Peanuts no small danger

Columbus Dispatch ^ | 02 November 2003 | Tiffany Y . Latta

[Deadeye Division]

Peanuts no small danger
On the rise and potentially deadly, allergic reactions
are forcing schools to keep high-risk kids segregated
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Tiffany Y . Latta
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Though students at Wright Elementary School jockey for a place to sit at lunchtime, Evan Smith takes his time. The Dublin first-grader always has a seat. Evan, 7, sits at a peanut-free table, far away from even the scent of Jif, Peter Pan or Skippy. His friends can sit with him only if their parents have signed notes swearing their children’s lunches don’t contain peanuts.

Since he took two bites of a peanut-butter sandwich when he was 3, Evan has had to steer clear of peanuts and tree nuts.

"He is violently allergic," his mother, Sarah Smith said, recalling that first trip to Children’s Hospital. "Being around it, whether it’s airborne, contact or ingested, he could go into anaphylactic shock."

Wright administrators created the peanut-free table to protect Evan. They represent a growing number of school officials trying to cope with peanut allergies.

The number of children with peanut allergies is growing, but the medical community doesn’t know why, says the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, based in Fairfax, Va. About 100 people — usually children — die of food allergies each year.

Peanuts can cause an allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, which closes off airways and makes breathing difficult.

In some cases, children have minor reactions — such as hives — simply when they’re near tree nuts, peanuts or peanut butter.

Approximately 3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, the most severe food-induced allergy, the allergy network says.

Dr. Roger Friedman, an allergist and director of the asthma clinic at Children’s Hospital, said food allergies have become a major concern in schools.

Districts including Dublin, Gahanna-Jefferson and South-Western City Schools, and private schools such as Columbus Academy and St. Agatha have peanut-free tables for children with severe allergies.

Officials with Columbus Public Schools say schools work out individualized food plans for allergic students.

Other districts label lunch items in their cafeterias or post names of students with food allergies in the main office and outside classrooms.

Massachusetts is the only state with school guidelines concerning food allergies. Schools in Houston, San Francisco and Portland, Ore., have banned peanuts altogether.

Friedman said that, at the least, schools should have foodallergy guidelines.

"Are we going to have them go through metal detectors and peanut detectors?" Friedman said. Children with allergies "don’t need to live in a bubble. They can live a normal life with extra precaution."

In many schools, staff members are trained to use EpiPens, emergency injections of epinephrine for severe allergic reactions.

Julia Redman, a nurse at St. Agatha, said the school has an emergency plan in case a student with severe food allergies is exposed.

In 1999, the parochial school in Upper Arlington had just a couple of students with severe food allergies, Redman said. Now there are 10.

Helen Baumberger’s 6-yearold daughter is one of them.

"It’s very stressful at times," Baumberger said. "I make a lot of things from scratch and I don’t buy a lot of pre-package because of the possibility of cross-contamination."

That means, for example, avoiding all chocolate — even without nuts.

The plain M&M’s, she explained, could be contaminated if made at the candy factory in a vat that previously contained M &M’s with peanuts.

"She can’t go eat a cookie or eat a doughnut at most places," Baumberger, 44, said.

She said her first-grade daughter is now adjusting to sitting away from some of her pals at lunchtime.

At first, however, she "felt isolated and lonely," Baumberger said. "Being the only girl in her class with the allergy, she couldn’t sit with the rest of her friends."

Baumberger said that many Upper Arlington parents who have children with food allergies recently formed a support group called the Upper Arlington Food Allergy Partnership. The group is working to establish uniform guidelines for schools.

About 40 students in Dublin schools have peanut allergies, said Barb Sabatino, a district nurse.

While some parents have asked for peanut-free schools, she said, the district works to ensure that students do not share food in the cafeteria or during classroom events such as birthday parties, where peanutfree snacks are available for students with allergies.

Margie Gooch of Dublin has two sons, Robby, 7, and Peter, 10. Both have severe peanut allergies.

Robby sits far from others in the Eli Pinney Elementary School lunchroom.

"If I have a little, I could end up in the hospital. And if I have a lot, I probably will die," said Robby, who also is allergic to tree nuts.

Sarah Smith, Evan’s mother, said lunchtime can be scary for children with allergies and their parents.

"It’s out of my hands. . . . I’ve done everything I can, and the school has done everything they can," Smith said. "Once you get to a certain point, you just have to cross your fingers and hope."

tlatta@dispatch.com

[Ditter]

The 4 year old boy next door to me almost died this year from fireant bites in his back yard. I doubt his parents caused it, if that is what you are suggesting. They are moving from Texas to Utah mostly because of his sensativities.

[Ann Archy]

You do NOT know of which you speak.....my friend's child went into anaphalactic shock just by handling the bread of his first PB sandwich.

I thought the peanut allergy thing was HYPED until my friend's son had it. She ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when she was pregnant and he punched and kicked, but she thought it was "happy movements".

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

Actually, it was the parent that made the opposite statement first. I would like to see HER evidence, other than just her "feeling" about it, to back that up. Specifically, what is the ppm threshold for anaphylactic shock in severe cases? Then I'll start to consider it...

[At _War_With_Liberals]

I can agree on what you said. I see both sides.

On Xmas eve 3 years ago, my mother made a traditional Polish mushroom soup using 10 times the record amount of mushrooms (dried, imported).

I spent Xmas eve and Xmas day in the hospital.

[viaveritasvita]

I get that way around eco-nuts too.

ROFL!! Me, too!! I demand an eco-nut free environment. LOL!! ~<\:OD

Kidding aside....a few years ago, in my late 40's, I had a severe allergic reaction to peanuts. But, a few weeks prior to that, I had a reaction to pea soup. Doc said peas and peanuts were in the same food family (never double checked him, tho). And, prior to that, I had yet another severe allergic reaction to sulfa (triple antibiotic cream, for a burn on my arm). Doc said I had "over-filled my allergy bucket," whatever the heck that means. I guess I was blessed because the swelling traveled up (my face was bigger than Elephant Man's, I kid you not, and a major case of hives all over my bod) rather than down and possibly closing off my airways. I'm resigned to spending the rest of my life without Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Boo hoo!

I tend to think the parents over-react and the kids pick up on it. My aunt once had a reaction to hot dogs (hives and vomiting). She has never had a hot dog since and gags when she smells them. The weird thing is that I think I picked up on her disgust for them and kind of gag when I smell hot dogs, too. I only eat Hebrew Nationals, when I eat them (which is very rarely), because they're supposedly kosher -- they "answer to a Higher Authority." hehehe.

I hereby demand a hot dog free environment, too!

Thanks for the belly laugh, kiddo.

<><

[Constantine XIII]

I love ya buddy, but geeeeez. :p

[viaveritasvita]

...or an allergy to one of the fungi that can grow on peanuts underground.

My doc suspected I was allergic to the mold that he says can grow between the shell of the peanut and the peanut. I think he's right because I tend toward hives near mold.

<><

[goodnesswins]

Well...needless to say...we do NOT eat there.....and I think it may have gotten a little better in the last couple of years since I told her we would NOT eat there, and why.

[Lazamataz]

I once knew a guy who had such a reaction to peanuts. He carried a spring loaded syringe on him (in a plastic tube) at all times. You should have seen that guy try and get on an airplane before 9/11. I doubt he flies much any more.

Especially when the Stewardesses bring around the little bags of peanuts.

[viaveritasvita]

It's real. But food allergy whackos and medical charlatans have blown food allergies way out of proportion.

That's it in a nutshe...opps, I mean that says it all.

<><

[viaveritasvita]

Lord help me, but you are right for once.

LOL LOL!

Will wonders never cease?!

<><

[Eaker]

I think you are a peanut.

A nut of some sort, I am sure!!!

[Junior]

No, no, no. You're latching on to one part of the post. I was commenting on the sudden explosion of kids with peanut allergies. What is wrong with getting a doctor's note to weed out the fakers from those with real allergies? Your neighbor would have no trouble getting that doctor's note, would he?

[Junior]

A drive-by posting? No substance, just insults. Now, if you'd actually read my posts, I did not deny the existence of the allergy (but hey, you're too busy jerking knees to notice, huh?). My comment was on the sudden explosion of kids with these allergies. Is it possible that not all these kids have this allergy? Is it possible that some of the parents might be "exagerating" when it comes to their particular kid? What's wrong with having a doctor's note rather than just taking the parents' word for it?

[Ditter]

The child I was refering to next door to me who is allergic to fireants, his parents are *both* Drs. They write their own notes.
I don't see an explosion of peanut allergies I think you are seeing an explosion of newspaper articles about peanut allergies.
Allergies of all sorts have always been with us. If you & your family do not have them, feel fortunate. Don't think, that because you don't have them, others are lying about them.

[Junior]

The article mentioned the increase in the number of children entering school with peanut allergies. I never said everyone was lying about allergies. I raised the possibility that some parents might be doing so. It is one possible way to account for the increase in kids with allergies, is it not? Would it be wrong to investigate if this is the case, or should we automatically take any such claim as true? What if the parents use the claim to sue the school district? Does anyone actually read my entire posts, or do they simply latch onto a couple of words and go into attack mode?

[F.J. Mitchell]

" I can agree with what you said. I see both sides."

THanks. I believe that what we must all keep in mind, is that just because politicians (left and right are equally guilty) decide to politisize a problem or condition for their own empowerment, doesn't mean that the problem is not real and millions suffering from that problem.

[bert]

My remarks were hit on pretty hard by several and a rebuttal is in order.

I would argue that a rational position is not necessarily cold or indicative of a bad attitude. The issue must be addressed and there are two sides.

The issue is that a child has an unfortunate and potentially fatal defect in his physical makeup and can not cope with normal life in our society. The condition is physical, not racial or social or political. To declare the individual to be other than unfit or defective is hopeful rationalization

Society as a whole is being asked to change in order to accommodate one unfortunate person who has an allergy so sensitive he could die as the result of actions by many who could inadvertently expose him to toxic substances that are to the overwhelming majority a very popular food.

Carried to the extremes Americans always take things, someone carrying peanuts anywhere near the child will be hauled into a court and deprived of all the wealth a lawyer can extract. In a public school the chances for exposure are magnified. The nefarious culprit who eats PB&J, the teacher, the principal, the school district etc all become the subjects of frivolous litigation. The concept of public school has changed to the point where schools become the enforcers of egregious social engineering bordering on the ridiculous.

There are unknown tens of thousands of Americans involved with the industry of growing, processing and selling peanut products who will be ostracized and perhaps put out of business or work. The peanut producers and consumers, including those who enjoy PB&J in school, will loose their freedoms.

At what point does the right of society to exist in a free state outweigh the rights of a defective individual? The issue under discussion is must society change to accommodate every type and kind of defective citizen or must the defective citizen change to accommodate society?

[Iris7]

You said, "At what point does the right of society to exist .... outweigh the rights of a defective individual? The issue under discussion is must society change to accommodate every type and kind of defective citizen or must the defective citizen change to accommodate society?"

The problem is, who decides who gets the chop. Give the government this authority and whole new classes of people will spend their lives getting into positions of power, and if history teaches anything else than "people do not learn from history" a bunch of those folks will make Hillary seem no problem by comparison. Euthanasia and abortion a steps down this slippery slope.

if you are curious, study the German experience from 1900 to 1939. Even in English you can get the idea. Pay attention to Max Weber and Spengler, Nietzche and Hesse. If you prefer the Russian, try the Crimean War - Invasion of 1941 era. Chinese, try 17th, and 18th Cent. lightly, the 19th century more carefully, then Sun Yat Sen to the rule by Mao in detail.

[Constantine XIII]

There is a nasty slippery slope there, unfortunately. How do we decide: 1) who is defective and 2) who decides who is defective.

Could President Hillary one day sign a law that says Conservatives are defective? Yeah, that hyperbole, but you get the picture. :p