Food Allergies and Hand Washing

Bee's little system is so sensitive that even the slightest amount of an allergen can trigger a reaction for her.  This means that if someone handled a food that is an allergen for her and then touched her, her food, or something else she was to come into contact with, she could break out.  Therefore, we wash our hands frequently!

Our house is mostly allergen free to keep Bee safe.  Occasionally the other kids eat something which contains one of Bee's lesser allergens.  However, we keep that food separate and wash their hands afterwards.  So far we haven't had any problems.  

I had not given our obsessive hand washing much thought until the other day.  After snack time, during which Tiger and Curly had a snack bar that contained a small amount of soy, the kids jumped up from the table, threw their trash away, and rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands.  I didn't even prompt them.  They have certainly picked up on our hand washing trend-we wash after we eat!

Now when I remind them to wash their hands before they sit down to eat I get funny looks.  They seem oblivious to germs.  Their thinking is to wash off the allergens after they eat.  The other germs are not nearly as important in their eyes.