Is it okay for DC to have peanut butter for breakfast?

[TwentyOneTwentyTwo]

I took my son to nursery today and as I was saying bye I mentioned in passing that he'd got peanut butter in his hair this morning. The teacher seemed worried and asked if it was still in there. I said no, maybe there's a tiny bit. I'd got it all off but hadn't washed his hair. She said it's probably fine it's just she had a nut allergy. As I was walking back though, I thought maybe it's irresponsible to give him peanut butter in the morning? He has it every morning really and now I'm worried he could make someone ill. How much should I worry about it? I have no idea how much allergen is on him. And even on a bus or in a shop or something it could hurt someone maybe. I guess it's more concerning for a toddler because they are such messy eaters, it could be anywhere on him really.

It’s not just up to the allergy sufferer to protect themselves, there is also an element of social responsibility to not deliberately expose them to the allergen. That’s why we have allergen labels on food and menus. Why schools, nurseries, workplaces and planes can ban them. Because there is joint responsibility.

I still think if you are taking your child to a nursery where there is a known peanut allergy, there is a social responsibility to avoid eating peanuts directly before going, especially with a history of the child covering themselves with peanut butter whilst eating.

By having a medical care plan in place just like every other allergy sufferer who isn't afforded allergy free zones

I disagree. What about those with allergies that don't get the same treatment?

It is down to the sufferer. Again I'm not saying smear him in it and throw him at her but she has chosen a job at an increased risk of exposure. She will know her emergency care plan and that is her responsibility.

Just like every other allergy sufferer

Peanut allergies are responsible for more than 50% of anaphylaxis deaths. It is not like every other allergy.

My son is nut allergic… before we knew I had PB for brew, brushed teeth and at least an hour kissed his cheek. You could see a big red hive a few minutes later where I kissed him. Yes he would be anaphylactic with ingestion. We still have PB in house, my Dd and I eat it and are careful obviously. Lots of allergic reactions to all types of stuff, the allergic person takes precautions and tells others of the allergy so they can be considerate. We don’t have bags of peanuts… and I miss them… as my son hates the smell, not sure why Pb is ok really!

Do you have a link to back that up?

Perhaps surprising to some, it was cow’s milk, and not peanuts or tree nuts, that was identified as the allergen responsible for the most fatal reactions

Because that's from the .Gov website.

Ds has severe peanut allergy. He starts nursery in the Autumn. If someone knowingly sent their child in with peanut butter on their head it could kill him. If people do this, he simply won’t be able to attend and will have to be home schooled

You can find that information quite easily, eg:

from pub med
first link on google
a booklet on peanut allergies

They are in the US.

A larger population for gathering statistics. The information booklet is from Australia.

Right but in the UK where all of this is actually happening a larger proportion of deaths were due to dairy allergies.

So when is that being banned from all settings as well?

But there are life threatening allergies to dairy, sesame seeds (houmous), eggs and lots of other normal foods.
Unless specifically asked I wouldn't avoid any of them.

No, they were not.

"In regards to severe allergic reactions, cow’s milk comprises 10% to 19% of food-induced anaphylaxis cases seen both in the field and in emergency departments in paediatric and mixed age populations. It is the third most common food product to cause anaphylaxis, following peanut and tree nuts (Kattan, 2011)"

uk based

But there are life threatening allergies to dairy, sesame seeds (houmous), eggs and lots of other normal foods.

When ingested.

Nope not at all. There are absolutly anaphylaxis allergies to exposure to dairy

The thing is, regardless of the severity, to have something right before coming to the place, knowing someone is allergic is a bit heartless, especially something that is widely known killer like peanuts allergy.

My ds is anaphylactic to certain fruit. But luckily, he doesn't suffer severe reaction unless he ingest it. Still, early years for him was kind of hell. Sharing a toys etc with children who has eaten it, and licked the toys did cause him to have unpleasant skin reactions. So, my ds's nursery actually asked parents to not to have them before coming to the place, as well as banning them from lunch boxes. I was very grateful they took precautions to protect my ds.

There are absolutly anaphylaxis allergies to exposure to dairy

Link? (Just joking.) Yes, but very rarely, peanut allergy deaths are far more common.

My 3 year old has a severe (anaphylactic) peanut allergy and I actually find this thread really sad, that people clearly don't give a shit because there's lots of different allergies out there...
My DD would only have to get peanut butter on her skin and it could kill her, so the OP's child attending her nursery could well have killed her or made her seriously ill. My DD's nursery requested that children attending nursery that day don't have nuts beforehand and are obviously a nut free setting but this thread had highlighted just how little people give a damn when it doesn't affect them so I'm now actually wondering how many kids my DD potentially plays with that might have peanut butter traces on them. It might sound pathetic to someone that hasn't been in this situation but my DD had a severe anaphylactic reaction to just touching a bit of peanut butter she didn't even eat it.

And to the previous poster that said about medical care plans please educate yourself. The only medial care plan for severe allergies is epi pens which contain adrenaline. They often don't work hence why people still die from severe allergies. A medical care plan as you so wonderfully put it could still result in my child being killed my another child at nursery all because their parents thought we should have a better medical care plan in place

Agree with above

Also, my child is 2 years old. So whilst we have a medical plan in place, and he has medication and x2 epipens etc, I cannot control him not touching something at nursery like a toy another child might have contaminated with peanut butter. He doesn’t understand he can’t eat peanuts either and barely talks yet, so if someone gave him something with it in he would try it still.

I am very educated in this topic and you should be aware that many Doctor's do not support allergy free settings because of what you wrote.

You need to be aware that no setting is allergen free. At all. Ever and as such a plan must be made.

You should absolutely have a plan in place where all care providers know how to correctly administer an epi pen and to calm an ambulance that is a care plan.

If it is believed one will not be sufficient they should be aware of when the second should be administered.

You absolutly have to understand that some parents will do what they want in their homes and there is nothing to be done about it. That's the reality of living with anaphylaxis but the alternative is living in a bubble.

Sorry but she can't dictate what your kid eats in his own home. As long as he washes his hands after and isn't wearing the PB haha.

The difference is that if you know there's someone with an allergy that's one thing. It's different to feeding a normal food for breakfast when you don't know about anyone having a severe allergy. Nobody is going to stop eating something without being informed of the reason.

Mum to a child with a severe nut allergy here. We carry epi-pens everywhere with us and contact would result in anaphylaxis for my DC.

Particles from inhaling nuts and or skin contact could end my DC's life.

Please be careful.

Good decision op. Best to be safe. Especially as a toddler when they are messy eaters and less aware of others space.

From parent of a child with anaphylactic peanut allergy I really appreciate it when people are considerate.

@AskingforaBaskin I'm perfectly aware of what care plans need to be in place thanks, and as I said, the attitudes in this thread wouldn't help a thing on my DD's care plan. It's one thing saying no setting can be guaranteed nut free, I am well aware of this and as terrifying as it is there is nothing anyone can do about this, but its a bit different for people to say they'd send their kids to nursery with peanut butter in their hair and that it's the nursery workers problem to deal with