Halloween is a little trickier for kids with allergies and asthma. Keep your kids safe when trick-or-treat with these precautions from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology:
Think twice before applying makeup : Some makeup ingredients cause allergic reactions, so consider an alternative if your child has eczema or other allergic skin condition. Choose a hypoallergenic alternative or maybe a no-makeup costume. (How about Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia?)
It’s not who’s behind the mask, but what’s inside the mask: A mask, especially one with a tight fit, is probably not a good idea for a child with asthma. You do not want to obstruct breathing.
How to treat the treat: Halloween, for all its fun, is a risk to kids with food allergies. Do not let your child eat any treats while going house-to-house. Bring some safe alternatives, then sort the safe/unsafe handouts when you get home.
What to bring: If your child has allergies, bring an EpiPen (epinephrine), any controller medications and a reliever inhaler in case of asthma symptoms.
If you’re not chaperoning your children’s trick-or-treating: Tell them to refuse any treat they know is not safe. That includes any candy with no label. Bring home all treats for closer inspection.
A Teal Halloween?: Becky Basalone, a Tennessee woman whose son suffers from anaphylactic food allergies, painted a pumpkin teal — the color for food allergy awareness — and left it on her doorstep on Halloween as she handed out non-edible treats like glow sticks. Food Allergy Research & Education adopted it in 2014 in a national campaign that urged safe alternatives for trick-or-treaters with food allergies. So let you neighbors know it’s safe this year with a teal pumpkin.
Top Children’s Costumes
More than 3 million children will dress this year on Halloween as their favorite action or superhero, 2.9 million will dress as their favorite princess and 2.5 million plan to dress as a cat, dog, bunny or other animal.
The National Retail Federation’s 2017 Halloween Consumer Top Kid’s Costumes Survey:
- Action/Superhero
- TIE: Batman character/Princess
- Animal (Cat, Dog, Lion, Monkey, etc.)
- Spiderman
- Star Wars character
- Witch
- TIE: Pirate/Marvel Superhero (excl. Spiderman)
- Disney princess
- Ghost
- Wonder Woman
In some cases, allergic reactions may require a visit to an urgent care center for treatment. For the most extreme cases, call to 9-1-1 or visit to the Emergency Department of your local hospital.