Is it too much of a stretch to say that food-allergy families have got the best tools for COVID-19? Many parts of our normal allergy-safe daily routines are now recommended as best practices with COVID. No one is perfect, but we’re finding out that there are those who know how to disinfect a surface properly and those who don’t. We’re not the ones trying to learn on the fly. It feels like the tables have turned, to some extent. For once, we have the information first. Anyone with food allergies in their family knows that washing your hands for a quick five seconds with minimal soap and cold water isn’t going to cut it. Washing our wrists, knuckles, palms, underneath our fingernails, and the webs of our hands with a generous helping of soap and warm water is a normal part of life. We wash our hands and wipe down surfaces when we arrive home from the supermarket, go to see a movie, and board a plane. We are conscious about not touching our face. We don’t lick our fingers to separate plastic bags at the store, and we don’t consider sitting down at a table in a public place before sweeping it for debris with napkins or sanitizing wipes. I heard on a podcast recently that some grocery store chains are reminding their customers to wash their fruits and vegetables over the intercom and in their promotional emails. I've always reminded my family that we don't know what the grocery store employees have consumed for lunch or if they thoroughly washed their hands before stocking not only fruits and vegetables but also cans and bags. We’ve always carried emergency injectors plus disinfectant wipes and sprays - you name it, we’ve got it. We’re well practiced at keeping ourselves at a safe distance from our allergens and those who are cluelessly smearing cheese residue from goldfish crackers all over the monkey bars at the playground. We’ve often called companies to ask about their cleaning procedures. We’ve always been cautious when receiving packages and touching terminals. It’s so deeply ingrained in us to ask about cross-contamination procedures that asking about COVID-19 safety checks is an easy next step. For the longest time, we’ve been considered paranoid; who could have guessed that we’d end up the ones with the know-how to keep our families safe during an unprecedented pandemic? The added stress and fear certainly can’t be counted as a plus. The uncertainty that surrounds our safety and the insecurity of the economy sure doesn’t make life easy. But (barring the virus), we’re taking more care of our physical and mental health, washing more thoroughly, supporting trust-worthy businesses, and seeing society as a whole moving towards a more healthful future. It's time to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!
