to challenge the schools nuts ban

[pigglewiggle]

The school has a strict no nuts policy. Apparently this is because someone in a higher year has a peanut allergy. I can understand banning peanuts if the allergy is severe but peanuts are very different to normal proper nuts and reactions to these are not to my knowledge anywhere near as bad as peanuts. It just makes lunch quite difficult as we are vegan and would love to pop something like a nakd bar in lunchboxes.

Aibu to go to the school and at least establish if a total ban on nuts is needed / necessary?

Tecup - I don't think you do if you think they are all mild.

My dd has severe allergies . Equally as life threatening but not anaphylactic . Hers is a gut reaction.
I get so fed up with society only respecting allergies that are anaphylactic .
The nut ban in schools isn't supported by any professional I've spoken to- unless there's a child present with an airborne risk and then its a much bigger issue anyway.

I've worked really hard to teach my dd about her food security . It's a way of life for her and I know I can trust her in any situation . She's now 3.
I have other friends who followed a different route ,whose kids were too sheltered and who I wouldn't trust .
It's the parents responsibility to educate the child without making food a big issue .
At one point we were nut dairy soya gluten wheat egg seeds fish cocoa free. How can any school ban that lot?!?
Op I'm with you and YANBU . But not for the vegan issue . That's irrelevant !

Teacup - ah I see you say yo do understand that milk allergy can have the same effects as the worst peanut allergy and you were just giving an example of differing strengths of allergy. Fair enough - sadly you posted in the wake od several posters who seem oblivious to any allergy except nut allergy. So it looked rather like you were another person who felt that way.

I always observe nut bans, because while I think they are, essentially, misguided and potentially counterproductive, I am a rule follower at heart and I don't want my kids to grow up with the attitude that rules don't count for them (as so many people seem to think these days). I believe that for most schools nut ban rules are either at worst well intentioned, or a response to insurance company/LEA demands (and you mess with those at your peril). So, I always observe and follow them. And I don't expect places to introduce dairy bans either, bitter experience has taught me that there is a certain type of person who is so wedded to dairy that they will ever be prised free from it. My most ambitious hope is for more understanding and better (any!) dairy free options (and no, vegetable marge is probably not dairy free. and neither is vegetarian cheese). Milk and milk by products is pervasive in our society - in a way that nuts don't even remotely approach - and it really doesn't need to be. I don't know why milk allergy is becoming more common (if indeed it is, I've met several people who claim to have milk allergy who are actually intolerant not allergic) but maybe the pervasiveness of redundant milk products in places they really shouldn't be (e.g. Marmite flavour crisps) is a possible reason?

For the OP - I think you should observe the ban, I do appreciate that your kids have nuts as a main source if protein but they don't need protein every meal. We can't expect people to respect our choices (e.g. by offering dairy free alternatives) if we don't abide by other food related rules/regulations/requests.

Yes, I daren't wash my hands in public basins, I carry around safe hand sanitiser. I've had too many experiences where I've ended up with hands that look like I'm a walking dead zombie (literally, my skin swells up and sore of bursts then flakes/slides off in a pussy mess whenever I touch milk. If I just get a spot on my, perhaps when someone opens a hut carton and it flies around, that's not too bad - just a tiny speck of sore - but if it goes all over my hands they sort of...rot. and I can get breathing problems too from hand wash but not severe ones (so far)). See also some shampoos, bubble bath, washing up liquid... My allergic DC is the same (if anything, worse)

But, to reiterate, I don't expect a dairy ban anywhere I am and I do support nut bans wherever they are in force (I would question their need if there was a comment period before their introduction though). My only wish is for people to be more aware (as aware as they clearly are about nut allergies) and for there to be more dairy free alternatives generally available. I don't think that's asking a lot (although many people think that it is, clearly).

My typing today is atrocious.

If I just get a spot on myhand
UHT carton

Apologies teacup, I misunderstood. It was an just red-rag-to-a-bull combination to give as an example given the number of people on this and previous threads who have said variations on 'aah, but at least dairy allergy isn't life-threatening'.

The bit about schools being useless stands, though!

YABVVU.

Some people are so allergic to nuts that the a few tiny particles of them is enough to start a life-threatening reaction. Just last year, a little girl went into anaphylactic shock and stopped breathing on an aeroplane because another passenger four rows away was eating nuts.

Your children can still eat nuts at home. You are being selfish and unreasonable, and there are way better issues that you can spend your time on.

And here we go again. That isn't the reason why the OP is being unreasonable since there are not bans on other just as serious allergens anywhere in society. The reason she is being slightly unreasonable is that people should follow regulations like this even if they think they are unnecessary and an overreaction because sometimes (even though not in this case) they won't be unnecessary and an overreaction and most people aren't actually qualified to identify when this will be the case.

But gently, the OP didn't propose ignoring the ban, but challenging it - which, to my mind, is always valid. If the school can defend their decision, that's fine. If not, then she will have made them think. Challenge is healthy. Ignoring rules because you think they are stupid is dumb and dangerous.

Just last year, a little girl went into anaphylactic shock and stopped breathing on an aeroplane because another passenger four rows away was eating nuts.
Non DM link please - including evidence that the cause was actually identified as such.

DS2's school doesn't have a nut ban, but he has ASD and when he was younger, peanut butter was one of the few sources of protein he would reliably eat. The only problem is, he is a messy eater, as he pulls sandwiches apart, rather than simply biting them and he usually end up filthy after eating peanut butter. Since there was a nut/peanut allergic child in the school, I chose to be more imaginative regarding what I gave him for that one meal a day, 5 days a week, since it wasn't as if he could have a strip wash and a change of clothes after lunch at school. I still gave him cereal bars with nuts in, since he didn't end up wearing them in the same way.

While DS2's eating habits are unusually messy, I can understand nut bans in schools with small children, where there is a severely allergic child. I certainly wouldn't be stamping my feet over it because it made planning lunches a little more complicated.

here is an interesting article about that incident and nut allergies on planes

"Dr. Greenhawt: I have had the opportunity to conduct two large studies of airline reactions, and reactions by inhalation were reported in both studies. Stories of similar types of reported reactions make the news from time to time, are reported to advocacy groups, or can be read about on the Internet. However, it is strongly felt that it is very hard to say with any certainty that the allergen in these situations was inhaled.

Again, there is no evidence to show that peanut or tree nut circulates in the air, as opposed to it quickly settling on surfaces. In such situations, it is likely that there is some unnoticed ingestion of settled dust on a surface through casual hand-to-mouth contact. This type of ingestion may be overlooked when potentially focusing on someone nearby who may be eating a nut-containing item, which may mistakenly be presumed by the passenger to be the trigger.

In my 2012 study, we actually showed a decreased risk of reporting an in-flight reaction associated with wiping down one’s seating area. We feel this is a simple, proactive, and effective strategy that removes residue, thus decreasing the chance of inadvertent contact leading to unnoticed ingestion. However, we also realize that many people still assume or report their child has had an airborne reaction, in spite of the available evidence that this is highly unlikely to occur."

TBH there is little or no proof that the nuts were anything to do with it.

The worst allergic reaction I've ever had apart from my normal one resulted in emergency anti histamine injection by the doctor and was probably tuna.
I waited a year and then started eating it again - to no ill effects.

I agree stealth.

The OP says "As a vegan family we find the nut restriction particularly inconvenient. Of course we're happy to abide by it in the interests of safety if it's necessary, but could you please check whether it really is?"

The school reviews, and for any of the many reasons rehearsed on this thread says either Yes or No. The OP abides by their decision. And as long as she does, and doesn't then whinge about it, SINBU.

I didn't think the op was saying that she was going to ignore the rules, just that she wanted to challenge them.
I can't see LEA's every changing policy. It would be too difficult and costly.
But that doesn't mean their policies are RIGHT . A blanket ban isn't even supported by the the organisations that support allergy sufferers.
But it's just cheaper and easier for LEA's to blanket ban, so I can't see anyone ever changing the LEA's mind.

Can anyone illuminate me on the ban on all seeds and nuts and legumes all of which are banned. We are veggie and I did today send my kids in with hummus sandwiches but it's banned. I would never send them in with nuts but have sent than in with seeds, chick peas etc when ive had nothing else or the cheese consumed that week is off the scale. I don't want to challenge the ban as I think my kids should be flexible in what they're given to eat. But was I being totally reckless bending the rules today. If so I'll not do it again you see. Thanks

Talkin:- "TBH there is little or no proof that the nuts were anything to do with it."

Article"..it is likely there is some unnoticed ingestion of settled dust on a surface through casual hand to mouth contact"

What do you think the dust was?

stilllearnin

There is no difference between a hummous sandwich to a peanut butter sandwich. DS is allergic to sesame and chickpeas, but not to peanut butter (he was but grew out of it)

Sorry, my question is to Talkinpeace!

plasticboxes
The first child ate a cashew which may or may not have been the cause - its not clear whether other things were checked before blaming the nut.

In the second case, it is highly unlikely for a passenger to inhale nut protein from someone consuming nuts a few rows in front of him/her. There is no evidence that has been able to show that such dust circulates.

stilllearnin
On challenging these bans, the best start is to ask what medical advice they were given in that case to bring in the ban.
There won't be any.

Ah so hummus is just as dangerous as nuts? Is that right? So no seeded/ granary bread, no beans either (dd likes cold baked beans), pumpkin seeds, felafel. Am I wrong to send those in too? If so, I've been sailing close to the wind.

So it is quite limited for vegans I'd say and a lot of the earlier suggestions were no good (oh she glows link for eg) luckily mine eat dairy so a bit easier and also as pp said its only one meal out of 3 although I do need to fill them up a bit. I had read the ban on seeds and all beans on the LEA website but wasn't sure how strict to be as people only talk about nuts and I am sure beans are served in school dinners.

OP's last thread was pulled. Invest no more!