peanut allergies in schools

[CoyoteMagic]

I have had Anaphylatic reactions requiring endotracheal intubation and even a tracheotomy because some idiot I worked with couldn't get it through her thick head that I was allergic to rubberbands!! The was a big sign on my staff mailbox in red lettering. NO RUBBERBANDS This person would sort the mail, wrap a rubberband around it and then stick it in my mailbox no matter how many times she was told not to.

Is that asking too much?

 

[mom'sfolly]

I am frankly appalled at the number of people here who are willing to put a child's life at risk over peanut butter. Yes this one school may have gone to extremes, but most schools have a more balanced approach.

If my kid is allergic to bee stings, has a heart condition or is diabetic; other kid's behaviors don't endanger his/her life. If my kid has a peanut allergy, it might. My child has had children in his class who have tree nut and peanut allergies. The nurse has epi-pens for them. Yes it is a little more work for me to find non-nut snacks for my kid, but it certainly isn't difficult. It also isn't worth the risk, in my opinion, for me to send the wrong snacks to school. I don't want to hurt a child because of my stubborness or stupidity.

As for never having these kind of allergies before, little Johnny probably ended up dieing of some unknown allergic reaction before the problem was identified.

I've also known plenty of idiot adults who have done things like..."she's vegetarian, lets see if she can taste the chicken in this" or "I don't he really can't eat eggs, I'll just tell him the noodles don't have eggs".

 

[KristyHall]

mom'sfolly :

I am frankly appalled at the number of people here who are willing to put a child's life at risk over peanut butter. Yes this one school may have gone to extremes, but most schools have a more balanced approach.

If my kid is allergic to bee stings, has a heart condition or is diabetic; other kid's behaviors don't endanger his/her life. If my kid has a peanut allergy, it might. My child has had children in his class who have tree nut and peanut allergies. The nurse has epi-pens for them. Yes it is a little more work for me to find non-nut snacks for my kid, but it certainly isn't difficult. It also isn't worth the risk, in my opinion, for me to send the wrong snacks to school. I don't want to hurt a child because of my stubborness or stupidity.

As for never having these kind of allergies before, little Johnny probably ended up dieing of some unknown allergic reaction before the problem was identified.

I've also known plenty of idiot adults who have done things like..."she's vegetarian, lets see if she can taste the chicken in this" or "I don't he really can't eat eggs, I'll just tell him the noodles don't have eggs".

I am allergic to shellfish. When I was in college, I was with another student and we were having a luncheon. On dish had shellfish in it and another did not.
She dropped the serving spoon to the dish that did not and said " This one has shellfish in I hope no one has a shellfish allergy oh well too late now! as she dropped the serving spoon that had been used to serve the shell fish into the dish that had none.
I sat my plate down and looked at her and said "I have a shell fish allergy and now I have to go buy my lunch, thanks." She felt so bad she payed for my lunch.

Sometimes, when people don't have an allergy to something, they get the attitude of "As long as it doesn't affect me, who cares?" It really is a sad statement on how selfish some people can be that they are willing to put the lives of other people at risk so that they are not inconvenienced.​

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
No Im not saying that you cant tell which is worse than the other. What Im saying is you cant treat one kids allergy different than another kids because of your opinion one being worse than the other. Where ever you chose to draw the line there will be someone that thinks they should be on the other side of it. An thats a law suite that you cant win. It ends up being all or nothing...


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Yes odor is particles of gas released in to the air. But its not everything in a peanut. The protein in a peanut is what causes the reaction an it does not off gas. A study from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 2003 specifically examined those questions.
I know there are lots of people saying the smell gets them but the doctors say no. If the doctors cant get a reaction they can detect then assuming there is one at all it sure is not life threatening.

If someone is actually grinding lots of peanuts to put actual peanut dust in to the air it may be an issue but who does that at school?

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
No Im not saying that you cant tell which is worse than the other. What Im saying is you cant treat one kids allergy different than another kids because of your opinion one being worse than the other. Where ever you chose to draw the line there will be someone that thinks they should be on the other side of it. An thats a law suite that you cant win. It ends up being all or nothing...


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Yes odor is particles of gas released in to the air. But its not everything in a peanut. The protein in a peanut is what causes the reaction an it does not off gas. A study from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 2003 specifically examined those questions.
I know there are lots of people saying the smell gets them but the doctors say no. If the doctors cant get a reaction they can detect then assuming there is one at all it sure is not life threatening.

If someone is actually grinding lots of peanuts to put actual peanut dust in to the air it may be an issue but who does that at school?

From experience in other allergens, its not the actual allergen its the panic attack think OH MY G-D I AM GOING TO DIE BECAUSE THERE ARE (allergen) HERE!!

I had this (panic attacks because I was exposed to my allergens that do cause life threatening reactions) until I was further educated and now have not had to use a rescue inhaler or epi-pen in 5 years.

Try explain'n to a five year old that smelling PB is ok but eating it will kill you...

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

But that gets back to banning tomatoes an calone an nail polish an coleslaw an on an on. You have to ban all allergens or none

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
If someone was allergic to touching tomatoes they would have to accommodate-

I'm already allergic (but I don't have Anaphylaxis) to cologne/perfume and that seems to get by all the time... it IS against both schools' policy.
Repeat offenders are sent to wash at home and allowed to return.

The thing is my sister-in-law is -that- (Anaphylaxis) allergic to onions, yes public school had to accommodate her, the whole time as her allergy got worse.

These other allergies that cause Anaphylaxis are more rare and so less often in the media.

So if you take your child with a pediatrician or allergist note saying he/she is allergic to graphite and touching graphite would cause your child to have a Anaphylatic reaction, and your child attended public schools - you better believe that would be a pencil free classroom ...

It isn't about unequal enforcement its about realistically mitigating risk.

 

[WriterofWords]

It is impossible to ban all allergens, there are people allergic to every single food group, every medicine, every plant, somewhere. One may be allergic to tomatoes and one to lettuce. Do we ban tomatoes and lettuce from all school meals? No, we have parents educate their children and register them with the school so they can be provided a lunch that is safe for them. Do we tell all the students in the school they can't have lettuce and tomatoes no.
No one is trying to throw any kids under the bus here, but schools cannot control every food item brought in by kids, it's impossible. Parents send lunches they want their kids to eat; can we search every lunch? No, we can't, it's against the law. Do parents give their kids snacks and tell them to hide them in their backpack, pocket, whatever? Yes, they do, I've run into that so many times. We do not allow those energy drinks at school, especially an elementary school, but if the parent thinks it's ok for them to drink it they send it, tell them to hide it, and drink it outside at lunch. If we see it we take it away and call the parent and get told that they think it's ok and it doesn't matter if it's against the rules. So then their kids ends up eating in the classroom on detention for their parent breaking the rules.
There is no way for either side to win this argument, it's not going to happen. Live and let live and just be careful.


The one thing I ask of my parents is to stop telling their kids that "being on the grass will kill you!!!!!" (example!!) The kid has an allergy to grass and shouldn't get down and roll around in it during PE great, but don't scare these poor little kids so badly they cry during fire drills because they have to walk by the grass the parent has tried to terrify them into staying off of. It's like using the doctor to scare kids into behaving,,, "If you don't behave I'm going to take you to the doctor and he'll give you a shot!!" Then they can't understand why the kid gets hysterical in the doctor's office!

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Again in this school district if -touching- the allergen would cause the child to -stop breathing- there would be a table free from that food. I have personally seen it for peanuts/tree nuts, onions, and ... well there is also a gluten free table. The kids that need to eat at these tables do so, there are so few 'allowed' food times except lunch that those kids classrooms are also peanut/onion/tree nut free. (I don't thing the gluten free kids get to exclude gluten from everyone else as its not the same type of allergy.)

Edit: dropped a parenthesis New info after this:

http://www.medicinenet.com/food_allergy/article.htm

also the difference medically between intolerance and allergy is very important.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I don't think it is unreasonable if touching or smelling the peanut can cause an attack so extreme it can kill a child. But only if it can cause such an extreme attack.

You cant do that. You cant dictate one allergy as being bad enough an another no. I have yet to see proof of anyone having an allergy so bad the smell of peanuts sets it off.

A rash may occur where the skin is touched by peanut butter but a dangerous reaction will not result
unless the peanut butter enters the mouth, nose, or eyes.
The rash will get better when washed with soap and water, and when Benadryl

is given.
Just smelling peanut butter will not cause an allergic reaction because there is no peanut protein
in an odor.
​

The child's medical professional should be used to determine the severity of the allergy. If his/her doctor says that the child neeeds to be in a specific-allergan-free environment to avoid the risk of anaphylactic shock, then that should be the determinator. In general, a parent, unless they are a medical professional, should not be the one diagnosing the severity. Certainly they are the one who initially communicates with the school, but most schools require doctor's notes for far less serious things" use of over-the-counter medicines at school, excuse from gym or other activities due to some medical condition, etc. For a serious condition, I would really EXPECT that there would be direct communication from the doctor to the school detailing the extent to which they need to make an allergen-free environment.