One of the challenges we’ve faced with our food allergies is finding a safe and convenient way to transport our meds with us wherever we go. From shopping to school, to camping, hiking, bike riding, playing at parks, lakes, and even in fun in the snow…
Here’s what we take with us everywhere we go:
- 2 epinephrine auto-injectors
- 1 inhaler
- 1 spacer
- eye drops
- hand wipes
- antihistimines & pain meds
- our emergency action plan
- safe snacks
- something to keep the temperature of the meds (and sometimes food) regulated (not too hot or too cold)
When my son was younger, I was the primary carrier of all the above (along with everything else a mom must pack in the diaper bag for all of our adventurous outings). As my son has gotten older, we’ve taught him the importance of carrying his meds with him at all times, since he’s not always in the same place as I am!
Over the years, I’ve looked a lot for the perfect bag… something that could hold all of the items, but easily transition from one activity to the next. For a long time, I carried all the meds in a gallon-sized clear plastic zip-lock bag because it was the most compact way to keep everything together while moving it in and out of other bags. It would wear out quickly and I’d have to replace the bag often. Also, it wasn’t convenient to hang the “bag of meds” by the back door where we’d be reminded to grab them on the way out & I always had to find an additional bag suited to our outings to put the med bag in where it could stay protected and insulated. Sometimes the med bag got stuck inside of one bag for a specific outing, then left and forgotten when we went on to the next.
A few years ago, I finally found the bag I was looking for!
The insulated medical bag by Show Your Teal has been a perfectly loved solution for our family for the past 2 1/2 years! It has pockets and straps designed for everything, including an ice pack pocket and a clear window for the emergency action plan! The easy, quick-open design is perfect for emergencies and all of the velcro, zippers, strapping, etc are made of high-quality materials… after 2 1/2 years of daily use, they are still going strong and I don’t think they’ll ever wear out.
Not wearing out is important, because this bag will easily grow with my child. When he was small, I could either use the zipper-pull loops to create a back-pack style bag or just slip the med bag into the outer pocket of his school backpack, into my diaper bag or purse, etc. Now that he’s older, he likes to wear the bag over his shoulder. Even at age 9, it’s not too bulky and it will only fit better into his teen years.
The bag is neutral enough for a boy or girl but still stylish looking and the patches on the outside are customizable. I was actually worried about the removable patches at first, thinking they might fall off as I moved the bag in and out of other bags, but the velcro design is super tough and we’ve never had a single issue with this (we still put this bag inside of my son’s backpack on an almost daily basis for school and inside of many other bags when headed to the swimming pool, lake, or other summertime day trips).
My son & I love this bag so much, I’ve decided to partner with Show Your Teal to bring one to you! I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving away free bags to everyone who purchases an annual Chef Free Club subscription during food allergy awareness month in May (they even come with the branded high-quality shoulder strap)! The Chef Free Club (founded by myself and my son, Ashael) is a subscription box service designed to help parents raise healthy, confident kids, with food allergies or other special diet needs.
In each box, we provide:
- a detailed cooking tutorial and reward sticker
- a kid-friendly collectible kitchen tool
- 3 photo-assisted allergy friendly recipes (free from the top 9 allergens, artificial dyes, gluten, and animal products) with scannable shopping lists and ingredient suggestions
- themed educational activities and brain teasers (math, science, history, art, etc)
- surprise bonuses (allergy friendly treats, sample ingredients, coupons, etc)
This is an incredible, limited-time deal so don’t delay! Give your children everything they need to self-manage their food allergies with this bag and cooking club subscription in one! Subscribe here and enter the promo code FREEBAG to get your free insulated medical bag with your first month’s shipment. Offer valid 4/26/21 through 5/31/21.
