health talk:
Dining Dangers

hayley.eustace, 2010-05

Living in Shanghai with a food allergy is quite a struggle when you don’t speak the language. Restaurant food is a gamble, grocery packaging is unreliable and supermarkets selling allergen-free food are few and far between. For expats who suffer adverse reactions to Chinese cuisine, TALK sought out the support on offer in the city.

Having moved to Shanghai two and a half years ago, with two children allergic to dairy, nuts and gluten (to name but a few), Pamela Pour is no stranger to food allergies. Anxious about living abroad with her children, she searched online before she arrived for people in the city in similar situations and found Shanghai Food Allergies Support Group.

Dedicated to helping expats in Shanghai who suffer from food allergies, the group currently has 40 members who meet once a month. They discuss helpful supermarkets, family difficulties and share recipes with one another. “For me the best thing about the meetings is sharing experiences,” Pour says. “Every situation is different and you can use other people’s circumstances to learn more about your own. It’s nice to talk to people who don’t think you’re a crazy parent or over-exaggerating.”

Pour is now active in arranging meetings and her utmost concern is keeping her children safe. With help from the support group she managed to seek out peanut free schools, developed report with local cafés and learnt to order international food at supermarkets. But as Pour knows only too well, it’s not just meals you have to consider when you have children with food allergies. She explains, “It’s everything from vaccinations, medicines and toiletries.” Medication often contains gluten, and soaps can often irritate rashes caused by reactions. “The best thing to do is to inform yourself, especially when you cannot read packaging.” Pamela says, “I gather information from reliable sources and discuss it with a doctor I trust.”

It can be hard knowing which hospital to choose when you or your children suffer with food allergies, to help, the support group has doctors come and give presentations as guest speakers. One practice which Pamela recommends is Parkway Health, with medical centres around the city, they offer immediate reach and a 24-hour, nurse staffed hotline.

Dr Michi Baum is an ear, nose and throat specialist at Parkway Health at Gleneagles Medical and Surgical Center, Tomorrow Square, who deals with allergy sufferers who have symptoms in those areas. She says the most dangerous allergies to Shanghainese meals come from shellfish, shrimps and nuts. “The biggest problem with ordering Chinese food is that expats are unfamiliar with the dishes,” she explains. “You often cannot see the vegetables and are unsure of what is used in the sauces. Restaurant servers are also not always aware that chefs use certain ingredients.”

“The best way to recognise if someone has a food allergy is to look for symptoms,” says Dr Baum. “The most common is a rash or any kind of skin condition. Some people also experience itching in the mouth or swelling of the lips.”

Parkway Health offers a wealth of support to food allergy sufferers in Shanghai, providing medication, allergy testing and pharmaceutical tests, from doctors who are fluent in English. They sometimes encourage parents to carry out food sampling on children who have minor symptoms to familiarise them with foods. Dr Baum suggests the best way to carry out this process is by giving a child one drop to one spoonful (depending on the symptoms) of the food they are allergic to and increasing the quantity over several weeks until the child is tolerant. “It is not always effective but it works well with cow’s milk and milk products,” she says. “It only works with minor allergies and should never be used on anyone allergic to peanuts.” While support and advice is on hand at Parkway Health and minor reactions can be kept under control, Dr Baum believes there is only one simple remedy for serious sensitivities. “If you have a severe food allergy, simply don’t eat at restaurants and avoid eating out at all costs,” she says.

Web: www.parkwayhealth.cn, http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/shanghai_food_allergies

Useful Phrases

1. I am allergic to nuts / seafood / dairy.

我对花生/海鲜/牛奶过敏

Wo dui hua sheng/hai xian/niu nai guo min

2. My son / daughter is allergic to...

我的儿子/女儿对。。过敏

Wo de er zi/nu er dui… guo min

3. Would you mind heating this dish up for me?

您能帮助我热一下这个碟子吗？

Nin neng bang zhu wo re yi xia zhe ge die zi ma?

4. Does the sauce contain traces of nuts / seafood?