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)

[cricketballs]

to answer the question about why schools don't carry a epi pen...we do for those children who have been prescribed it. We carry one for each child, clearly labelled which pen is for which child which the parents have to supply. All staff receive training from the Health Authority on using them.

We are not though medically trained and therefore we are not qualified to judge whether someone who has never been diagnosed is having an allergic reaction

[amillionyears]

I am glad you answered that cricketballs. I didnt know what the current procedure is nowadays.
My children always have 2 with them. One is to be used immediately,together with a bunch of pills, and another epipen has to be administered again 15 minutes later. I assumed everyone else that needed them was carrying around 2 as well.Perhaps not.

[IThinkOfHappyWhenIThinkOfYou]

Yes I can see that fellowship

My attitude problem? I'm not the one saying people are claiming nut allergies don't exist when nobody has said that. I'm not the one claiming that eating disorders don't exist. I'm not the one advising that a child with what is clearly a mental health issue, who is under medical guidance, should be starved out of her 'fussiness'. That would be you.

[IThinkOfHappyWhenIThinkOfYou]

amillionyears it took me about three years to get ds's prescription up to four (2 for school, 2 for home). Two consultants said he should have 4 but the GP was arsey about it for ages. I know a few people who only have one (well 2 but one in each place). I would like about 50 so I could have them at work and in the car and in ds's swimming bag etc but that ain't gonna happen.

[sudaname]

DH and l were discussing the other day where all these allergies have come from. We both in our fifties never remember anyone in our school classes having such or any cousins or siblings or friends tbh. Now it seems rife. Is it just that it wasnt diagnosed or is it a modern day 'epidemic' brought about by factors in todays lifestyle/diet/environment.

[FellowshipOfFineFellows]

sudaname my sons is brought about by him being premature- a lot of prem babies have this as a secondary off shoot.

I was once told a lot of it is down to modern day cleaning- we used to run around where we liked getting all messy, but now we are all so obsessed with cleaning and detergents etc that it breeds illness and allergies.

I am 31, and there was only two of us in class at primary school with eczema.

[amillionyears]

We were originally prescribed 6 for each allergic child. 12 in total.
Our GP was adamant.
2 to be always kept at home.
2 in the childrens rucksack, so when they were travelling to and from school, they had them on them at all times.
And 2 left at school.
I think because my son had already had 2 anaphylactic shocks in the space of 3 months, the GP wasnt taking any chances.

It did seem like a bit of overkill. But I was very grateful for his concern so I didnt say anything.

Dont know how many my sons each currently have. But if they do have an attack, the protocol is still the same. To take 2, 15 minutes apart.

[amillionyears]

Both my sons were premature.
Perhaps that is why the GPs are careful about them?

[sudaname]

Thats interesting Fellow and l didnt know about the premature birth connection. Maybe then theres a link between how many more and more prem babies survive as time and medical science goes on. I suppose 'in my day' a lot of these children that were very premature sadly simply wouldnt have been here.

[NC78]

The number of children with severe food allergies has risen and no one is sure why.

Children who have an epi-pen are do not have nuerotic parents. As someone else has said, it is a prescription medication. It will have been prescribed after blood tests or skin prick tests done to test what they are allergic to.

[amillionyears]

Mine were premature and had to be born by Caesarean.
I did read somewhere, reasonably recently, that children who are born through the womb pick up certain antibodies?

[valiumredhead]

nuttyprofessor how scary!

Have you been in to see the Head and asked for teachers to be trained in how to give an epi pen? They sound useless, I am speechless that no one even called an ambulance!

[valiumredhead]

WRT nut allergies being more prevelant now, iirc there is no rise in the numbers of kids with nut allergies BUT there is more food with nuts/traces of nuts in them these days.

It used to be the advice not to feed children nuts under the age of 3 due to them being a choking hazard - the 'choking' is now thought to be anaphylactic shock.

Children are more likely to have nut allergies if they have parents with hay fever and/or suffer from it themselves (true in our case) it's something to do with the body being ultra sensitive to hystamine anyway and going into overdrive when nus are eaten

[valiumredhead]

happy GP's don't like prescribing them becasue of the expensive - every 6 months I have to jump through hoops to get ds his even though he has been under Guy's since he was 2.5. I have to threaten to fax over the consultant's care plan and only then do they give in. Every fecking time - drives me bonkers.

[oldebaglady]

NC78

"Someone can have a few moderate reactions that are dealt with with pirton and then go on to have a fatal one."

again, it depends on whether they have the type of antibodies that CAN be fatal, there are different kinds of allergy antibodies, one CAN be fatal, the other causes just local effects. They are different. I get hayfeverey from certain things, I'm not at risk of it ever being fatal because it is down to a different type of antibody.
A family member's lips may swell up from a trace of the food they're allergic to, or they can die from it, because they have the OTHER kids of antibody to what they are allergic to

[valiumredhead]

My ds was prem and a section too - I didn't know about the link.

[oldebaglady]

"It used to be the advice not to feed children nuts under the age of 3 due to them being a choking hazard - the 'choking' is now thought to be anaphylactic shock"

actually the no nuts till 3 is now possibly thought to cause allergies
very recent research may suggest that exposure in the womb and during early weaning reduces nut allergies.

[valiumredhead]

"Someone can have a few moderate reactions that are dealt with with pirton and then go on to have a fatal one."

This is what Guy's told us and why it's essential to always carry an dpi pen. The more reactions you have already had the more at risk you are of having a really severe one.

[valiumredhead]

very recent research may suggest that exposure in the womb and during early weaning reduces nut allergies

Interesting as I have always felt dreadfully guilty as ds is allergic to brazil nuts and they were the only thing I could keep down due to severe morning sickness even though the advice 12 years ago was to avoid nuts while pregnant.

[oldebaglady]

"This is what Guy's told us and why it's essential to always carry an dpi pen. The more reactions you have already had the more at risk you are of having a really severe one"

but presumably your specialist would know whether it was an IgG or IgE allergy, so whether it was in the type that can be anaphalactic, one type can the other type can't

[oldebaglady]

valium there was a huge study taking place about it a few years ago, around the time I was weaning my first. I lived too far away to take part in it though. Someone else might remember it but not sure enough time will have passed for them to have published results yet. Their theory was that it was the old advice of delaying any exposure at all that was causing some allergies.

[sudaname]

Actually my DS had an apparent egg allergy as a baby/toddler. l remember my next door neighbour once giving him a cup of mashed up boiled eggs when l was longer than expected and she was minding him. He came up in massive hives all over his body and was burning up and had to be admitted to hospital. The GP later advised me to just give him tiny little bits of egg gradually and providing no reaction just keep increasing it. It did th trick and he could eat eggs/egg products from about 5yrs old to current day as an adult.
Here's the thing - when l was expecting him, l totally went off eggs to the point l couldnt bear to even cook one for anyone else just made me feel sick. So l never ate eggs right through my pregnancy with him.
Now is it: 1. Pure coincidence 2. Egg was completely an alien substance to his little body after birth as l didnt eat it while carrying him - hence his bodys shock reaction when he first had it. 3. Was it a case of my son had this allergy while still in the womb (if that's possible) and somehow my body knew that me eating egg would harm my unborn child - hence my mystery aversion to it while pregnant.
I have often wondered about this and would love to know.

[IThinkOfHappyWhenIThinkOfYou]

Leap study? It finishes this year.

[valiumredhead]

but presumably your specialist would know whether it was an IgG or IgE allergy, so whether it was in the type that can be anaphalactic, one type can the other type can't

I have no idea what any of that means

[sudaname]

Oh and another thing - I absolutely loved nuts or anything with nuts in during my pregnancies inc. with my son who had the egg allergy. Neither of them had a nut allergy. This was in the seventies btw prior to the advice not to eat nuts whilst pregnant.
l once actually made my exh get up at three in the morning and go to an all night garage and buy me a marathon bar (now snickers)