Tips for students and parents
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Travelling overseas for school-related trips or exchange programs can be an exciting and fulfilling experience. For students with food allergies, it requires careful planning to make sure they are safe when travelling overseas.
Here are some helpful tips for managing food allergy during an overseas school trip.
Planning
1. When enrolling in school – ask about overseas travel
It is never too early to start planning. Some schools have overseas trips as a compulsory part of the curriculum, often in year 9 or 10, and sometimes these trips are for a select group of students, such as a music or history tour. Find out what happens in the school and which countries they travel to. Remote, non-English speaking countries with poor health care may not be safe for your child with food allergy. Ask questions about how the school manages students with food allergy on these trips or if they have a program for students who are unable to go? If you do not feel confident with the school’s response, you may choose to send your child to a different school.
2. If enrolled in school and trip is announced – arrange a planning meeting
As soon as you are aware that there is a trip planned, arrange a face-to-face meeting with the school trip organiser. These trips require a lot of planning by the school, and it will usually start months in advance. Try to be involved from the start.
The ASCIA Travel Checklist can help you plan.
Sometimes schools plan an itinerary that is unsuitable for students with food allergy, but if they are made aware of this early enough, they may be able to make changes. For example, a stay in a remote village could be changed to a city stay, close to hospitals.
To make an informed decision about whether this trip will be safe for your child, you must know the details of the trip. Ask questions, such as:
Trip details
- Itinerary
- What countries will they be going to?
- How long is the trip?
- How many days in each place?
- How will they travel between places (for example private bus or public train)?
- Will they be in remote areas or in large cities?
- What airline are they flying? Different airlines have different policies regarding passengers with food allergy. For more see our Airline policy comparison.
- What type of accommodation (for example hotel, self-catering cabin, host family)?
- How far will they be from a hospital?
- What can the school tell you about the standard of healthcare in the country? We recommend you do your own research also.
- What is the plan for meals (for example, will meals be catered for or will they eat at restaurants)?
- Will there be refrigeration to store your own food?
- What are baggage limits? Your child will need to take safe snacks, and possibly meals from home.
Medication
- Student responsibility: it is likely that the student will be expected to carry their own adrenaline devices and ASCIA Action Plan. There may be times when students are unsupervised by staff so would be expected to give their own medication or get help. Discuss with the school.
- How many general use adrenaline devices will the school be taking and which staff will oversee these?
Staff and policies
- Has the school done a risk assessment for the trip? Ask if the school will share this with you.
- Is there a third-party provider involved or will there only be school staff on the trip?
- How many staff will be going and what allergy training have they had?
- What procedures will be in place if there is an emergency?
- What travel insurance does the school have? Is anaphylaxis covered? You may need your own travel insurance, making sure it includes anaphylaxis cover. For more information see our Checklist for travel insurance.
Staff training
Standard first aid training usually includes a small amount of information about anaphylaxis but is not as detailed as dedicated anaphylaxis training.
Recommendation:
All staff going on the trip should do anaphylaxis training, such as free ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training. There are also face to face anaphylaxis training options.
All staff going on the trip should do the free refresher ASCIA e-training course just before the trip.
Any staff responsible for preparing and serving food to students with food allergy complete the free All About Allergens e-training.
More information can be found at Allergy Aware.
For some students with food allergy, travel overseas may not be safe.
This is more likely with:
- multiple food allergy
- allergy to common foods such as milk (dairy) or wheat
- non-English-speaking countries
- remote places.
Consider options to make the trip possible.
Sometimes the parent or the school doesn’t feel comfortable with the student attending the trip. Consider the following options to make the trip possible:
- The student may attend only the part of the trip that takes place in a large city with access to suitable medical care, and leaves before the trip moves to a remote area.
- A parent could travel overseas and stay in accommodation nearby.
3. Follow up communication
If it is decided that the student will attend the trip, more communication, including meetings, will be required to follow up on details and planning. This will depend on the individual case. The student should also be involved in this communication as appropriate.
4. Final meeting
Before the trip there should be a final meeting between the school, parent(s) and the student. At this meeting the final details will be confirmed to make sure that everyone understands the plan for keeping the student safe such as
- Where will the student be carrying the adrenaline devices and ASCIA Action Plan? (For example, backpack, bum bag, handbag)?
- Which teacher should the student speak to about their allergy questions?
- Which teacher will carry the general use adrenaline device(s)?
- Who will have copies of allergy travel documents and travel insurance?
- Who will speak with restaurant or café staff about the student’s food allergies? Will it be staff or the student or both? Who will give wait staff the A&AA chef card?
- What is the emergency response plan? What is the plan if the student has an allergic reaction? For example:
- Who should the student tell if they are feeling unwell?
- Who has the emergency phone number programmed in their phone?
- Who has the translated phrases stored on their phone or printed out and kept with them?
- Which teacher will follow the ASCIA Action Plan and give adrenaline? The student may be too unwell or too frightened to give it themself.
- Which teacher will go with the student to the hospital?
Packing
Carry-on bag
- Allergy documentation (see below)
- Adrenaline devices
- Other medication (such as antihistamines, asthma treatment)
- Meals and snacks
- If food needs to be kept cold, use ice bricks that are smaller than 100ml so they will pass through security. Remember not to pack foods in liquid form (such as soup) as any liquid >100ml is not allowed on the plane. Read more at Food for long flights with allergies.
- Phone charger power pack
Checked bag
- Snacks to eat at the destination: check the customs laws for the country you are going to for any restrictions.
- Dehydrated meals to eat at destination: can be helpful to have if there are no safe options available. These meals will also have to comply with customs laws. Read more at Dehydrated food for food allergies.
- Consider packing some food in a friend’s bag, in case yours goes missing.
When on the trip
The student will need to take some responsibility for their allergy
You will need to work with the student as well as the school to prepare them for the trip. They will need to understand what they are responsible for, what they need to do to reduce risk, and what to do if they have an allergic reaction. Advice and preparation should include:
Carry your documentation with you in your carry-on bag or daypack
- ASCIA Action Plan
- ASCIA Travel Plan
- Doctor’s Letter
- Chef Card – English or Translated
- Translated Phrases
- Translated First Aid Plan
- Travel Insurance Details: Keep your policy details and the emergency contact number with you.
Plane trips
- Do not eat plane food: Take your own food to eat on the plane, even if the airline says they can provide a safe meal. It is not worth the risk.
- Keep your adrenaline devices with you: These must be kept in your carry-on luggage and stored in the seat pocket or under the seat in front of you, not in the overhead locker. Make sure you don’t leave your devices in the seat pocket when you exit the plane.
- Read more tips at Air travel with food allergy.
Dining out
Note that if you rarely eat out at home because of food allergy, it may be unreasonable to expect the student to be comfortable eating out when overseas. Prepare the student by eating out before the trip and getting them to discuss their allergy and give the chef card to wait staff, rather than parents always managing the allergy at restaurants.
- Research food customs: Learn about typical foods in the destination country and how allergens might be used or hidden in dishes. Some ingredients might be labelled differently, so it is important to understand local terminology and local rules about food labelling.
- Use translated Chef Cards: Carry chef cards with your allergy information translated into the local language. These can be shown in restaurants to communicate clearly about the allergy.
- Ask detailed questions: When eating out, ask about how food is prepared and whether it contains any allergens. Make sure there’s no cross contamination in the kitchen.
- If possible, choose an allergy aware restaurant: some restaurants have an allergen matrix which shows which meals contain allergens.
Bring snacks and supplies
- Pack food: Always bring non-perishable snacks that you have eaten before for when you’re uncertain about available food options. Examples include muesli bars, crackers or crisps. Dehydrated meals can be useful and are easy to eat on the plane.
- Check customs information: Some countries do not allow certain foods to enter the country, such as meat or fish. Consider this when preparing dehydrated meals.
- Medication: Pack at least 2 adrenaline devices, as well as antihistamines, and any other prescribed medication. Make sure they will not expire while you are away. Keep them in your carry-on luggage along with your ASCIA Action Plan and have them with you everywhere you go.
Stay educated on local emergency procedures
- Know the local emergency number: Remember the emergency contact number for medical services in the destination country and put it in your phone.
- Local medical support: Know where the nearest medical centre or hospital is located.
- Translated phrases: Make sure you have common phrases such as ‘Please call an ambulance’ translated and stored on your phone as well as printed out and kept with your adrenaline device. A&AA has translated phrases in 21 languages.
Speak up for yourself
- Be confident in speaking up for your safety: Ask about food ingredients and cooking methods, especially if you’re unsure about something. You should feel comfortable speaking up, even if a teacher thinks something is okay.
Stay calm and prepared
- Stay calm during a reaction: In case of an allergic reaction, remain as calm as possible. Tell someone as soon as you think you are having an allergic reaction. Lay flat and follow your ASCIA Action Plan.
With proper preparation and awareness, most students with food allergy can enjoy their overseas school trips with confidence, reducing the risk of reactions while experiencing new cultures and learning opportunities.
Every student with food allergy is different. It is important to speak to the student with food allergy about their wishes. Sometimes they are keen to travel but then the reality of what will be involved and how difficult it will be means they decide against it. Often parents feel sad and frustrated that their child is missing out. Parents need to advocate for their child with the school. In some cases, this will mean explaining to the school why their child with food allergy should not attend an overseas trip and in other cases it means lots of planning to make it possible for their child to attend.
Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia has found that open, honest and respectful communication between student, parents and the school is important. If you need advice about an overseas school trip, please call us on the National Allergy Helpline 1300 728 000.
How the family can prepare for the trip
Find out:
- Does the school travel insurance cover anaphylaxis?
- What type of food is eaten in the country you are going to?
- What is the healthcare system like?
- What food can you take into the country through customs?
- What is the emergency phone number?
- What language is spoken?
- Get translated phrases and chef card and first aid plan in the appropriate language.
- What translation apps to use for food labels on packaged food?
- What is the best mobile phone plan to make sure the student will be able to call for help if needed?
- What power pack or charger will they take to ensure phone is always charged?
Practice and learn:
- Student/family to educate at least one friend also going on the trip so they can help prevent or manage an allergic reaction.
- Student and friend should do free ASCIA e-training for community.
- Student and friend should practice with adrenaline trainer device.
- Student and friend should watch short (2 minute) animation videos about anaphylaxis management.
- Student and friend should know how to read food labels for allergy.
- Student and friend should decide what translation app they will use for translating food labels.
- Friend should also know where adrenaline device and ASCIA Action Plan are kept.
If eating out as a family before going on the trip, have your child (rather than you) talk with food service staff about their food allergy and use the Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia chef card.