<p>My son has peanut allergies of the highest level. It means at the slightest exposure he can go into analaptic shock and die. Since he was an infant, when this allergy was discovered , we carried epi pens at all times. There is always half a dozen of these things around the house, on him, in school. </p>
<p>The scariest time was when he first went off to college. At the last consultation before he left his allergist told us a boy he took care of since he was a baby, went off to college, ate some contaminated food at a party and died. I didn’t know if he was trying to scare my son to be more vigilant. As a result we canceled any plans we had for him to spend a year in China, where peanuts are often used in food. </p>
<p>Many years ago there was a horrific case, where a girl with severe allergies died after exposure at camp. Every measure was used to tried to save her. Epi-pens only work for 15-30 minutes, the camp counselors tried a tracheotomy, by the time the child arrived at the hospital it was too late. </p>
<p>For people with peanut allergies, it is often very serious and life threatening. The last time we checked there is no treatment to alleviate this allergy, my son can’t take allergy shots like we can for hay fever.</p>
<p>My daughter was 2 when she would announce to the world that “I lergic to peanuts.” When a friend would serve pizza to the kids for lunch, my daughter would make her announcement; no matter what food or drink was handed to her, she would tell everyone she was allergic. I had creative a monster, but at least she was aware. Our biggest problem was cross contamination; the mother that would be so kind as to make sugar cookies, on the same baking sheet as the peanut butter cookies she has made just moments before!</p>
<p>We do keep peanuts and peanut butter in the house, but we are careful with it and do not eat it when my daughter is around.</p>
<p>My preschool class is peanut-free. One child is allergic to peanuts (we carry the EpiPen every where we go) and another child is not allergic but has a brother who is so severely allergic that any traces of nuts little brother took home on him could affect big brother.</p>
<p>All the children bring their lunches fr. home daily. We have had a few Moms complain that “peanut butter is all my kid will eat”. I have to read the contents of all the snacks we serve them very carefully. I have been amazed at all the foods that contain peanut products or are produced on machines that also process peanut products.</p>
<p>The one kid has a t-shirt with a SuperMan symbol on it that says “Peanuts are my Kryptonite”…gotta love it.</p>
<p>Helenback, we all need a certain level of trust to go out in the world. We have to trust that we are with safe drivers, that a car won’t hit us as we cross the street, that a peanut will not show up in my daughter’s food. My peanut allergic daughter went on overseas exchanges (though in countries where peanuts are not widely eaten) and is living at college without difficulty. She has learned to be careful, to carry her epi pens and benedryl. As with all the letting go in parenting, you prepare, make them learn to take care of themselves, give them tools, cross your fingers and send them out. </p>
<p>Regarding hysteria though-I was on a plane at one point, and prior to take off, an announcement was made that a severely peanut allergic individual was on board. We were expected to give up any peanut containing products to the flight attendant as they walked through the plane. I had missed the announcement at the gate prior to boarding. Knowing more about this than the flight crew, I kept my peanut containing snacks zipped in the carryon-no way did I want the flight attendant carrying them through the plane!</p>
<p>My son is nut-allergic, but (apparently) not as exquisitely allergic as some people. We’ve taken what we consider sensible precautions, but I have to say that I’m troubled by the number of people who don’t seem to believe that these allergies are real or really life-threatening. We find that we often have to probe to find out whether food has nuts (and you really have to be clear on what “has nuts” means). Restaurants are generally pretty good about it these days, but there are some cuisines where it’s just too risky (i.e., Vietnamese). I am certain that there are people who overreact, but perhaps they’re needed to balance the people who just don’t get it.</p>
<p>I remember reading about desensitization training for peanut allergies that has been successful at treating severe peanut allergies. There is hope for the future!</p>
<p>It certainly is a pain in the neck when your child comes home with notification that his environment is going nut free. But much, much more stressful for the family with the child with allergies</p>
<p>Do be aware that even with the announcements, warnings, information and cooperation from the school/camp/families, it still is on the shoulders of the child and parent that the allergens are avoided. </p>
<p>We went to a scout camp one year where one of the kids on our site had a nut allergy. Despite all of the warnings and my diligence in complying with the nut ban, to my horror, I brought in a bag of cookies with nuts in them. I just was not thinking. While at the camp, one of the other sites had extra stuff that one of the moms whom I knew gave to me to bring to our site. I just completely forgot about the nut ban at the time, and took the cookies back with me, munching on one as I walked along. To my horror, the cookies had nuts in them! Just a total brain freeze on my part. This is the sort of thing families with kids with such allergies have to endure. When it comes down to it, they have to be the one on point all of the time, even with folks like me who want to be compliant and as helpful as I can. We just are not programmed that way, and it does take effort, and we make mistakes.</p>
<p>I went through this sort of thing myself with one of my kids. He underwent chemotherapy as a kindergardener. He stayed out of school for the worst of it, but it is a 2-3 year process, and he was still immune suppressed to a degree when he returned. Though the school and other parents/kids were very cooperative with us, bent over backwards, the responsibility was on us. He had to learn to stay away from kids who had cold symptoms, keep his hands from his mouth, wash his hands diligently. We had to just hope that we were told of exposure to chicken pox, live vaccine innoculations, etc. </p>
<p>When you have a child who has medical issues, it is a balancing act as to how much of “normal” life you can have. My first reaction upon my child’s diagnosis was to literally keep him in a plastic room in one of those suits. But they want to live a normal life too. It truly is something that you have to balance, and often take risks. As my son was very young, it was not so much of an issue as it was pretty much our (H and my) decision, but with older kids, they have a say too. As he got older, he had his own agenda, and much of it ran against the advice of the doctors. He wanted to play contact sports and was not big on running to the doctors upon certain symptoms. Did not tell me about such things as he didn’t want to deal with my way of handling them. Now he is in college, and I just pray he is careful.</p>
<p>cpt. don’t feel bad about forgetting; my daughter has had a severe peanut allergy since she was 10 months old. I have been known to offer her a sip of my diet coke shortly after having a peanut butter sandwich. Or I will bring home cookies, only to have her tell me she can’t have them. This is my own child, I should know better!</p>
<p>I completely agree with this statement. I never went to camp as a child and I don’t feel that I am lacking in life experiences because of it. Sure, camp is fun, but is it worth risking your child’s life? My younger sister is severely allergic to dairy and NEVER in a million years would my parents have EVER let her go off to camp. It even took them a very long time to get comfortable allowing her to stay the night at a friend’s house. The bottom line is that other people who are unfamiliar with food allergies and do not have it drilled into their brains cannot be trusted to protect the life of your child who is still too young to fully know how to protect it themselves. Day-to-day unavoidable experiences like school are one thing, but KNOWINGLY putting your child with severe allergies in a dangerous situation like camp is something that I will never understand.</p>
<p>So if one has a severe food allergy, one should live in a glass bubble? My daughter went to sleep away camp every year from the age of 8 and not the same camp every year. She knew how to handle her peanut allergy and I did speak to people at the camp before she went. When she was younger, she had an epipen with her at all times as well as several around camp. Even in college, besides the one in her purse, her friends knew where the extras were. My daughter was well away of the dangers around her, and could take care of her self. Like I said above, her biggest problems were with cross contamination. </p>
<p>Would you suggest a diabetic never go to camp, or a child with other allergies or diseases? Self education is the key; then you share your knowledge.</p>
<p>snowball,
I have no problem with a peanut-allergic child going away to camp if the parent is 100% confident that the child can self administer the epi-pen when needed, and the injection will work. I am not fully informed about peanut allergies, and my impression from reading this thread is that the parents of affected children expect others to be responsible for their childrens safety, and are affronted by those who are not conscientious enough. This is where I have a problem with parents sending their kids away to camp with a life-threatening condition.</p>
<p>My sister is a Type 1 diabetic, and my parents sent her to overnight camp specifically for diabetic children every year.</p>
<p>^I agree with your point that it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of our child but just want to let you know, we were told (thankfully never had the occasion to find out) epi pens are only effective for about 15-30 minutes per dose. That means the airways close up again after that time. In a situation where a hospital is far away, the child may never make it.</p>
<p>No. There is a big difference between “living in a glass bubble” and not taking unnecessary risks. </p>
<p>For example, there is a Thai restaurant near campus that all my friends love. Every time they go, they ask me to come, and while it makes me sad to stay back and eat by myself when everyone else is going out, I wouldn’t go to that restaurant knowing that nearly every dish has peanuts. So I tell them I can’t go, rather than taking the risk…sure, they know about my allergies and could take me to the hospital if anything happened, but is the experience really worth that? That is how I feel about camp as well.</p>
<p>I’m not judging you for sending your daughter off to camp, because I don’t know the details of the situation. But many camps are in the middle of nowhere, and like munchkin mentioned, the epi-pen only works for so long. It’s not a substitute for being taken to the hospital, it will just keep you from dying in the meantime. I would never feel comfortable sending my young child with severe allergies ANYWHERE by herself where there was not a hospital 5-10 minutes away and I could not guarantee myself that she would get there in time. This is a life or death situation.</p>
<p>Again, I am only speaking from the experience of having severe allergies myself and having younger siblings with severe allergies, so the perspective might be different as a parent without allergies. I know it’s terrifying to see your child having a reaction, but the only thing scarier is having a reaction yourself - something I’ve experienced, and the reason I would never unnecessarily put my child into a situation where that could happen.</p>
<p>Again, please don’t think I’m judging you for your actions, because like I said, I don’t know the details - I just wanted to express why I feel that way.</p>
<p>It depends on the camp and the age of the child. There is a point in time when it really comes down to the kid, and better the transition is made before the parent cannot be involved. There are camps for kids who have medical issues and there are regular camps that are set up for kids that have some medical issues. As a parent of a child who had medical issues, I can tell you that I did not take those chances while he was in a high risk category. But then he went on a mountain climbing Outward Bound type trip for two weeks out in Montana, Wyoming, etc. No where near a hospital, and yes, it made me crazy with worry. Not something I would have permitted when he was a minor. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, when it comes right down to it, the responsibility and risks are on the parent and child affected. You just cannot count on others to keep you safe; you have to be on the lookout and know what to do. Also even in the safest situation, things can go wrong.</p>
<p>My daughter wanted to go to overnight camp but could not. We could not find a single camp that was willing to take her once they learned the extent of her allergies (she was allergic to more than just nuts). Just as well though, I probably would have been a nervous wreck if she had gone.</p>
<p>seican,
Sorry about your D’s challenges. I went to camp once as a pre-teen and hated it, never went again. Interestingly, all of my kids had the same experience. While I’m aware the many kids adore summer camp (like my sister did), none of us feels like we missed out on anything special by not returning.</p>
<p>Seriously, in the face of goodies not every child is trustworthy. I had a second grader this year who came to me and said he felt puffy. I looked at him and asked if he was allergic to something. “Chocolate and wheat” “What did you have for breakfast?” “A chocolate donut.” He went to the nurse, and the school went into lockdown until the ambulance had taken him off to the hospital. Yikes! He was fine, and his dad (who had recently taken full custody) was somewhat surprised, as he had thought his wife was just babying the boy, and exaggerating.</p>