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Quite honestly I don't feel inconvenienced as I haven't even been IN the situation.
It again brings me back to, hey that's fine, not a big deal to not pack peanut products in my kids lunch someday but I still think it's creating a false sense of security for anyone who is allergic. They are bound to come in contact with them some place.
For the umpteenth time, nut bans are one part of a schools allergen plan. Additionally, most students will have a more specific plan between them, their parents, the nurse, and the teachers. It does not create a false sense of security because the nut allergy kids have a whole laundry list of other items they still have to do.
I just wanted to comment on a perception that epipens are some sort of panacea. They are not. They certainly are a miracle drug and make it much more likely anaphylaxis doesn't kill someone. But for most of these kids every time they are exposed to the allergen, their reaction worsens. Eventually the reaction can become so severe that medications can no longer be truly effective in the time frame necessary.
Additionally, epipens are not always effective. One of the students I saw go into anaphylaxis collapsed and was unconscious before he could get his epipen out of his backpack and uncapp it. Luckily our school plan has a epipen trained staff member in the cafeteria at all times. She injected him within 30 seconds of him collapsing. He still stopped breathing and turned blue. He ended up needing both of his injectors and even a third one from another student. And rescue breathing and the whole nine yards all in the near 10 mins it took for EMS to get there.
Epinephrine is a life saver to be sure but some people seem to think it is like taking a tums when you have heartburn. It is not. It is still vitally important to limit exposure for those who are at risk of anaphylaxis.
For the umpteenth time, nut bans are one part of a schools allergen plan. Additionally, most students will have a more specific plan between them, their parents, the nurse, and the teachers. It does not create a false sense of security because the nut allergy kids have a whole laundry list of other items they still have to do.
All it does is provide a layer of protection.
Well allergens themselves have been quoted as saying it provides a false sense of security.
Well allergens themselves have been quoted as saying it provides a false sense of security.
Some allergist, even some allergy associations, other groups including other allergy associations and even the CDC have said the opposite. That's how these things tend to go.
But what we are specifically talking about is elementary school kids, particularly those under 8. The notion that kindergarteners have the level of abstract reasoning to even have a "false sense of security" is laughable. These are little kids who need all the layers of protection they can get. I am sure having secret passwords, and pickup plans is a false layer of security against being kidnapped but many schools still provide it. So what?
I just wanted to comment on a perception that epipens are some sort of panacea. They are not. They certainly are a miracle drug and make it much more likely anaphylaxis doesn't kill someone. But for most of these kids every time they are exposed to the allergen, their reaction worsens. Eventually the reaction can become so severe that medications can no longer be truly effective in the time frame necessary.
Additionally, epipens are not always effective. One of the students I saw go into anaphylaxis collapsed and was unconscious before he could get his epipen out of his backpack and uncapp it. Luckily our school plan has a epipen trained staff member in the cafeteria at all times. She injected him within 30 seconds of him collapsing. He still stopped breathing and turned blue. He ended up needing both of his injectors and even a third one from another student. And rescue breathing and the whole nine yards all in the near 10 mins it took for EMS to get there.
Epinephrine is a life saver to be sure but some people seem to think it is like taking a tums when you have heartburn. It is not. It is still vitally important to limit exposure for those who are at risk of anaphylaxis.
Thank you! People don't understand the severity of an anaphylactic reaction and seem to be equating it to a coughing fit or a bit of wheezing. Like no big deal, just give them an epi pen and get on with your day. Ignorance, in this case, could literally result in death.
It might be unkind to say but people with allergies can be an annoyance particularly if they're not your friend or family member...or even if they are. People with pet allergies can put a damper on things too. A group of co workers wanted to bring in their dogs for a day but that wasn't able to happen because someone had an allergy and would be uncomfortable. Of course no one brought the dogs in but it rained on the parade so to speak. Again just part of life and yeah people have empathy but they are allowed to be disappointed as well.
Last edited by Whatsnext75; 07-27-2017 at 08:33 PM..
Reason: Added
I read a study not long ago that looked at exposure to peanuts between 4 and 11 months that was really striking - those who were not exposed had MUCH higher levels of severe allergies (and the study looked at kids that had initial allergic reactions to peanuts as well as those who didn't).
I read another one that found a correlation between high SES and peanut allergies. Their hypothesis was that we aren't actually exposing our kids to enough germs in general, i.e. that higher income individuals were more likely to use hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes and what not and these kids' immune systems didn't develop properly as a result.
The latest one I read talked about the high level of chemicals in peanut farming (as well as the rotator crops), suggesting that the soft shell of the peanut absorbs much of what is in the soil and we put in a lot more poison than we used to.
Taken all together, my interpretation was: let your kids get dirty, expose them to common allergens well before one year, and go organic if at all possible. I think the allergy issue is multifaceted, but all of these make intuitive sense. Though, that doesn't help us for the kiddos who have already developed severe allergies...
I think genetics plays a role too. Food allergies tend to run in families. So I wonder if some of the kids who were not exposed when they were young weren't exposed because a sibling or parent had an allergy.
I completely agree with you on our exposure to chemicals. Our food supply is riddled with chemicals we didn't have a generation ago. I think this is contributing to a lot of health problems we see skyrocketing in kids. I read a study recently that said that antibiotic is not being caused by over-prescription of antibiotics, but by the antibiotics in our meat and dairy supply. In other words, we ingest more antibiotics from our food than we do from our doctors. That's scary. What else are we ingesting?
The number of kids who will only eat peanut butter and no other food ever, is likely even lower than those with peanut allergies. For that kid, who will eat nothing else they can eat lunch in a room provided to them, likely in the office. They can have the nurse supervise their hand washing after wards.
GREAT idea. I'll totally do that if this happens at our school.
This thread makes me weep for this country. Where is the kindness?
More emotion!!
Try cold thought on policy and statistics.
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