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Please don't kill my 6-year-old son

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by BB Bobcat, Sep 28, 2009.

  1. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Yeah, every flight I've been on has had peanuts, at least as an option.

    To clarify: I'm not saying the kids deserve to die or whatever. I'm not against the actual precautions, necessarily. I just had no idea this actually happened.
     
  2. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    I didn't either, until very recently. Certainly didn't happen when I was in school, although I do remember a kid or two who was known to have a food allergy of some sort.
     
  3. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    I'd always read the opposite: That you *should* ingest the things you don't want the child to be allergic too.
     
  4. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I knew very little about the subject until my daughter was in school. That's why I see BB Bobcat's point in starting the thread. Many people just don't realize how serious this can be.
     
  5. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    It seems that, over the past two years, as I eat peanuts, my gums start to burn and my lips cramp.

    I'm yet to have a doctor check it out, so I may be psycho. But I'm starting to believe that you're not immune to food allergies for life.
     
  6. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    If you guys think you have an allergy -- whether it shellfish, legumes or nuts -- you should see an allergist.
    A very easy "prick" test will tell you your allergy, the severity of the allergy and precautions you or your child need to take.
     
  7. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    For those schools that don't allow peanut products, does the district take care of lunch for everyone. Peanut butter is a lot cheaper than lunch meat.
     
  8. kleeda

    kleeda Active Member

    Seeing one kid ride the ambulance for coming in contact with a banned food, either keep it out of the lunch bag or home school you're kid. The risk to the others isn't worth it. And I'm pretty sure the school I deal with has a strict ban. Adhere or get the f#!@ out.
     
  9. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    Some allergies worsen with exposure. I ate avocados all the time as a kid, but after a non-allergy related hospitalization as a teenager suddenly one chipful of guacamole would cause my throat to swell.

    Took me a few years to make the connection: the pits of avocados contain a protein that is the same found in latex products, which had been used en masse during my hospitalization and for a few weeks after (this was before hospitals and supplies were latex-free).

    That much exposure in a short period of time had worsened what had been a mild contact allergy (itchiness when I used a latex band-aid) to a here's-your-epipen-prescription allergy.
     
  10. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    So wait, with the peanut allergy, how does the reaction occur? Does the child need to come into contact with the peanut (or peanut product), ingest it, or does mere proximity set it off?
     
  11. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    With Amy, it could be smell or contact. The person could be sitting across the classroom, she would smell it and start breaking out and hyperventilating. Contact with peanuts or anything with peanuts, she told me, led to shortness of breath and her heart rate would slowly increase. Smell had almost the same effect, but her heart rate would remain more normal.

    Hers was an extreme case, meaning she could die if she ate a handful of peanuts or a Reese's Cup or PB&J.
     
  12. BB Bobcat

    BB Bobcat Active Member

    Glad I got a discussion going. I can see I already raised awareness with a few of you.

    As for flights, some people are so sensitive they call the airlines in advance and the airline will (supposedly) not serve any nuts on the flight. Our son isn't that sensitive. We just wipe off his tray table and seat with antibacterial wipes and it's ok.

    Going to baseball games is a whole other issue. I had to instruct my son very sternly that if he dropped something on the ground he was NOT to pick it up. You also have to watch for little bits of peanut shells blowing around.

    Although mere proximity to nuts (or other allergens) can be a problem for some, in our case we worry more about the other kid with peanut butter on his hands who touches our son's hand, which then touches his food. That sort of thing.

    At back to school day we got companies that make PB substitutes to give us a ton of free samples. We set up a booth and let people taste. The soybutter is almost identical. Anyway, we explain to one Mom why we were doing it, and she said "Thats OK, my son's not allergic, so I'll save that for the kids who are." She just didn't get it.

    Hence, this thread. Hopefully you guys will get it.
     
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