to wonder if there really are a disproportionate amt of children who are allergic to ALL nuts?

[oldebaglady]

firstly, I do comply with the zero nut zone policies

secondly, happy to be corrected, am genuinely interested!

but no nuts... AT ALL?? nuts are ideal lunchbox energy/protein snacks and nut butters are great sandwich fillings, much healthier than a lot of the alternatives .

I understand that peanuts are highly allergenic, but
1: other highly allergenic things are allowed; strawberries, dairy, soya, kiwis..
2: they're lagumes aren't they? how are a few almonds gonna affect someone with a peanut allergy? or is it common to have a serious allergy to ALL nuts?

when a child has a serious allergy to a particular fruit, that fruit is banned, fruit in general isn't banned! and it's not banned unless there is actually someone attending who is allergic

the zero nuts policy don't include "may contain traces of nuts" products anyway

please understand that I don't think it's a huge sacrifice to make if some cashew butter or a few almonds in my kid's lunchbox might cause another child to be seriously ill

but exactly how likely is that? that

1. there is going to be a kid in school who is not yet diagnosed
   

and

1. they are allergic to ALL nuts
   

??

(am genuinely curious)

[hackmum]

My niece is allergic to nuts in general, not just peanuts, though I couldn't tell you which other nuts she's allergic to - strangely, I don't think they've done the experiment to find out.

Schools are just erring on the side of caution. Which school wants to be the one where a kid dies because they've had a nut from some other kid's lunchbox?

[amillionyears]

In answer to the ops question, I think nut allergy is treated different to other allergies for another two reasons other than the ones mentioned.
As far as I know, there are more people that are definitely allergic to nuts. In other words numbers.
Some for instance are allergic to dairy, but probably not so many.
Also I wouldnt have thought that school meals for instance could even be made and served dairy free?
Nuts, from a schools pov is fairly easy to eliminate.

[amillionyears]

valiumredhead, ny DS permanently goes round with his in a camera case. He looks like a permanent photographer but oh well!

[musicposy]

amillionyears she got very blase at about 14, kept forgetting her epipens, started saying "oh, it'll be ok" about any food with trace warnings on it. The hospital gave her a really strong lecture. I was very impressed! I think she was desperate not to look different to everyone else. Now at 17 she's actually much more sensible.

[oldebaglady]

"My DS3 had skin prick tests - they can't test them all at once, but he is anaphylactic to : Peanuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios, and even lentils and chickpeas (the last two have proteins similar to peanuts in).

They will test for more types in three months time. So yes, IMO, adhere to a total nut ban."

so a couple of posters have mentioned that the peanut and tree nut allergy is combined with a chickpea/seed allergy

so does that mean that to make proper sense the nut blanket bans should be including seeds (so no seasame snaps or hummous)?

sleepywombat apparently coconut flower makes nice bread: www.tiana-coconut.com/coconut_flour_recipes.htm

Neverme there is no need for that tone, I have been very very clear that I adhere to the policy and intend to continue to do so, but like everything, if I am doing something, I just want to understand why I am doing it.

[oldebaglady]

"FLOUR"

[valiumredhead]

amillionwe ordered a very small epi pen case that can clip onto a belt/bag, not much bigger than a small pencil case. It helps that is best friend is allergic to nuts too so he doesn't feel too different.

[amillionyears]

ooh, didnt know you could get epipen cases now.
Just googled it.
Thanks for that valiumredhead. Will pass on the details to my sons.

[bruffin]

The advice from the anaphylactic society is no blanket bans for several reasons.

1. as OP says who actually decides what to include
   

1. it breeds a sense of complacency ie you should treat everywhere the same. Its better to teach awareness rather than ban.
   

My ds 17 has treenut and seed allergys also probably chickpeas. He did have peanut allergy but outgrew it. None of the schools he has attended have had a blanket ban. There have been children there that have had various different allergies so again which ones do you specifiy. My dc is allergic to humous, but i have never seen that banned.
If you read the allergy boards most parents do not want bans either, its usually the other parents shouting "but they could die"

The recent death of a 15 year old was because he had ordered the same ribs from a chain of restaurants many time before, so he thought it was safe. This particular branch used nuts in its recipe whereas the other branches dont, although apparently it clearly said on this branches menu that it contained peanuts.

[Ilisten2theradio]

This argument regularly runs around MN.

FWIW DS is highly allergic to some nuts - but allergic to all of them. He is not allergic to peanuts but we have been told to avoid them as they tend to be processed in the same factories as other nuts and you get cross contamination - and vice versa with nuts they can be contaminated by peanuts.

I sit on the fence about banning them as he is also V allergic to eggs and fish. They are never banned in schools.

Part of the problem with primary school is the food sharing ( although DS is so afraid of a reaction he would never have done this) and part is due to sticky fingers transferring the allergen around school. Nut butters are the worst offenders for this sort of thing as they expose the allergens much more, and as children do not wash their hands after eating lunch and before leaving the school hall, the allergens get onto door handles and the like. An allergic child touching this and putting hands to his face, chewing his nails etc can then have a violent reaction to something unidentifiable.

This has happened several times to DS at school. We were never able to positively identify the cause. Once he had to be taken to hospital.

Schools are scared of it, and it is so often that nuts are the cause of the more violent reactions, that they ban them.

The thing is they can't ban everything, that any child has an allergy to , so I am not sure quite where I sit on this, except it does seem to me that mayo and nut butters, are probably the likely culprits were DS is concerned.

[valiumredhead]

amillion we got it from the yellow cross - lots of helpful things there :)

[Muminwestlondon]

I think it is perfectly reasonable for infant/primary schools to have a nut ban. Both my children are allergic though not life threatening so. However why take the risk if some children are so allergic it can kill them.

There was a kid at primary who was extremely allergic to kiwi fruit and we were asked not to bring them in - I gritted my teeth a bit but it was for a good reason. Similarly at nursery there was a kid undergoing treatment for cancer and we were asked not to come near the place if kids or we had been exposed to infection - yet it was bloody annoying but there was a good reason for it.

Once they are older, they can choose packed lunch and are not as likely to swap with items that may contain nuts.

Re Pesto - many brands contain cashews and not pine nuts - my kids are not allergic to pine nuts.

They would love to be able to eat chocolate cake, humous etc when out, but unfortunately most restaurant/cafe cakes seem to have nuts in and humous contains tahini which my children are allergic to. They also react to sesame seeds on certain rolls etc. It is not being picky or precious - unfortunately it is learnt from reacting. Luckily they can be treated with piriton etc and not rushed to hospital like some poor kids.

[Bluebelleswood]

My dn is allergic to peanuts,nuts and some seeds.
Some years ago I wAs sitting on the tube with him when a man sat next to us. The man began to eat fruit and nut chocolate. My dn suffered a very serious allergic reaction. I can only guess it was caused by the mans breath.

Nut allergy needs to be taken very seriously.

[whois]

Thanks for sharing that amillionyears

I don't think anyone with a sever but allergy )one that gets you through the air) could work here. Too many people, too much food consumed at desks, hot desks, meeting rooms etc etc

[whois]

Oh no auto corrected again to BUT I meant NUT NUT NUT

[bruffin]

Airbourne nut allergy is a bit of a myth. Blind tests tend to show that it is psychsematic, ie only have a reaction when they can see nuts or peanut butter, if the nut is hidden then they dont have a reaction.
There are some insistance where it may occur but that is enclosed places with lots of peanut dust or where there is cooking with lots of steam, which can carry the protein.

[cassgate]

I am 41 and allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts including almonds. I am also allergic to fish. I have been since the age of 6 mths old. Interestingly, I have never carried an epi pen. They were not available in 1971 when I was diagnosed. I have had some pretty bad reactions in my time. If I touch the offending item I come up in rashes all over my body but if I eat said item my throat and lips swell. My parents were told to chuck me in a bath of cool water and for me to suck ice cubes. I have been offered an epi pen by my current gp but to be honest I have lived with it this long and I dont know any different. I havent had a reaction for a few years now. I eat chinese, indian etc but tend to stick to things that I know I am ok with. I do check ingrediants but as long as their are no nuts or fish in the ingrediants I will eat it. I take no notice of "may contain traces of nuts" labels.

[valiumredhead]

bruffin can you tell me how you know that? I've not heard of that before.

[Vagaceratops]

DS1 is allergic to peanuts and coconut, but theya re mild allergies. He has eaten walnuts and hazelnuts with no bother.

DS2 has a severe allergy to peanuts, but no problem with other nuts.

[valiumredhead]

Hmmm I have just done a bit of googling and while the test claim this, in reality my son's biggest reaction was when I had been eating nuts and then he held my hand - he ended up in hospital, very scary and took 3 days for his face to return to normal. So while he did go into shock as such, it was ver dangerous as the swelling was causing his throat to swell.

I know another child who is the same with how she reacts, so not sure about it being a 'myth' - seems quite possible in such allergic children.

cass I would take the epi pen, the fact that you have reacted badly in the past means that the next reaction could be bigger ( according to our consultant) and that's why it's so important to carry epi pens. They are expensive and doctors ime try and wriggle out of prescribing them, if your GP is offering you one then he thinks you need one.

Think about what would happen if you had a bad reaction and couldn't get to a hospital or an ambulance couldn't get to you in time.

[bruffin]

He probably put his hand to his mouth at sometime after touching your hand Valium.
That is not the same as many are claiming, being in the same room as peanuts cause a reaction.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

This whole area is very interesting as DD's class has children with anaphylactic reactions to Kiwi, Strawberry, Apple and Banana so a ban would be impractical. The children have known since year 1 that they must no share snacks and must wash hands after eating to prevent allergic children contacting the allergens.
This has now worked for 4 years without any incidents.

[lljkk]

I suppose understanding of food allergies is still in its infancy, at some point we'll have a better understanding how to prevent, cure & accommodate.

I am pretty sure the numbers get quite exaggerated, in effort to get to grips with how to best manage the risk. Tree nuts are the most common confirmed allergen at DC school (maybe 1-1.5% of children at risk), so by banning them a lot of reactions could be prevented. I can see why school does it.

[baremadness]

My dd is PEANUT allergic. Other nuts are banned because they are often transported together and are a high crosscontamination risk. People are that allergic to peanuts for this to be a risk factor.

For example. Dh went to the pub and some idiot was throwing peanuts at his mate. There was enough peanut in the air that when he came home dd had a severe enough reaction to his jumper! to warrent an a and e trip.

They dont ban this stuff for fun.

[valiumredhead]

Oh I see what you are saying bruffin