Before I share some tips for dealing with school parties, such as any Valentine's Day celebrations that may be on the horizon for you, I want to share a link to an article about Illinois and how they handle food allergies at school, with regard to new legislation. I was interviewed for this article (you see my comments near the end of the piece) and I sincerely hope that schools are listening and paying attention to all sides of the "treats at school" debate.
Unfortunately, we just got more evidence of why schools really need to watch the extraneous food and snacks. I just read on Allergic Living's Facebook page, that yet again, another child was put into danger at school due to "sweet treats." Apparently, an unaware substitute teacher handed the child a chocolate with a hazelnut and the 7-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after he ate. His life was most likely saved by nearly immediate epinephrine usage by his mother, as this happened to him at the end of the school day. The child was wearing his autoinjector and she was able to give it to him immediately. However, he still suffered two heart attacks. Is this enough to stop the constant candy-giving???? Another point: the candy had hazelnut, not peanut. People don't realize how serious tree nut allergies are and tend to focus on peanut. If your child has both or just tree nut, be sure that everyone understands the difference. I find it helps to name the tree nuts for people such as pistachio, hazelnut, walnut, almond, etc.
I would suggest forwarding both of these articles to your school, especially if you have had difficulties bringing home the seriousness of food allergies. Enough is enough. Most 7-year-olds will take candy if offered to them--so don't offer it to them!!! This is so simple to do. Something as simple as eliminating candy as a reward can save lives.
According to the article about the child who had the reaction, the candy in question was to celebrate another student's birthday. What happened to singing "Happy Birthday?" Our school gives each "birthday child" a free book of their choice from the school office and their birthday is announced during the beginning of the school day over the PA system. What about that? Or a sticker? Or nothing at all? Don't most kids get b-day treats at home anymore???
If I sound disgusted, I am. It's not that I'm against candy, birthdays or celebrations. I'm for all of them, but not as a focus at school. Why? It's just crazy to me that despite all the guidelines, laws and meetings, all the caution and care that most of a school staff will devote to food allergies can go out the window because one person is unaware. That's why I say no more food at school that isn't pre-approved. NO allergic child should be offered sweets, treats or outside food that wasn't provided from their own homes. Period. That would pretty much solve it.
I don't want to scare any of you off of school parties. Usually, if parents are involved and informed and teachers are kept up to speed, everything will go OK. However, incidents do happen and I think a proactive approach is called for at all times.
Here's what to do if your child's classroom is having a Valentine's Day party:
1. Give the teacher a heads-up now. Don't wait until the week of, or even a few days before. Speak to the teacher, send an e-mail, pick up the phone, your choice, but make it a point to find out what is going on with regard to food. Does food have to be offered? If it is, offer to send in a safe treat and then emphasize that your child sticks to that and that only.
2. Check the crafts. Are any edible crafts being done or is food being used for inedible crafts? Ask now. These are a bad idea unless everyone is on the same page about what is safe and what isn't. I've found that is usually not the case, so suggest an alternative craft if you must. The store Michael's has tons of craft ideas; so does Target.
3. Be careful of candy in the actual Valentine. People love to attach candy to valentines. It's cute, no doubt, but can be hazardous to a kid with food allergies. Instruct your child not to eat candy on their Valentine and alert the teacher (depending on your child's age and maturity) to be on the lookout for this.
4. Send home a note a week before the party. Ask your child's teacher to send home a reminder note of what to avoid sending. If you have a dairy-free, nut-free classroom, for example, be sure to include some suggestions of safe brands and treats. If people are intent on bringing food, at least they will have some idea of what is OK for the kids with allergies.
5. Role play with your child. This may be the most important point. It's never too early to teach a child to refuse food they are not sure of. Our rule has always been: "When in doubt, do without." Teach your child to be polite but firm when offered food that may not be safe. This would pretty much include all candy and baked goods you have not sent to school, but pretzels, chips and popcorn brands can also be unsafe. Our daughter has always refused food since she we knew of her allergy and your child can learn to do the same. They will need this skill their entire life; why not start now?
If there's anything you think I've missed, please share it with us. We can make our school parties safe but you must speak up.
Showing posts with label nut allergies at school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nut allergies at school. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, September 4, 2009
Lessons Learned from a School Scare
School has only been in session for 2 weeks but I've already had my first official food allergy scare of the year. Here's what happened: on Tuesday my daughter was eating in the cafeteria with her class--though not at the peanut-free table. She decided to try and sit with the other kids and didn't know that so many of them had PB&J with them that day. Also, at least one kid was opening up a bag of nuts nearby.
The smell of peanut butter repels my daughter but she has been able to sit near people eating it many times in the past so she was surprised when she started to feel kind of sick. Thinking that if she moved, she'd feel better, she did so. It didn't help, so she sought out a cafeteria supervisor and asked to go the nurse. As the nurse watched, the initial nausea progressed to hives on her forehead; the skin above her eyebrow also began to swell. The nurse administered Benadryl immediately, then called me. I am fortunate to be close to the school, so I (literally) ran over there expecting the worse. However, the hives and swelling were abating by that time. I sat and watched her for 15 minutes and she kept improving, so no Epi Pen was required. Also, we determined that she hadn't ingested any peanuts or tree nuts and it's doubtful that she touched them in any significant way--she told me she had put her place mat down on the table before eating.
Facial hives and swelling were the first symptoms of my daughter's first, life-threatening allergic reaction so I was pretty well spooked until I saw that she was doing better. Had the swelling continued to progress, I would have given her the Epi Pen shot and called 911--luckily, she was so much better she got to return to class.
I like to learn something from these experiences and so I learned that: we have a good plan in place that worked. The nurse did everything she was supposed to do, as did my daughter. As I've discussed in posts prior to the beginning of the school year, having a clear emergency plan at school and discussing it with your child is crucial. Our experience certainly proves that.
Second, I learned that my daughter is more sensitive to peanuts/tree nuts in the environment than I previously had believed. Ingestion is still the worst case scenario but I compare her lunch table situation to my cat allergy. Put me in a large room with one cat and I'll be OK for an hour or two. Put me in a small room with 5 cats and cat hair everywhere and I'll have wheezing in 5 minutes. Obviously, she was just too surrounded--in the air and on surfaces, most likely.
Why wasn't she at a peanut-free table? Well, they have one, but we had decided to try and let her sit with the class on the days she stays for lunch. (Her school is a bit retro with regards to lunch: it encourages kids who are in walking distance to go home for lunch.) The school was built in the 1950s and has no official lunch room--the gym and multi-purpose rooms are used. So while other kids with food allergies (many in fact) attend her school, the set-up is a bit different from other schools that have dedicated lunch rooms.
I realized that even though she is mature for her age and understands her allergy, that's only part of the story. It's the peanut-free table for her from now on--clearly, she needs it. A lot of people think that segregating allergic kids at a peanut-free table is bad for their development, but I witnessed my daughter's discomfort and fear about her reaction and I can tell you that I know she'd rather sit at a peanut-free table than experience that again. And the good news is that her classmates are very accepting--some will even bring nut-free foods so that they can sit with her.
For anyone who questions whether or not they should approach their school about a nut-free table, please know that it's a good thing. Schools don't want the day interrupted by kids having to be rushed to the nurse or the hospital; they don't want kids to suffer, either.
We are lucky everything worked out the way that it did and know that while our intentions were good about having my daughter "integrate" in the lunchroom, right now she's just too sensitive with her allergies.
The smell of peanut butter repels my daughter but she has been able to sit near people eating it many times in the past so she was surprised when she started to feel kind of sick. Thinking that if she moved, she'd feel better, she did so. It didn't help, so she sought out a cafeteria supervisor and asked to go the nurse. As the nurse watched, the initial nausea progressed to hives on her forehead; the skin above her eyebrow also began to swell. The nurse administered Benadryl immediately, then called me. I am fortunate to be close to the school, so I (literally) ran over there expecting the worse. However, the hives and swelling were abating by that time. I sat and watched her for 15 minutes and she kept improving, so no Epi Pen was required. Also, we determined that she hadn't ingested any peanuts or tree nuts and it's doubtful that she touched them in any significant way--she told me she had put her place mat down on the table before eating.
Facial hives and swelling were the first symptoms of my daughter's first, life-threatening allergic reaction so I was pretty well spooked until I saw that she was doing better. Had the swelling continued to progress, I would have given her the Epi Pen shot and called 911--luckily, she was so much better she got to return to class.
I like to learn something from these experiences and so I learned that: we have a good plan in place that worked. The nurse did everything she was supposed to do, as did my daughter. As I've discussed in posts prior to the beginning of the school year, having a clear emergency plan at school and discussing it with your child is crucial. Our experience certainly proves that.
Second, I learned that my daughter is more sensitive to peanuts/tree nuts in the environment than I previously had believed. Ingestion is still the worst case scenario but I compare her lunch table situation to my cat allergy. Put me in a large room with one cat and I'll be OK for an hour or two. Put me in a small room with 5 cats and cat hair everywhere and I'll have wheezing in 5 minutes. Obviously, she was just too surrounded--in the air and on surfaces, most likely.
Why wasn't she at a peanut-free table? Well, they have one, but we had decided to try and let her sit with the class on the days she stays for lunch. (Her school is a bit retro with regards to lunch: it encourages kids who are in walking distance to go home for lunch.) The school was built in the 1950s and has no official lunch room--the gym and multi-purpose rooms are used. So while other kids with food allergies (many in fact) attend her school, the set-up is a bit different from other schools that have dedicated lunch rooms.
I realized that even though she is mature for her age and understands her allergy, that's only part of the story. It's the peanut-free table for her from now on--clearly, she needs it. A lot of people think that segregating allergic kids at a peanut-free table is bad for their development, but I witnessed my daughter's discomfort and fear about her reaction and I can tell you that I know she'd rather sit at a peanut-free table than experience that again. And the good news is that her classmates are very accepting--some will even bring nut-free foods so that they can sit with her.
For anyone who questions whether or not they should approach their school about a nut-free table, please know that it's a good thing. Schools don't want the day interrupted by kids having to be rushed to the nurse or the hospital; they don't want kids to suffer, either.
We are lucky everything worked out the way that it did and know that while our intentions were good about having my daughter "integrate" in the lunchroom, right now she's just too sensitive with her allergies.