. You can buy a nebuliser machine at most pharmacies if you want to have your own. It is recommended to buy a good air purifier for the children's bedroom.

When looking for schooling, ask lots of questions about children with allergies and their procedures. You will find the schools that are most aware have past or current students with allergies. Be prepared to teach the teachers about allergies if you find a school you like that doesn't have much awareness.

Eating out can be a challenge but restaurants don't seem to mind you bringing the child's own dinner or lunch box. Talk to the chef directly for ingredients of items as waiters often don't understand the importance of your request.

When traveling always pack a lunch or dinner box for children with food allergies. Some airlines will try hard to get special meals right but make sure you have snacks and food for them as back up. Singapore Airlines will ban peanuts on flights for all passengers if your child has a severe allergy. Just let them know in advance.

Allergy Testing

Allergy testing can be done in Singapore. It is quite expensive, though, so make sure you are covered with adequate health insurance.

Dr Lee Bee Wah
The Child Allergy Clinic
3 Mount Elizabeth, #11-11 Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Singapore 228510
Tel: +65 6736 0533
Fax: +65 6730 577
email: caclinic@singnet.com.sg

Websites for further information:

www.foodallergy.org
A wealth of information and updates on food allergies. It also has a page specifically designed for younger children helping them to understand the issues of having an allergy. This site also has extensive information on Anaphylaxis.

www.allergy.org.nz
Allergy support, education, information, and advocacy by Allergy New Zealand.

www.kidswithfoodallergies.org
An American based website with news, tips, recipes, message boards, free membership and newsletter. From the links area of this site you can access many other worldwide allergy sites.

www.allergicchild.com
Allergy information, links, books.

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