Oral Food Challenge Necessities that Help Distract

Over the years, with close to twenty oral food challenges (OFC) under my son’s belt, we’ve had an established list of go-to items that we tote along to these appointments. The greatest source of stress (not including the prep and planning of the food for the actual challenge) has been finding strategies to keep my son occupied for the hours we have to sit in the clinic, while waiting and watching the clock at regular intervals.

Oral food challenge distractions

In our OFC bag, we often have several sources of distraction that are simple to carry, involve discussion and interaction, and an active (yet stationary) building activity. Almost all pretty inexpensive:

·      Books like Difficult Riddles for Smart Kids never disappoints, it sparks discussion about how to solve each question, comparing at times the many different creative ways to get to the same answer.

·      Legos – ‘nuff said, these speak for themselves, yet can get expensive.

·      Card games that strike up discussion like Over Under have provided hours of distraction, not only at OFC’s but waiting in the airport, at family holiday dinners, sitting in tunnel traffic trying to get out the the city after OFCs, etc; a great source of thought-provoking discussion.

·     The Stacking Chair Game has provided years of entertainment, for both young and old, and it’s different every time you play (and I’ll note can get quite competitive if you involve a stopwatch for bragging rights for who can build the highest tower in the least amount of time). It’s super compact, light and fun for all ages.

You also can’t forget to pack the food that the patient typically will be allowed to eat (with physician approval) after the OFC is complete. The patient has been restricting their diet for hours, so packing something filling, yet easy on the stomach is the goal. One new item that I’ll be sure to pack for my son’s upcoming appointments includes:

·     A new item, Sweet Loren’s breakfast biscuits, (not only for breakfast, but anytime) that are top-nine allergy-friendly, easy to transport, individually wrapped, and use ingredients that you can actually read and find in your own kitchen.

These appointments are long and stressful. We find ways to balance the demands of waiting and wondering as the OFC progresses with, I can’t lie, some electronics along with this list of necessities. I hope you’ll find some new options to add to your bag of OFC go-to items to make the appointment just a bit more bareable, and a positive experience. Hopefully you’ll end the OFC with the approval to begin to add a new item to your list of safe foods — We’re rooting for you :)