I feel a bit bad to inconvenience people

amother

Firethorn

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 1:42 pm

juggling wrote:

I assume with a wheat allergy you aren't asking the whole class to never send in bread? Even that one ingredient would create quite a challenge for many of the other kids.

Well, no, because wheat allergies are not triggered from breathing in wheat particles, only from eating wheat.

Unlike peanut allergies which are almost always triggered just by being in the same room as an allergic person. Sometimes dairy allergies become just as dangerous - there is a post in this thread on that, and I know a family that has a child with that exact same situation.

But most food allergies are only issues if the person ingests the food via mouth. So it's very very different and the whole class doesn't have to avoid bringing the allergen to school. Just provide an alternative for your child, that's all.

But peanut allergies are different.

juggling

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 1:46 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

Do you have evidence to support that claim? I'm an allergy parent (my kids are allergic to peanuts among other things) and I've never seen any evidence to support the idea that peanut allergies are more likely to be triggered by airborne particles, more so than other food allergens.

amother

Amaryllis

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 1:53 pm

juggling wrote:

Yeah, my kids only reacts airborne to cooking eggs, not peanuts or wheat or anything else she’s allergic to

amother

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 2:42 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

I'm sad for my kid that he can't bring peanut butter sandwiches anymore - that is his favorite kind of sandwich.

I'm glad he's learning now, not through me, that his preferences and tastes take a backseat to other people's lives. It's important that kids understand that *want* and *need* are different, and that what I *want* isn't as important as protecting other people's *lives*.

Especially after covid, I think this is such an important lesson. Far too many people prioritized their own convenience over other people's health and lives.

So thank you for giving the child's entire playgroup, and their parents, the opportunity to practice this skill and learn what really matters. Thank you for sticking up for what your child needs, and not being ashamed to ask for it. Thank you for helping parents and kids think out of the box and find other tasty foods to eat that are safe for everyone. Thank you for expanding the kids' palates and horizons. Thank you for giving all the parents an opportunity to teach a little bit of real-life science. And thank you also for understanding that it's not a simple request, even if it's a necessary request. That balance is so important.

This is beautiful. Truly.
But- and I hate to be negative- do parents really explain to their kids that they can't have PB because another child's life would be at risk? That they are doing a chessed? And all the nice things you said? Or do they just grumble about it?
I feel sorry to say this but before I had an allergic kid, I just saw it as an inconvenience. Sad

Maybe that's why I feel bad inconveniencing other people. I don't think people understand the other side until they are in their shoes, or know someone close to them thay has this issue.

amother

Firethorn

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 2:52 pm

juggling wrote:

I don't have studies, if that's what you're asking about.

But anecdotally I've only ever heard of airborne nut/peanut allergies and dairy allergies that aren't airborne but if the allergic child touches something a child with dairy touched (meaning not airborne but yes triggered by skin).

If there are studies proving me wrong, send 'em my way. Smile

Anecdotes do not evidence make, after all.

(For example, the peanut-allergic child in my son's class is also allergic to chumus, beans, and a few other things, but the rest of the class can bring those foods because he only reacts if he eats them, unlike his peanut allergy. And the same was true for the allergic kids who were in school with my siblings or myself when we were growing up.)

juggling

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 3:01 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

Anecdotes do not evidence make, after all.

I don't have studies, either. Likewise, anecdotally I've heard of airborne fish allergies, airborne milk allergies, airborne egg allergies. And I know many people with peanut allergies that aren't airborne.

There are also a lot of people with allergies of all sorts, who never experienced an airborne reaction, but assume that they might.

Allergies can be very frightening and unpredictable. It makes sense that people with allergies practice very strict avoidance, perhaps stricter than necessary in many cases. And get nervous when they even smell their allergen in the air.

To the best of my knowledge there is no science to indicate that peanut allergy is any different than any other food allergy.

amother

Firethorn

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 3:01 pm

amother OP wrote:

Maybe that's why I feel bad inconveniencing other people. I don't think people understand the other side until they are in their shoes, or know someone close to them thay has this issue.

That's a good question. I never thought of it that way. That's how my parents and DH's parents put it, and how the people around us, I guess, saw it.

On social media I see a lot of grumbling but also parents who see it the way we do.

But hopefully most people do explain it and talk to their kids in a more positive fashion, like I described. Maybe they save all their grumbling for social media?

Even if they don't, though, that's not your issue. Though maybe you'd like to come in, or bring a doctor or nurse in, to the children's schools/classrooms and have them give a mini-lesson on peanut allergies and other allergies.

juggling

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 3:06 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

Sorry, missed your last paragraph. My own children are allergic to peanuts among several other allergens. I've never noticed anything different happen when they're exposed to peanut, vs any other of their allergens. And no doctor has ever suggested that there's a reason to treat peanuts any differently. The rest of the family eats all their allergens freely.

amother

Broom

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 3:21 pm

juggling wrote:

There is evidence that peanut allergies are particularly bad and more dangerous than others. I am not saying this is always the case for everyone, but they have researched this and peanuts are known to be very very dangerous even just breathing in front across the room.

amother

SandyBrown

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 4:07 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

Sorry but peanuts are not the only airborne allergy. My kid has a classmate that is allergic to a single specific nut airborne and other random studf but he can have peanuts. So the school banning peanuts hurt the kid with allergies as peanuts were his favorite food and one of the only things he could eat.
I have a friend who is allergic airborne to a specific random vegetable cooking. Anaphylaxis allergic. No idea about studies but I watched her run out of the room and struggle to breathe. She is fine if people eat it raw near her. However she can't be in the same room or even neighboring rooms to it being cooked.

We shouldn't just ban peanuts. We need to be wise about it - nut free table, make sure little kids wash their hands well, maybe ban bamba as it is powdered---- IF there is a kid who is allergic.

One of my kids elementary schools ban only by grade depending on the class. And only if it actually will help that kid. Use a surgical knife to make the rules rather than an ax. Will it help? Is it the least restrictive?

amother

Broom

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 4:20 pm

amother SandyBrown wrote:

Of course you will have other situations where people have airborne allergies that are not peanuts. But many times a peanut allergy will be an issue airborne where another allergy won't be. We aren't saying it is every situation. You need to look at percentages.

amother

Firethorn

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 4:28 pm

amother SandyBrown wrote:

I don't understand how you jumped from many allergies are airborne (granted, I said I had no studies and was speaking anecdotally, and expressed willingness to be corrected) to not having to ban peanuts or nuts at all but just make a separate table?

Highstrung

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 4:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

Well guess what? I arrived at the playgroup today and I immediately saw a bag of Bamba in someone's lunch.
People who don't have kids with allergies don't always think about it.

My little 5 yr old from the age of 3 understood that other kids have allergies and that she can’t bring Bamba to school or any other peanut item. She is so gracious about it and will say “Ok. I’ll eat it instead when I come home”. I hope it was an oversight . But people need to take this stuff seriously . I don’t have kids with allergies , but I’ve had kids in many schools and every facility was peanut free as long as there was a highly allergic child in the school or someone in their specific class .

amother

Broom

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 4:37 pm

juggling wrote:

Just to add, I did a quick google search " are peanut allergies airborne" and clicked on a few of the links, all of which indicated that there isn't science behind the fear of airborne peanut reactions.

Of all the allergies peanuts are the ones that usually can be passed airborne more commonly than others. There was even a situation on a plane where a man sitting around 10 rows ahead was asked not to eat peanuts as a teenage girl was allergic and had the airborne issue. He refused and she had multiple anaphylactic reactions.

amother

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 5:14 pm

amother Broom wrote:

Omg that sounds horrific!

amother

Tue, Aug 01 2023, 5:17 pm

One thing I have learned since I started my journey is that there are many chilukei dayos amongst doctors on every single aspect of this.

My doctor claims that allergens do not pass through the mothers milk.
Also that there's no such thing as airborne, aside from cooking fish.
Also that there is no such thing as a potato allergy (although I have nephews from two different families on my husband's side who have severe potato allergy ). But he claims it doesn't exist.