<p>I think you need to research a topic - or at least read the previous posts - before chiming in on a topic. Your post shows your gross ignorance of the topic to which you are referring.</p>
<p>There are many kids with allergies that are just as fatal as peanut allergies. My son was not lactose intolerant - he was allergic to the milk protien, and exposure to such would result in death. And, his allergy required the reading of every label for every derivative of milk AND soy. (BTW, 40% of those with milk allergies are also allergic to soy). Try reading labels and look for prepared foods without milk/soy or their derivatives!</p>
<p>As, I earlier stated, I never asked for ANY concession for my son’s milk allergy - it was his problem and ours to deal with. He did, unfortunately, miss parties and functions. He did “feel different”. A few of his friends missed much much more due. </p>
<p>But I have never understood why anyone would advocate for one group of children to be safe and feel more included - but not be concerned with the others? Like a peanut free classroom where everyone still enjoys their milk or pizza!</p>
<p>I never respond to posts like yours but I will just turn it around to you and say that you obviously did not read a thing I said, if that’s how you interpret me. Sorry you were offended.</p>
<p>What I think I said that is that life threatening allergies to other foods are more rare than peanut allergies, but for those kids who have them, every effort ought to be made to accomodate them to the same degree.</p>
<p>“I never respond to posts like yours…”
You just did.</p>
<p>“…you obviously did not read a thing I said, if that’s how you interpret me”</p>
<p>Oh, I did read what your wrote - and that writing included:</p>
<p>“I dont believe you can put peanut allergies in the same category as most other food allergies and I say this as someone whose child just had a true anaphylactic reaction to a food other than peanuts. That is because: 1)The large majority of all food allergy deaths are due to peanuts - fatal reactions to other types of foods are rare. 2) Peanut butter, unlike other foods is sticky and can be smeared on a table, a water fountain or transferred to a classroom or by the hands. While kids can have an anaphylactic response to other food products, it is rare for this to result from the mere touch or smell as can happen with peanuts- it generally has to be ingested and even then a fatal reaction is extremely rare. For these reasons, as well as the increasing prevalence of peanut allergies, I do think that peanuts are in a unique category and can’t be compared to other food allergies.”</p>
<p>This post illustrates your ignorance on the topic and reflects only your “personal and uneducated opinion”.</p>
<p>“But I have never understood why anyone would advocate for one group of children to be safe and feel more included - but not be concerned with the others? Like a peanut free classroom where everyone still enjoys their milk or pizza!”</p>
<p>I think it was partly my fault in the way I worded the initial question. I do apologize for that. It just came up in the specific instance as a peanut allergy, but it could have been any allergy. My own personal opinion is that communication is the key. At back to school meetings in individual classrooms, the parents of afflicted kids should explain the situation and ask for as much consideration as possible, but also leave themselves open to hear from other parents exactly what accommodations are not possible. If everyone knows where they stand, then coming up with a specific solution would be more likely.</p>
<p>“I think it was partly my fault in the way I worded the initial question.”</p>
<p>No, I understand why you phrased the initial post the way you did. But, the discussion had expanded to include other allergies. Often, until the subject arises - people don’t often think of all the other allergies/conditions that limit food substances. Actually, more dangerous than peanut allergies are latex allergies - and schools do not usually think of all the latex products and dust in the school.</p>
<p>As I had previously stated, I never asked for any concession for my son’s milk/soy allergies. So, this wasn’t an issue of my son getting or not getting special consideration. It was about “roske” making a unilateral decision that one allergy was more “dangerous” than another and then going on to post erroneous information in support of her uninformed opinion. </p>
<p>To do so is not just inconsiderate, it is extremely dangerous.</p>
<p>OK, let’s back up, then and I’m happy to discuss this with you in a fair way. What part of this do you not agree with? A fatal reaction to food IS rare, at around 150 deaths in this country per year. Of those, 50-100, or the largest majority is due to peanuts. It is the number of cases and <strong>the way anaphylaxis can occur by casual contact or inhalation</strong> that causes the level of vigilance to be raised for peanuts. That is NOT to say that there aren’t kids with serious and potentially deadly milk allergies. If you are the parent of such a child for whom the contact with milk on the skin can cause anaphylaxis, then for you it’s 100% and by all means you should be speaking up to your school district administrators. As far as the unintended <em>ingestion</em> of foods containing milk in a school or classroom setting that is kind of where I may have gotten twisted up, in that yes I understand that this is huge and yes, life threatening issue for you, me and others, and I never meant to imply otherwise. Again, sorry for any unintended offense - I know people tend to get very protective when they are talking about their own kids and an issue like this.</p>
<p>The mention of latex allergies brought up an issue that parents of children with alleries might not be aware of. The elastic bands that orthodontists use to move the teeth are make of latex. Latex-free alternatives are available. My 13-year-old son has life-threatening food allergies but is not allergic to latex, but it did not seem like a good idea for him to have latex bands in his mouth 24 hours a day for months! His allergist agreed, and the orthodontist ordered silicon bands.</p>
<p>This isn’t about my child or me getting “protective when they are talking about their own kids and an issue like this”. I was extremely vigilant about my son’s allegies and did not depend upon others to watch out for him. As a result, after my son’s first, nearly fatal episode, we avoided all exposure (except for challenge tests in the hospital) and had no life-threatening issues.</p>
<p>My criticism, therefore, is not about me or my son. It is about YOU deciding one allergen is more dangerous than another. In fact, the most common cause of anaphalaxis is insect venom - do we keep all the kids inside during insect season - what if one child goes out and an insect rides in on his/her clothes? As I previously mentioned, latex allergens are even more dangerous than peanut - and the powder from gloves, eraser rubbings, rubberbands, balls, gym mats etc. are everywhere in a school and dangerous to the children with latex allergies.</p>
<p>Of published research regarding analysis of deaths from food allergens - milk allergy was the most frequent cause of death.</p>
<p>In “challenge studies” fewer peanut allergic patients exhibited dangerous reactions than estimated based on “prick tests”. Even allergists believe the incidence of severe peanut allergic patients has been overstated - much seems to depend upon the “processing of the nuts”. Much severity is culturally based - some countries have different rates than others - and the US is a “melting pot”.</p>
<p>What I object to is your uninformed unilateral decision that some “allergens” are more severe or common and should be more protected than others.</p>
<p>Should the child with the life threatening latex allergy require all eraser rubbings, rubberbands, balls, gym mats etc. be removed?</p>
<p>I just think expecting that any environment can be kept completely safe for children with life threatening allergies is a fallacy. If I had a child who was in danger of dying from an airborn peanut allergen, for example, I think I would have to homeschool him. It makes no sense to impact every other child in a school for a single child’s serious allergy, and this is not to say that I am not wholly sympathetic to the difficulties the parents of such children face.</p>
<p>Here’s just one fast link, don’t have time to get to the others now. I minimizing or comparing one child’s situation versus another, but stating what schools have to deal with on a larger scale.</p>
<p>My son never had a bite/drop etc. of a food with any potential for cross contamination in it - from the time of his first reaction at the age of three months - exept when admitted to the hospital for “challenge tests”. When he was very young - I only gave him food I had made at home. As he got older, and bigger, I did use some prepared foods but I read every label - eliminating any food product with a milk or soy derivative. I also eliminated every product that stated it was made on equipment or in factories that could be contaminated. And, I read the label each time I purchased the product - and in different size packages - amazing how the ingredient list will change by size of package and date of manufacture. </p>
<p>I would never have trusted someone else to make decisions regarding my son’s health. Even those who told me there was no milk in the item - unless they had been educated - couldn’t possibly know all the milk/soy derivatives. </p>
<p>However, I know of many severly allergic children whose parents were not as diligent. Many told me to “loosen up”. They routinely rushed to the emergency room with reactions. </p>
<p>All of the allergists I consulted stated that each exposure to the allergen increases the severity of the reaction and lessens the chance that the child might develop resistance. </p>
<p>A good friend of mine’s son, also with a milk allergy, believed I overreacted - she didn’t feel the need to eliminate “derivatives”. Then one night int he emergency room, the allergist told her that her son needed so much epinephrine - that the “cure” almost killed him. He told her she had to be more diligent or her son would not live to see his next birthday. </p>
<p>I am a big believer in personal responsibility.</p>
Yep. I know someone with a milk allergy that causes anaphalytic shock, not hives. He was thankful when I read the label on a thing of Italian seasoning that I added to my home-made veggie sauce - thought that it had whey in it but it was something else. The derivatives are eveywhere and it’s very hard to completely eliminate them.</p>
<p>My daughter attended an elementary school -pre K to 8th grade where all peanut products were banned owing to two boys who were deathly allergic. It was our pleasure to accomodate these two boys. Weigh this-
My daughter’s desire for a peanut butter sandwich for lunch against these boys’ lives. The decision is simple. EAT THE PEANUT BUTTER AT HOME.
Additionally, an acquaintance lost her 9 year old son just two years ago from a peanut allergy. Yes, he died at school.<br>
Forgo the peanut butter -it won’t kill you.</p>
<p>Incrementally, true. In the aggregate, false.</p>
<p>Known allergens that can cause death are quite extensive. Should every child entirely eliminate all of those from their diets, they will not be healthy. No milk, no peanut butter, no soy, no refrigeration. How is a child to get protein? As a vegetarian, I derive most/all of my protein from milk, soy, and nuts. I’m sorry, but other kids have needs as well - like healthy lunches. </p>
<p>Not saying that I’m unsympathetic, but really - banning peanut products is overkill. Have the kids sit at special tables; wipe down the tables after the kids eat; teach them early to wash up after eating. The fact that some kids should not be exposed to peanuts does NOT mean that a complete ban is the correct solution.</p>
<p>I think that if a kid was so allergic that airborn food molecules caused anaphylaxis, it would be reasonable to ban that food. It is much more fair than isolating the child. What if we isolated every kid with a physical or learning disability who might disrupt the normal classroom? It will never happen. Therefore, I think if you have a airborn fatally allergic situation, the school would have to accomodate that child.</p>
<p>As I said before, if the problem is only ingestion of the offending food, even young children can be put in control of their own diet rather than expecting others to deal with the problem.</p>
<p>The point is, you simply cannot protect a child in a public place, like a school, completely from airborne allergens. It is a false sense of security and safety, for ANY parent to believe that their child will be safe, even if all peanut products are banned. A child could have had peanut butter for breakfast and not washed his hands before school. A parent may have made a sandwich on the same cutting board that the peanut free sandwich or baggie sits on. There are too many such possible scenarios and there is NO WAY for a school to monitor them all, even to monitor each and every lunch or snack in a school of hundreds of children.</p>
<p>I happen to agree with Ariesathena, as well, about the protein needs of vegetarians, since my daughter doesn’t eat chicken nuggets and hotdogs or any of the other foods that schools sell for lunch. So, she shouldn’t be allowed peanut butter or nutella (or raw nuts, which she eats too), which are her source of lunch protein? What should she eat? Bread and butter (not to mention the refridgeration issue)</p>
<p>One CANNOT safely or completely accommodate the airborn allergic child, and the needs of other children cannot be totally ignored either. Therein lie the problem with schools’ responses to allergies.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mean that other children should not be allowed to eat their PBJ’s. As an allergic person with non-allergic children, let me try to summarize my thoughts on the subject.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Allergic children (by ingestion of any offending food) need to take charge of their problem as early as they possibly can. This may include not sharing lunches, packing lunch, bringing safe snacks, recognizing early signs of allergy, etc. It’s a tough world out there and they need to learn how to protect themselves.</p></li>
<li><p>The school population should not be barred from eating any particular foods. </p></li>
<li><p>Children who are anaphylactic from inhaled allergens have the right to be protected somehow. Maybe this means tables free of the offending food, or a room that allows the food, or a room that disallows the food. It is the schools’ duty to find a solution for each INDIVIDUAL situation, just as they do for LD kids or handicapped kids. In very severe cases, maybe coping means that the parent needs to homeschool their child or the school district provides a tutor if they cannot adequately insure the child’s safety.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Honestly, while there are lots of food allergies from ingestion, the instances of reaction by inhalation are relatively few. In most cases, separating the tables in the cafeteria should be enough. </p>
<p>I’ve seen a number of food allergic students and they are generally very well educated on how to protect themselves from a very early age. Not only are they risk averse (no, they usually won’t try a new food) but other parents and classmates are ususally very understanding and willing to accomodate (sending in appropriate snacks, etc). Overall, I think the schools, parents and children handle the food allergy problem quite well. :)</p>