ABC Health Insider

Lesley--you are informing us of how big a deal this is, the oils, residue. Then keep your child at home. You cannot control anyting around you if it's this extreme of an allergy.

How many of you have ever seen a child have a severe reaction to peanuts? Would you know what to do to save that childs live or would it be worth saving to you---Maybe the weak should pearish and the strong should survive? It's not a case of getting little red hives and itching for a few days. In many cases it's very life threatening and if help is not given immediatly you would be watching a child die of strangulation from the asmatic effect of the windpipe swelling and closing off thier air in a matter of minutes. I'm sure all you big tough guys (without kids I'm sure) would enjoy watching an unsuspecting child die over something as important as a peanut. Well wouldn't you---tough guy!!
Those of you who are calling parents of Allergy stricken kids Idiots need to grow up. The world around us is changing. Allergies are becoming more and more of a problem with the health of people, not just kids!!! And not just peanuts!!! Soooo How many of you Tough-Guys are willing to dedicate the time to help the future of mankind itself---??? Yeah, I thought so---Now who's the Wimp? I Applaud the parents, who like Jenny McCarthy, have the guts and the strength to standup for the kids. "MOTHER WARRIORS" !!! God nows the government won't help, we have to do it on our own for the kids!

While it's clear that some children suffer from severe and potentially deadly allergies, I do think some parents may be assuming and claiming allergies where they do not exist. The comment from the poster who has heard from mothers that their children are allergic to peanuts when they merely hate to eat them is telling -- and it tends to support the expert's point of view. Increased information (and misinformation) on a medical subject feeds anxiety, misunderstanding, and even hypochondria, and these can feed mass hysteria and overreactions.

(There may also be at work the parental desire to see a child as "special" and oneself as a particularly nurturing and ever-watchful mom. It may seem perverse, but presenting a child as a delicate creature who requires unusual vigilance may actually feed a parent's ego. This is an insult to children and parents who really ARE combating extremely severe allergies and other health problems.)

My guess is that most schools, with their allergy tables and careful attention to cafeteria meals and classroom snacks are doing as much as can be done. The rest is up to parents. Unfortunately, we can't pad the corners of the world for our children, much as we'd like to.

This story is not about NUT alergies. Its about covering you ASSets. The whole problem with NUT Alergies is that Democrat TRIAL LAWYER SCUMM have engaged in Billion Dollar Law Suits against companies or organaizations that sell NUTS. The NUTS in the Democrat Party have caused all people to be overly concerned because Schools will be the next Billion Dollar Attack Victims of Democrat Lawyers.

i keep reading that these parents are fiercely protecting their children. not if they're sending them off to school every morning, they're not. they can't prevent another child from having a peanut butter granola bar on the way to school, or a teacher or other adult that might have contact with their child, from having peanut butter on toast while driving to work. yes, the teachers at the school will be aware of the allergies, but what about a substitute teacher? the guy who comes to the classroom to fix a broken computer? the performers in an assembly who interact with children while they are there?

i am not a proponent of home schooling, but melanie has the right idea. if your child is so allergic to something that even casual contact, i.e., touching something that has been handled by by someone who has also handled the allergy-producing item, creates a severe reaction, then rather than insisting that schools (and the rest of society for that matter) change to accommodate your needs, remove your child from the potentially threatening environment.

Daddycandoit,

Did your wife tell you to post that pathetic little diatribe or are you a little worm who took it on himself defend all those helpless women who have children that can be killed by the dust of one peanut?

Get real. Also, get a set.

Now give me all your money or the kids with the defective genes get it with a peanut or an unlighted cigarette.

I'm organizing a new Indian revolt against the US government. We're going to drive the white men out of America by pelting them with peanuts.

It's for the children...

As a retired school principal, I've been there! The most extreme example -- the parent of a nut-impaired child who wanted us to cancel all school dances and other events that might have food for two years because of her one child...never mind the other 1,000 children. We didn't. We did provide a separate room for her child and his friends to enjoy snacks provided by the mother. We also provided one table in our cafeteria on a daily basis where no children were allowed to eat whose parents would not certify that their lunches were nut-free; the table was wiped down each lunch period by custodians who had been specially trained.

Let me tell you one other story...indirectly related, although not to nuts. A parent once ranted and raved at me at an IDEA meeting that I was not sensitive to hearing-impaired children because I would not agree to the accommodation she was demanding. When she finally wound down, I took out both of my unobtrusive hearing aides, laid them on the table. Told the group to continue even though I wouldn't be able to participate because I was so hearing impaired. We were then able to continue the conference.

You name the disability -- including an allergy to nuts -- and I can show you a few nuts. However, any good school administrator would take any reasonable action to prevent anaphylactic shock and possible death. Many of us have been trained to inject such students with epipens and syringes and to take other life-saving precautions. In my humble opinion, that responsibility is a moral one...it should not be a legal one.

We can't see the forest for the trees here folks. The real problem here is that people, as in Humanity, are changing. Our genes are changing due to the envirenment around us ie. toxins, processed foods,etc. it's not just the peanut but all foods that are suspect. Has anyone heard the catch term "Genetic Predisposition"? Can you say "Canary in the Coalmine"? Some of the allergic reactions that we are seeing more of all the time are a product of our environment. 50 years ago we didn't see this kind of trend. Think about what we have around us now that we didn't then!

To aUBREY | Dec 22, 2008 9:04:20 AM

I bet your step daugter loves you. You sound like you live in a trailor. Have you heard of soybutter. WOW it taste just like real peanut butter and you dont jepridize your marrage adn STEP daugters life.

I actually know how to spell but I wanted to communicate with you on your level. Did you even graduate from highschool??? GET A LIFE

Banning nuts is not the answer. What about children that are vegetarians who need nuts in order to get enough protein in their diets? Are they to be deprived because of a child with nut allergies? Educating all children is important, but if the allergy is that life threatening I don't know why a parent would even take a chance and not home school. Afterall, nuts and nut oil can be hidden in just about everything.

At are school we handled the problem by simply assigning a nut free table in the cafeteria and making sure it disinfected
after each use.

Eleonora27:

What? Are you kidding me? That could be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. So the problem with nut allergies is the Democrats? I ask again, what? You really need to spend some time outside. You probably got writer's cramp from composing your propaganda pamphlets. Go take a walk or something. Besides, I can tell that the fumes from your cat's urine is really having a negative effect on your logical thinking abilities...

Celia
My son is allergic to milk and peanuts..the milk doesn't kill...just discomfort and asthma THE PEANUTS CAN KILL....He started reading labels at a very young age. We have picked up a can of mixed nuts that said NO PEANUTS in large letters across the front..read the ingredients in the back in small type and guess what..processed with peanut oil. Very scary it is.

I'm sorry, that was meant for Joe, not Eleonora27.

bill--clearly you did NOT actually read the post you are ridiculing.

My kid reacts to tuna, and doesn't care for deli meat. Loves peanut butter tho. Basically the nut-nazis can't manage to appropriately teach/supervise their own kids or communicate with school staff, so they punish others' children. And the sheeple in schools go along with it. Where's the common sense?

I think this whole argument is totally insane. I am an ADULT who is allergic to nuts. My allergy is not as bad as it was when I was younger, but I still have had a few serious reactions. I was taught at an early age to look for foods with nuts and stay away from them and any food that was nearby. I live in the south where most foods are fried in peanut oil, I just don't eat fried foods when I go out. I ask about deserts at get togethers if I am unsure and I even make my kids peanut butter sandwhiches. I have to either wear gloves or wash my hands immediately after making the sandwich. My mother taught me early to LIVE with the allergy, which is what kids with allergies all need to learn how to do. Am I supposed to deny my family the right to eat certian foods just because I am allergic? No, it is silly to expect that. Same thing for kids in school, why should they be denied access to something that is healthy for most of the population? They shouldn't and if someone is worried about the oils in the nuts, well the kids should be washing their hands before and after they eat any way. If they aren't then this becomes a health issue and the teachers need to be retaught how important handwashing is. Long story short, people need to just settle down. Humans have been living with allergies for centuries and they will continue living with them. Just inform you child and the school about the allergy and all will be fine...I made it to adulthood ok.

My 15 year old son has survived the past 10 years in public school with his food alleries which include peanuts and some other legumes like peas and kidney beans. I advocate for my child. The school is aware and he knows what to watch for and he takes care of himself. We have had a few issues over the years but for the most part he has done fine. There is no need too ban them.

My 6 yr. old son knows several children in kindergarten at his school who either have severe peanut allergies or have siblings with severe peanut allergies. The school has "peanut free" tables, and my son never brings nuts for snacks.

As a child of the 70s, I can't remember ever meeting someone with a peanut allergy as a child. Everyone I knew ate peanut butter. And food allergies were rare (at least in my experience). My question is - why do they seem so much more common today? Is it something about the way they are growing the peanuts? The hybrid crops that have been developed? The prevalence of peanut oil? It really makes you wonder.

I think this is not crazy. School need to do what they can My niece is severly allgergic to peanuts she cant even touch someone whom had peanuts. She also can't eat at places that use peanut oil. It is very scarey we cant go anywhere without her epipen. So this Dr. is an idoit and I hope not one ever listens to him.