Be Prepared: The Car Kit

This is the last post in my Be Prepared for Winter (With Food Allergies) series.  Thanks for reading!

Where I live is very remote.  Many spots in our area have no cell phone coverage and houses are few and far between.  If I were to wreck or break down in one of those spots, I would either need to stay put and wait for a Good Samaritan to come help, or haul both kids on a fairly lengthy hike to find help.  I can only imagine how much fun that would be in bad weather!

So, I try to keep my car prepped with things that will make my life easier if things go wrong.  This can be the difference between panicking, or calmly handling an emergency!

Since Mama’s in general spend a lot of time in their cars, and no one can ever predict when a breakdown or accident will occur, it’s wise to be prepared for anything and any conditions.  This is especially important if you are a FAM.

Writing about the First Aid Kit, I discovered that there wasn’t much specific to a food-allergy child beyond special medications, so I listed off the needs of a basic first aid kit.  I’ve been trying to keep the focus of these posts on what a FAM needs to be prepared; but again, I find that with the Car Kit, there are only a handful of things needed beyond what you should carry at all times.

I found a terrific list of emergency car supplies at Consumer Reports.org, and recommend you check it out.

I’ll briefly highlight what they recommend, then return the focus to food allergy needs.

• Travel first aid kit
• Fire extinguisher
• Flashlight
• Flares
• Jumper Cables
• Tire changing equipment

For winter, add:

• Windshield scraper
• Small shovel
• Tire chains and tow strap
• Bag of cat litter
• Blanket(s)
• Gloves and hat (don’t forget spares for the kids!)

You may not need much more than that, but if you also live and drive in remote places, this is what I would add:

• Tool kit
• Brightly colored cloth
• Bottled water
• Emergency blankets (those thin silver ones)
• Instant heat packs

If you are a FAM, you’ll have to keep in mind that your kids will get hungry if you are stranded.  Even if you live in a city and are stranded at a gas station in relative warmth and comfort, you’re not likely to find safe foods there!  So be prepared.

Try to find snack foods, either canned or pre-packaged, that are safe for your kids.  If you can’t find any that fit that bill, then make snack foods that are safe for your kids, store them in your car, and rotate them out every week or two so you’ll always have fresh, safe foods on hand in any situation.

Things I’m considering adding are beef jerky and potato chips (I found a manufacturer that makes chips using only safe ingredients for us!!).  I will probably add dried cantaloupe and carrot chips for me to eat, as those are safe for Mr. Happy’s FPIES but not for Mr. Charm’s FructMal.  I’m still trying to come up with other snacks I can provide for Mr. Charm, because that child can eat beef jerky and potato chips in astonishing quantities!

Also make sure that you ALWAYS have safe benadryl and your Epi-pens with you at all times!  These things cannot usually be stored outside of a certain temperature range, so they probably cannot be kept in your car.  Get in the habit of always putting them in your purse or diaper bag when you head out of the house! (Like you weren’t already!)

Make sure you have plenty of bottled water; if you use compounded medicines, they often have to be mixed with water to administer.  Even if you don’t use compounded medicines, keeping hydrated is important.

This isn’t food allergy specific, but if you’re going to be stranded with kids in a car, you’ll want to have distractions handy.  Think about making a small plastic tub of coloring books, books to read, small art projects, and anything else you can think of that doesn’t take electricity or batteries and can keep your kids entertained for a good long while to leave in your car.

If you do get stranded, keep calm and remember what you need to do.  Stay in the car if you can, unless you can make it to shelter easily.  Tie brightly colored material on your antenna.  Make one trip to the trunk to get anything you will need so you don’t let warmth escape the car too often.  Huddle for body heat.  Bundle up!  Wear your hats and gloves, and make sure blankets are tucked in as tightly as possible.  Stay awake.  Don’t run your motor for heat non-stop; you’ll run out of gas and risk carbon monoxide poisoning.  Just run the car for about 10 minutes per hour.

On that note, it’s a good idea to always fill your gas tank up when it gets to half full (or more!).  This is good for two reasons: one, you won’t be as likely to run out of gas if you have to spend an extended time in your car and two, you’ll be less likely to get condensation in your gas tank this winter.

If you read the Consumer Reports link, and think about what your food allergy child will need if stranded away from home, I am confident any car crisis you’re faced with will be nothing more than a mild irritation this winter!

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I hope you’ve gotten something beneficial out of this series; I know that writing it helped get my mind prepared for what I need to get done.

With luck, none of us will NEED any of the things I’ve written about.  I hope, though, that if you do, you will have planned ahead and you and your family will weather the storm in comfort and confidence.

Now that you’ve planned for winter, relax and enjoy the upcoming Holidays!

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Did you miss a post?  Read the whole series:
Part I – Be Prepared: Power Outage
Part II – Be Prepared: Food Provisions
Part III – Be Prepared: Food Preparation
Part IV – Be Prepared: The First Aid Kit 

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This post has been shared with Allergy Free Wednesdays and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.