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Blizzpub » Mature Discussion » Peanut Allergy
My wife just called me upset... school called her about our pre-K son who just had a reaction to a peanut butter sandwich. We've given him peanuts before (and things I know contain peanuts), but this was his first full PB sandwich. The school gave him Benadryl and called it a "mild" reaction, but he's going to the Dr later today to get tested.
Anyone grow up dealing with something like this?
I'm allergic to every nut except peanuts (since they aren't nuts, but legumes). It's not that big a deal. If you say he's had peanuts before, it's possible the reaction was not to peanuts but to a contaminant of regular nuts in the PB sandwich. Or perhaps he ate something else that you are not informed about. Some allergists write things off very quickly as whatever the initial suspicion is. Make sure yours' isn't one of them.
Originally posted by: Pissingintowind
I'm allergic to every nut except peanuts (since they aren't nuts, but legumes). It's not that big a deal. If you say he's had peanuts before, it's possible the reaction was not to peanuts but to a contaminant of regular nuts in the PB sandwich. Or perhaps he ate something else that you are not informed about. Some allergists write things off very quickly as whatever the initial suspicion is. Make sure yours' isn't one of them.
She's on her way to get him now... Apparently it was a snack of PB spread on a pretzel or something like that. She'll get the facts when she gets there. She already spoke to our Ped who will take some blood for an allergy test.
This is one of those cases where googling really scares the shit out of you.
It's really not a big deal as long as you teach him not to eat stupid things. Especially in this age of medicine, the only major complications are when patients are unaware of their allergies.
Sometimes allergy genes dont 'activate' until you get older, which is kind of scary.
In all the parenting classes I had in school (public school in Mississippi, reasonable chance I would need such skills before graduating >.<), they told us not to feed peanuts, strawberries, or chocolate to kids under two because it increased their risk of developing allergies later. I don't know how reliable that is, but whatever. Your son will be fine. If his allergy gets worse (no matter if he's allergic to the peanuts or something else), they'll give him an epi pen to carry out all the time. Just make sure he does that, and you won't need to worry so much.
Ya I think he will be OK. I didn't have allergies growing up but one of my cousins had an allergy that when he ate chicken it caused his throat to swell and close up, which made life somewhat difficult as that is fairly serious as you may imagine. 
But my aunt and uncle just had to teach him to be careful what he ate and to make sure he knew what was in it first etc, and he is 30-something now with a family of his own. 
Originally posted by: Aeryx
Sometimes allergy genes dont 'activate' until you get older, which is kind of scary.
Yep very true. I went through my life up til all the way I was a junior in High School without being allergic to milk. Then later after getting a reaction to some cheese, I had myself tested again (last time I was tested was like 2 years before) and I found out I had developed a class 6 allergy to milk (in theory it could kill me). So now I'm stuck without milk, cheese, ice cream, and chocolate. 
Originally posted by: kenshin007
Originally posted by: Aeryx
Sometimes allergy genes dont 'activate' until you get older, which is kind of scary.
Yep very true. I went through my life up til all the way I was a junior in High School without being allergic to milk. Then later after getting a reaction to some cheese, I had myself tested again (last time I was tested was like 2 years before) and I found out I had developed a class 6 allergy to milk (in theory it could kill me). So now I'm stuck without milk, cheese, ice cream, and chocolate.
Oh wow thats terrible. I'd probably kill myself if I couldnt have ice cream, cheese or chocolate.
Originally posted by: Aeryx
Originally posted by: kenshin007
Originally posted by: Aeryx
Sometimes allergy genes dont 'activate' until you get older, which is kind of scary.
Yep very true. I went through my life up til all the way I was a junior in High School without being allergic to milk. Then later after getting a reaction to some cheese, I had myself tested again (last time I was tested was like 2 years before) and I found out I had developed a class 6 allergy to milk (in theory it could kill me). So now I'm stuck without milk, cheese, ice cream, and chocolate.
Oh wow thats terrible. I'd probably kill myself if I couldnt have ice cream, cheese or chocolate.
sursly
wtf no ice cream or cheese
Cheese would be the worst though, no more fucking pizza?! WTF kind of shit is that?
They served "logs with ants" - which apparently means pretzel sticks slathered with PB and sprinkled with raisins... He looks like the movie Mask because his eyes are still swollen. Sees an Allergist Thursday... Scary shit, but it looks like a somewhat mild reaction compared to what I've been reading about and his Ped said it can wait a few days.
Originally posted by: wc3kid
He looks like the movie Mask because his eyes are still swollen.
Thats actually worse than what I expected. He's definitely a lucky guy. I wonder if the person who served the snacks learned a lesson or at least feels bad.
Originally posted by: Killgore9998
Originally posted by: wc3kid
He looks like the movie Mask because his eyes are still swollen.
Thats actually worse than what I expected. He's definitely a lucky guy. I wonder if the person who served the snacks learned a lesson or at least feels bad.
What lesson would you have them learn? It is not the schools responsibility to know instinctively whether a child is allergic to a food, particularly one the parents didn't know either. Perhaps they should ensure they get permission before letting them eat anything? Clear every single food with the parents?
Basically, unless Mike or his wife had let them know beforehand, they're not at fault at all here. I don't see anything wrong with what they did, in fact, they should be commended for making sure the reaction didn't hurt him any further. Of course they'll feel bad, someone got sick from their lunch. But it wasn't their fault at all.
well, at least he isn't allergic to corn...my friend's dad is allergic to corn and baker's yeast, and it's a pretty serious annoyance since corn is in pretty much everything...try finding foods without corn syrup, corn oil (all canned goods have a fine layer of corn oil coating the inside of the can), corn, corn meal, etc....
it'll be a pain with fried foods if your son is allergic to peanuts though...but that might be for the best
Originally posted by: Dany
Basically, unless Mike or his wife had let them know beforehand, they're not at fault at all here. I don't see anything wrong with what they did, in fact, they should be commended for making sure the reaction didn't hurt him any further. Of course they'll feel bad, someone got sick from their lunch. But it wasn't their fault at all.
Agreed... the school acted appropriately and I'm very happy with how they dealt with it. We filled out many forms and had to show proof of vaccinations before he was enrolled. If we had identified any allergies I'm sure they would have been on top of it.
Originally posted by: Dany
What lesson would you have them learn? It is not the schools responsibility to know instinctively whether a child is allergic to a food, particularly one the parents didn't know either. Perhaps they should ensure they get permission before letting them eat anything? Clear every single food with the parents?
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the 3 single most common allergies among children are milk, eggs, and peanuts. Furthermore, in the vast majority of cases, allergies to milk and eggs will at worst give you indigestion and diarrhea. Having an allergy to peanuts however can commonly result in Angioedema, the swelling of the face in general, which is what wc3kid's son had, and Anaphylactic shock which can easily lead to death. Milk and eggs can cause that too though, and can easily be avoided by any pre-K school worth its salt. Serve juice instead of milk, and anything else instead of peanuts and eggs.
Literally, one of the single most dangerous foods you can give to a bunch of pre-K kids who are still growing and developing, including new allergies, is peanuts. I understand that the school may not be legally responsible (not because they didnt INSTINCTIVELY KNOW THE SECRET ALLERGY HUHUHUH) because they didn't receive medical information from the parents, but this is clearly, clearly a case in which they can learn a lesson about what they can assume and what they'd be better off being safe about. Your sarcasm notwithstanding, this is most definitely not a case where any food could have done this and therefore they need to clear EVERY FOOD WITH THE PARENTS BEFOREHAND HUHUHUHUH. Peanuts is a special case and anyone who's running a business raising young children should know that and protect against it.
yeah, Killgore - I understand your point... Typically parents know if there is an allergy by pre-K age so I think we were the exception rather than the rule. We had given him all 3 things before so it was a real surprise. We never gave him specifically peanut butter, but he had many peanut based type things.
Sadly, the 3 things you list are all excellent nutritional foods for a growing child. So maybe a bit in their defense, they serve them because they have many benefits. It's a tough call.
Originally posted by: wc3kid
yeah, Killgore - I understand your point... Typically parents know if there is an allergy by pre-K age so I think we were the exception rather than the rule. We had given him all 3 things before so it was a real surprise. We never gave him specifically peanut butter, but he had many peanut based type things.Sadly, the 3 things you list are all excellent nutritional foods for a growing child. So maybe a bit in their defense, they serve them because they have many benefits. It's a tough call.
Thats true. I guess where I'd tend to draw the line is when parents are feeding their own kid at home versus a school feeding a bunch of kids en masse. If an allergy suddenly crops up in a kid, its better for him to be in a controlled environment with his parents, and therefore no reason to restrict certain foods, compared to being with a bunch of other children where his problem, God forbid, might not get noticed immediately. We can all be thankful that everything turned out ok in this case.
I dont know much about which stages of development allergies are most likely to appear during, so I'll take your word for it that you guys were the exception, but if the school doesn't change its practices, then every family who is similarly an exception to the rule would be at risk.
Peanut Butter is, at least here, an incredibly common spread. Milk has huge benefits to bones and health, and both milk and eggs are quite often in baking. And little kids love cookies.
I'm pretty much firmly of the opinion that the school did everything right here. There are hundreds of things that can result in anaphylactic shock. Like I said, removing things that might cause Allergic Reactions will ultimately get you down to having to clear everything - and like Mike pointed out, most parents will know by that age if their child is allergic to something, particularly something as common as peanuts. You had to fill out some kind of form identifying any medical problems, including allergies, right Mike? The school ensured he was alright, and immediately contacted the parents. They probably have an epi-pen in a first aid kit, they're no doubt qualified in first aid, and they rang the parents really promptly, so I bet they'd have been on top of an ambulance too.
I don't see a lesson for them to learn. They acted appropriately at every level as far as I can see.
The school acted appropriately. Restricting one of the most, if not THE most, common spreads around based on one happening is silly. If Mike and his wife had known it wouldn't have happened at all, I'm sure. There is no lesson to learn here on the school's part and they don't need to change their practices at all except not to feed lil' Mike whatever he is now allergic to.
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