School allergy policy and cosmetics - AIBU to think this is overkill?

Bloody hell. Even aside from how bizarrely cruel it would be to teach a child in isolation from the age of 4, how the fuck are schools supposed to manage this?

This may be the most unreasonable comment I've ever seen on MN!

This is bloody ridiculous. If someone is so severely allergic to a product, they shouldn't be out and about. What if a person unrelated to school was wearing some seed-based cream walking past them?
The whole allergy thing is becoming completely stupid.

The question is does she need access to moisturiser during the school day for medical purposes? If so you need a dermatologist letter explaining what she needs to carry in her school bag.

Really inclusive approach you have there...how dare someone be so inconvenient as to have an allergy 🙄

Bonkers. Dd3 is allergic to coconut but we still have coconut products and food… dd3 doesn’t use them, obviously!

@Areolaborealis what is the school's policy on cosmetics? are you sure the confiscation was due to the ingredients or due to a ban on make-up?

@Areolaborealis has anyone pointed out that castor oil is derived from a bean? not a nut? bean as in the same family as lima beans or kidney beans?

I agree. Absolutely vile.

a bit of me kind of hopes they or someone they love does develop an allergy. I bet they would give a shit then!

Sounds like the kind of person who would eat nuts on a flight just because they’ve been told not to. Because fuck it if someone dies so they can have a snack.

disclosure - kids with nut allergies. Although I did already try not to kill anyone before this. Imagine thinking that a moisturiser was more important than the actual life of a child.

@MrsAvocet I was going to say the sane thing about the message from the Anaphylaxis Association regarding not saying that you are a 'nut-free' school as it creates complacency.

There are more and more weird threads like this "Tell me how outrageous this non existent policy/thing no one has said is"

Why castor oil? I looked it up and it’s made from a plant. Not nuts? I would be asking them.

though I’ve read our school policy and there’s nothing about not bringing but containing products in, only food and drink, so it’s ok anyway. And also nothing about not eating nuts before school so she can carry on eating peanut butter for breakfast.

I think that’s going too far. My dd starts school in September, I of course wont send in food with nuts but there’s no way I’m checking ingredients for creams. She’s allergic to a lot of sun creams so the one she can have she will be wearing and taking in to school, nuts or no nuts in the ingredients. She can’t wear others so that one it is.

But it would be nice to show kindness towards those with serious illnesses.
What an awful world we live in with attitudes like LauraNorda

I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that is for you, it’s great though that you have been teaching your son and he’s taking to it like a champ. Different scenario: my dad is diabetic, has been ever since I was little, growing up I was always aware of him injecting insulin, doing blood tests, that if he didn’t get sugar when he needed it or insulin when he needed it that he would get sick, maybe need hospital. When I went to school and in one of my jobs I made friends with girls who had diabetes, I was always checking in with them if they seemed off, making sure they had tested blood or taken insulin.
your son will educate others on allergies, he will look after other kids at school if they have allergies and make sure if they have any possible reaction that he gets them help

The person with the allergy is the one who is suffering.
But hey, as long as you and your kids aren’t inconvenienced in any slight way…

My almost 2 year old has 13 known allergies, she has only just been able to go to the park for the first time, she has only just been to a softplay, I'm on edge most of the time. Her nursery are nut free and take extra measures in her room to support. At this age it is needed to have support from others. But our life is now far more limited.

My 5 year old has just started school in Sept. I have educated him on what his sister's allergies are, what she can and can not eat, he is amazing at asking questions and washing his hands, etc.

So my response to the disgusting person who thinks any one with an allergy should be taught in isolation is that you are a vile person. My daughter deserves to go to school and have friendships and an education like anyone else.

However I do agree with other posters that we need to teach these young people and society about allergies. If my 5 year old can do that anyone can. Allergies are on the rise and we have a duty to care for others, surely that is what makes us human?

Perfume is surely only an issue for the person it’s sprayed on if sprayed in private and if in public then you should be mindful of others and their allergies, if there’s a perfume allergy do not spray near (or in same room) the person, that’s just a dixkhead move. Dogs is a tricky one as you say, guide dogs and assistance dogs. I mean if you work somewhere and you have a dog allergy I’m not sure if legally you can say no assistance dogs, you might be expected to medicate to prevent reaction (obviously this may not be possible if your reacts are life threatening, I don’t know if medications would work in this scenario)

It sounds dystopian - but at a quick reading OP made it seem like people couldn't even use any products at home.
If someone's allergy is so severe that even being next to someone else wearing castor hair oil could cause an allergic reaction, what other solution is there?
You cannot ban people from using cosmetic products on themselves before coming in. Especially as certain people (like the OP's DD) have skin/hair that's extremely difficult to manage, you can't just tell them to 'find something else'. Yes they're not going to be hospitalized unlike the allergic person but they are going to be uncomfortable throughout the school day.
Similarly, nut allergies vs an autistic child with severe AFRID who will only eat certain products, some of which contain nuts... what do you do?

There's a difference between people refusing to comply merely because it's 'difficult, 'controlling' or some other bollocks. And doing so because it has a real detrimental impact on their own health.

I just don’t think you can blanket ban anything from school that may cause a reaction in some people, no more than you can ban things from workplaces and public spaces due to other people’s allergies

As above, I think it depends what the item is. Perfume, yes. Dogs, yes (although then you run into the assistance dog issue). Anything at all with nuts or dairy in it, probably not.

I think it depends what the allergy is and what the mitigation is.

It's easy enough not to take a moisturiser to school but is less easy not to use it at all.

Isn't the reason schools won't apply sun cream or let the kids apply it in school because of allergies? Although they seem to manage just fine in Australia.