Posted on 09/27/2007 2:22:06 PM PDT by UKrepublican
Boy with nut allergy banned from school because he is a 'health and safety risk'
Like anyone with a nut allergy, George Hall-Lambert had always assumed it was the food that caused the problem – not him.
His new school didn't agree. Concerned that none of the staff was trained to cope if the 11-year-old had an allergic reaction, the headmaster banned him – on health and safety grounds.
George, who was diagnosed with a nut allergy at 18 months, carries an emergency adrenaline injection, known as an EpiPen, and wears a medical tag to alert carers to his condition.
When he began at Howden School in East Yorkshire, his mother informed the comprehensive about the allergy.
A file with medical notes was forwarded from his primary.
If the boy went into severe anaphylactic shock it could render him unconscious and he would need assistance using the EpiPen.
He had been at school for only four days when the head summoned his mother for a meeting.
He told her George must go home as no policies were in place to deal with his condition.
Judith Hall-Lambert, who has three other children, said: "Howden School is saying nobody could take charge of his EpiPen because staff don't know how to use it.
"They won't let him back in school until everything has been sorted out and he is classed as safe.
"If he went back now they say he would be a health and safety risk."
George, who was near the top of his class in his SATs tests, is receiving 15 hours a week tuition at home.
But Mrs Hall-Lambert, 37, of Eastrington, near Goole, added: "George is being discriminated against because he has a nut allergy.
"He is a bright kid and this could set back his education."
She dismissed an offer for him to attend the inclusion unit at the school, as it is predominantly for children with behavioural problems.
"George is well-behaved and there is no reason for him to be in that unit.
"He is entitled to a mainstream education like everyone else," she added.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council said arrangements had been made to send him to school full-time, but his mother had decided not to send him.
"The school is following guidance from the local authority and the Government in ensuring that George can access his entitlement to education in a safe environment."
Head Andrew Williams said staff were working towards an acceptable solution.
"My main concern is to ensure that we meet the health and welfare needs of all students in our care."
“Will I still be able to wear my favorite perfume because I might unwittingly offend someone thats allergic to perfumes?”
Notice how you use the word “offend”, instead of “kill”, which would be more accurate in the case of peanut allergies.
LOL!
Yep, you’re right, I’m more concerned about the survival of my child than the right of another child to eat pbj. Imagine that!
“Whenever you hear a left wing Socialist say “It’s for the chilruns”, that is code word for “grab your ankles and bend over, we are going to take your money and freedom away from you for the greater good.””
Greater good? That’s funny, I thought the argument on this thread was that the deadly condition of a MINORITY should not prevent the greater good of the majority eating pbj sandwiches.
Yes. You grasp the issue precisely, Mrs. Hall-Lambert. Now, did you have any other questions before taking your little ticking liability-bomb home?
I predict a miracle cure from the dreaded peanut allergy.
I don’t know whether you are being serious or sarcastic, but, in fact, there could very well be a remedy of some sort before too long. I have heard murmers about a vaccination that could at least drastically reduce the severity and deadliness of the reaction for an allergic person.
And it has worked.
And it has worked.
I'm not in favor of that at all. I'm all for letting the child attend strictly at his own risk. You should read more carefully.
“My point is that this peanut allergy BS is attention-seeking behavior.”
I suspected as much, but I couldn’t tell for sure.
Based on your great insight, I’ll have to reevaluate my son’s condition. It could very well be that, when peanut butter merely touched his lips for the first time when he was 1 year old, and his face immediately broke out in about 50 large hives within 5 minutes, and he had trouble breathing, and he was rushed to the emergency room ... well, darn, maybe he was simply trying to get attention! Thanks for enlightening me. I’ll be more suspicious next time.
50 years ago I got a rash on my elbow, and the doctor, apparently wanting the easy way out, said I might be allergic to any number of things, one of which was peanuts.
After a week, the rash went away and never returned.
My mother never thought about demanding that the school ban peanuts, chocolate, cheese and everything else the doctor suggested might be the problem.
LOL, so you have no idea what caused thwe reaction, in other words. They have tests for these kinds of things, you know. Science has come a long way since you were a tyke so long ago. If you want his test score on peanut allergy, I’ll go look it up for you when I get home tonight.
Oh, but I guess it could have just been a coincidence ... the very first time we ever try to feed him peanut butter, and he eats nothing else, and he immediately has a violent reaction that leaves him with an IV and covered with hives, gasping for breath.
I suspect the "peanut butter on the breath" syndrome is a folk tale. Like to see some coroner's reports.
It’s the bread lady. You’re creating a demand for wheat and wheat byproducts containing gluten, and that’s ultimately fatal to a lot more people than the peanut allergy folks.
If you reduce demand for nuts, their availability declines and you unnecessarily put the lives of hundreds of thousands of such people at risk.
This business of Channel perfume is different. It reaches out across the room.
This sounds pretty farfetched to me - possibly My nephew supposedly has "Celiac disease" and a bunch of other things wrong with him too and he eats rice, beans etc. Possibly starving because of lack of nuts vs death in a couple of minutes due to anaphalactic shock seem like no contest, besides they can always eat nuts at home.
It happens.
Nothing you can do about it.
If the only problem you have is Celiac, that's readily resolved by avoiding gluten containing products. If your problem is compounded with diabetes, you also have to avoid just about all the starches and sugars you named.
Gets rough out there, and these "peanuts are bad" folks aren't making it easier.
I’m not sure how that relates to the point of my post, but, at any rate, “direct contact” includes peanut residue/proteins in the air.
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