Peanut butter I schools

[Heavensabove3005]

Does anyone know the rules on but products in school? They have banned peanuts in lunchboxes etc but are using peanut butter in the classroom?

The lunch hall can be a different thing entirely as small children can unknowingly share foods with friends without understanding possible alergy consequences. While I personally wouldn't use peanut butter at all in my school it is certainly easier to 'police' in a classroom situation where there are no known alergies.

I get allergies. I'm a celiac. Cross contamination shouldn't be a problem in my class as there are no allergies

If you "get" allergies you'll presumably understand that contaminated hands can travel outside the classroom and that peanut allergies can be so serious that even a miniscule amount can trigger an allergic reaction.

But, all parents I know who suspect nut allergies have instantly taken the child in for detailed testing. I'd be at a parent insisting on nut free at school for a non diagnosed child they preferred not to test?

my daughter has been touching peanut butter today, the doctors have always said there is a possibility she could also have an allergy

Well then she doesn't have an allergy to it...

Could it be 'wow butter'? It's a peanut free peanut butter lol

Our lunch ball has a no nut policy but I use peanut butter in class because I know there are no allergies

That's where policies fall down imo. There's always someone thinking it doesn't apply to them.

None of my school age children have allergies. They all go to nut free schools. Wouldn't occur to me that they'd be using peanut butter so wouldn't occur to me to make sure they washed their hands before touching their sister. Or for mil to ensure they washed their hands before touching hers.

If you want policies changed then change them, don't circumvent them because they don't suit you.

@Mantegnaria, you're right, allergic disease has become more common in the last 40 years (see link below to journal article). Some studies suggest that children with exposure to more allergens in utero and as small children (like those that grow up around animals and on farms) are less likely to develop asthma. There is a school of thought that our obsession with keeping everything incredibly clean in the home prevents children developing immunities to common yet non-harmful allergens that they encounter in the real world. There's also a potential link between dietary factors in pregnancy and development of allergies. Also worth noting that these theories are still contested and not proven fact.

Doesn't explain nut allergies, but I thought it was quite interesting nonetheless.

journals.lww.com/co-allergy/Abstract/2005/06000/Does_fish_oil_supplementation_in_pregnancy_reduce.4.aspx

journals.lww.com/co-allergy/Abstract/2009/10000/Asthma_and_pregnancy__emerging_evidence_of.6.aspx

If you "get" allergies you'll presumably understand that contaminated hands can travel outside the classroom and that peanut allergies can be so serious that even a miniscule amount can trigger an allergic reaction

Of course. However if there are no allergies in school, how would I know if there was a parental allergy? What would the parent do if their child touched a nut product while out with friends, at a shop etc?

I don't circumvent school policies. We aren't a nut free school. The dinner hall is nut free. My classroom isn't. There are no nut allergies in school.

It was not my decision not to test her! They have chosen not to test her but to keep an eye on her. Thanks for your input but it wasn't a case of me not preferring to test. And yes thank you to the above poster I am well aware she doesn't have an allergy.

Nut free schools offer a false sense of security and are counterproductive. Official advice is against them. Children wjth nut allergies need to learn young to check everything they eat and to keep their hands etc scrupulously clean. It has been shown that if children have nut free environment in primary school they are less careful and more likely to have a reaction when they are in secondary. For more info see the anaphylaxis society website.

I'd be hmm at a parent insisting on nut free at school for a non diagnosed child they preferred not to test?

Well then she doesn't have an allergy to it..

Oh dear, see my earlier post about people not getting it!

OP has an allergy, her DD would have come out of school with peanut particles on her hands, clothes and face which could have potentially sent the OP into anaphylaxis.

Also it's a good job her DD didn't react (this time, still not proof she's not allergic) because she could be dead by now if she was.

OP has an allergy, her DD would have come out of school with peanut particles on her hands, clothes and face which could have potentially sent the OP into anaphylaxis

and yet it didn't...

Mumof56 I suggest you Google 'potentially'

HTH

It was not my decision not to test her! They have chosen not to test her but to keep an eye on her. Thanks for your input but it wasn't a case of me not preferring to test

That's my experience too. NHS won't test unless there's evidence of a reaction of some kind. They won't test just because parent has an allergy

She didn't as my mum changed her clothes on site before bringing her to me. Jesus

Well apparently I can now overrule the nhs according to above poster

Sorry OP but why won't you have her tested? Even privately? Any amount of money is worth knowing if she has a possibly deadly allergy, isn't it? Especially as it might then give you a valid reason to ask for the guarantee of a nut free school.

The school has a duty of care to allergic pupils not allergic parents, so knowing if she is allergic is key.

The school has a duty of care to allergic pupils not allergic parents, so knowing if she is allergic is key.

They sent OP's DD home having handled her allergen, after being told this was dangerous to the OP and possibly her child. Surely you can see the issue with this?

Whether OP's DD is allergic or not she still shouldn't have been in direct contact with peanut butter because it could kill her mother.

Nobody should rely on a school being nut free. Our school has a significant number of families who have English as an additional language, many of those cannot read English at all. We also have a small number of English speaking families who cannot read. Even if we could get across to all of them that they must not bring any nut products into school they will not be able to read the ingredients of what they buy.

Nut allergies are serious and can pass through cross contamination. I worked on a case for a poor guy with the most serious of nut allergies. It was the first case where an allergy was deemed to amount to a disability for legal purposes. No one in his family could touch nuts because the possibility of cross contamination is real.

There is really no need for nuts in school either in food or in bird feeders.

If the NHS isn't willing to test I would pay to get your daughter tested asap if you think there's a serious risk to her. The NHS simply can't be relied upon to fund anything but the most urgent care these days. Most people I know now routinely pay for some private treatment, whether it's physio, blood tests, infertility, speech therapy etc. I'd be willing to pay the few hundred pounds if I thought it would save her life. Unfortunately cross contamination is a bit out of our hands tbh. Schools can't be relied upon to be nut free as other pp have said. Parents rushing to get 2 kids to 2 sepetate schools realising they haven't much for a packed lunch knowing they need to rush off to work prob won't even think to check ingredients. You can't control outside world, what you can do is control what happens inside your home, i.e. Have a clean set of clothes waiting get DD to put school clothes in wash as soon as she gets in, wash her hands throughly and get changed. As your DD gets more independent she will be going into more and more environments you can't control. You need a system in place to protect yourself as you have such a bad allergy

You may have already done this OP, but just chat to her teacher and explain that you have a serious nut allergy and please can DD/the class not handle nuts. Just because you’ve told the school doesn’t mean her teacher actually knows.