Nut allergy and school

[flumpster]

AArgh! Have finally given up on my battle with the school: Briefly, DD (5) is severely allergic to nuts & has an epipen. I have my head round this & try not to be over protective. I or whoever is looking after her carry the epipen, she is v. good at asking if food has nuts in & everyone diligently checks packets etc. After my initial shock, I read everything about nut allergy I could find, & have concluded that it is a serious, but avoidable & treatable problem. The school however are taking an increasingly hysterical view (or not?). Initially they refused to let her have a school lunch (despite the catering co. being happy to provide one). They have her photo stuck all over the building & on the front of the register, and last week told me they had decided she must carry the epipen with her at all times even in the playground, instead of them keeping it in the office. Among other objections I said that the risk of another child playing with it or her losing it far outweighed the risk of her finding & eating a nut in school & they responded by giving a whole school assembly where everyone was threatened with detention if they touched the epipen, that it wasn't a pen, it was a NEEDLE (we've downplayed this aspect since it's kind of irelevant) & that the 3 children who carry them could DIE if they don't have access to their medicine. This was the first my daughter had heard of this. The chances of this happening are less than being killed by lightening so we haven't told her. I'm furious (hence the rant-sorry) but feel there is nothing I can do. Would love to know what other people's experience of sending an allergic child to school & their opinions. Maybe it's me who is crazy

Must be really hard for you i have a nut allergy and i'm an adult.

Think the school has gone a little OTT but they are trying to do the best (although 'might die' thing was awful!). Can you HV not go in and chat to them. The must have training to be covered by their insurance, and this training usually covers storage etc.

Sad as it is in this day and age the school are so frightened of being sued they do go OTT. I manage a nursery and upset a parent the other day for refusing to let them leave their child until they went home and got her epi-pen. Risk of her coming into contact with nuts very small but i would not take repsonsibilty for her health and well being without it. I wouldn't go out without mine.

Me again-you probably all think I'm a right idiot so here's a bit more info (for anyone who's still awake) I've been a primary teacher for 15 years so have some experience of this myself. Based on what I've seen elsewhere, what I'm need for my dd is discreet vigilance-epi. in office where everyone knows where it is, & for her to be just like every other child. Their job is to educate all their ch. to live in the world, not to restrict them & to frighten them & their friends. I feel they have over estimated the risk & are putting their own fear of legislation before her needs. right I've finished!

I completely agree.

Absolutely not the answer, scaring the bejeesus out of all the kids. Is there a nurse at the allergy clinic who could come and talk to the school?

(our HV worse than useless!)

Thanks, wannabe & magiclady. I think you were quite right about the epipen at nursery incidentaly. However, the Head is a formidable character-runs the place like a battleship(which, after my recent experiebce as a supply teacher I thoroughly approve of!) I've spoken to her, written to her, the governors have met etc, it's a done deal really, I'm just venting really & feeling sad for my dd. Wd love to hear from someone whose school also acts in this way, or who thinks it's a good thing. Maybe it is more normal than I think. Also, we love the sch in every other way & she is a fantastic Head-it's just this one thing!

This does seem hysterical and not at all nice for your daughter. Ours (5 and severely allergic to milk, eggs, sesame) also has epipens at school and there is a pic of her in the staff room but nowhere she would see it. In my experience the ratio of hysteria to practical help can often be badly skewed. DD's nursery were frequently hysterical (refusing to let her carve a pumpkin with the others because it was a foodstuff and making her sit miles away from the others at snack). But the bottom line is they kept her safe and took it seriously. I realise now that they really did not feel confident and were in a panic most of the time.

School in my view has a much better balance. They have practical measures in place and TOUCH WOOD these have worked but they make sure she never feels isolated or different.

The 'die' comment is absolutely out of order I think. I have certainly never let DD know it is this serious. We talk about feeling very ill and having to go to hospital. There is enough for the allergic child to worry about without that. I think you need to have a full and frank chat with them and find out how they can get a better balance.
Good luck!

Sorry, I see you have tried to communicate with her. I'm not sure then - maybe an allergy professional/anaphylaxis campaign could help??

Flumpster - are you around tonight to talk? Believe me we have been all through this but your experience sounds hideous. One of the teachers at my DDs ex-school told her she should be in a SPECIAL SCHOOL as she let her epipen off in the toilet wall as she was so angry with being made a specticle of in front of the whole school.

Anyhow, if you are around I will log in later?

Thanks Headabovewater & Bluebumedfly-would love to hear your story, Bluebum, am here for the next hour or so. Your sch sounds really good, Headabovewater, do they make her carry her pen around with her? For us the damage is done really & my girlie & I will just have to get over it. She has been a bit more cheerful the last couple of days & we've ordered a new pink bumbag from some allergic site-at the moment she has an 'epi-puppy' which is a bit bulky!

flumpster it is a hysterical over-reaction. We had something similar with a primary school and unfortunately the school nurse was supporting that line. I argued strongly that my child wanted to be normal and had enough problems without being singled out and I just kept refusing to accept that they should carry a pen with them, except when they went off site. It was probably the tears (mine, being choked back) that carried the day. We ended up with one pen in the school office and one in the classroom.

Photos on the register, in the staff room and behind the catering counter are pretty common, I think, but have only heard of one other all over the school. That was because the parent wanted it.

Thanks, Tatt, To be honest I think we're having this because they've had someone who has just gone to secondary sch who really was outrageously allergic to loads of things & did actually go into anaphalactic shock several times while in sch. & have to be given epipen, ambulance etc. despite scrupulous avoidance so they're really frightened. Most places might have allergic children but may never have had to deal with a reaction. Oh look, I'm defending them-how did that happen??

hmmm. Well in that case it's a more understandable over-reaction, as its pretty distressing to have to deal with anaphylactic reactions. It's still an over-reaction. Most schools never have to use an epipen, or if they do it's for stings not food allergens. Presumably it's a nut free school now and your child has no other allergens?

I know you've tried before but perhaps it might be worth involving the school nurse? The Anaphylaxis Campaign local contact for my area offered to come and talk to school with me - might see if yours would do so? Someone on mumsnet mentioned buzz words to use to schools once, but you probably know the current ones .

No she doesn't carry her epipens, flumpster. There is one set (of 2) in the classroom and one set in the school office. They have been on a couple of short trips and I think she has carried them then, but she wasn't bothered so I suspect it was done subtly. I think as you say your school is in a panic because of past experiences - it is a big responsibility as we all know! I think our place is confident about their ability to handle it (hope not over confident!) poss helped by the fact that they are literally next door to our local children's A&E.

It would be such a shame to make you daughter more anxious though. That to me seems so important. It is a complete pain being allergic - dd gets fed up with having to watch out for herself all the time, refuse food, have substitutes etc as I'm sure yours does - but the bottom line is it isn't a disaster. There are worse things to cope with. What would be worse though, IMO, is to have your childhood dominated by it.

I'm not suggesting that this is happening to your daughter, but the school needs to be aware that she can be safe as well as relaxed and included and that they are not really fulfilling their responsibilities if it is all so fraught.

Sorry, got all caught up in comic relief!

Flumpster, the school seems to be running scared, too afraid to learn about epipens properly so they are just becoming hysterical as you say.

We were told DSD had to carry her pens at 7 years old. We had all the same reservations that you did, she may get bullied into getting them out and showing them off (so to speak) loosing them, breaking them plus endangering herself which is what she was eventually driven too.

The teacher made her sit at the teachers desk incase a wasp flew in (we don't even know if she is allergic to wasps) she was told she had to walk around the playground with a dinner lady as lunch time, she had to sit alone or with a teacher and could only go on school trips if one of us went along too. She has always struggled to make friends and mix with other kids and this was just making the whole thing 100 times worse. The teacher admitted in front of us saying 'what on earth am I going to do if she has an attack - she knows what to do with the pens right?' This was in year 3.

After a very unsettled period of us making lots of suggestions she was terrified of the teacher and took to sitting under the desk trying to yam a pencil in her leg. In sheer anger so went to the loos and let the pen off into the wall which was when the teacher screamed at her that she would be in a special school. We removed her the very next day.

The next school was a million times better but only has 50 kids so they are set up for it. Her pens are held in the office and their school lunches are nut free. There are 3 kids in her class with nut allergies so finally she does not feel different all the time.

This is all irrelevant now as she was densitized to nuts on the Addenbrookes study this year. However, we are still careful as other allergens such as pollen or cats can affect her whole wellbeing.

So, I really feel for you and your DD. The school has a responsibility to help your DD grow up and intergrate exactly the same as any other child whether they have a milk allergy, nut allergy or no allergy at all. They need to calm right down and start acting like adults. Is there any epipen training that you can organise?