Please Don't Touch My Son

We've been told by my son's doctors that the severity of his reactions and the fact that he reacts to such trace amounts of the allergens is rare. To us it's the only way we've been aquainted with egg and milk allergies. Therefore, we naturally think of all the ways that trace amounts can find their way to our son's body and more specifically his mouth.

Like any parent of a baby knows, strangers always come up to touch babies. Whether they are giving them pats on the shoulder or touseling their hair people are always trying to show open effection to babies they don't even know. I used to think it was a weird quirk that strangers would come up to me and start touching my child...now I find it annoying and rude that they don't ask first.

In the beginning my husband and I didn't know how to deal with people touching him; should we say something, should we allow them to touch him and hold our tongues, should we ask if they've had anything with milk or eggs today? Eventually, we agreed that asking somebody if they had contact with milk or eggs was the best way to handle it. Of course we had to be quick on our toes and preemptively ask faster then they could reach out and pinch his cheeks. We've found that in general this works because people ask us why and usually after we explain that our son has a life threatening allergy most people either stop in their tracks and don't touch him or explain that they haven't had any of those things. The later group tend to continue their unwelcome touching. I honestly am more comfortable with the strangers that just back away from him and give him a smile...at least I don't have to still worry. However, with the people who say yes and continue where they left off I wonder if they did have contact and just didn't know it. After all milk and eggs are in so many things that people don't even realize.

I guess for right now we will continue to use this method until we feel we've found something more effective. Until them I'm just waiting for the day when people don't have the instinct to engage in physical contact with my child.