Peanut Bans in Schools
 

I thought about posting something about this after one of my friends complained that her kids' elementary school has a peanut ban in effect. But it didn't seem that interesting, so I let it go.

Then, I saw this story on Yahoo! and thought about it again.

Is it possible that a student can be affected by a whiff of peanut butter? I mean, doesn't someone actually have to ingest something containing peanuts in order to have issues related to the allergy?

I seem to remember an incident where a kid kissed his girlfriend/her boyfriend (I don't remember which one had the allergy) and got ill because the boyfriend/girlfriend had peanut-breath, so I guess I can see why it might be a good idea. But still, to ban peanut products entirely from the school seems a bit... excessive.

What do you think, GCers? Is the peanut-ban overkill, or is it reasonable?

There is a middle ground.

My son's school notifies classes with students who have allergies - my son's class has at least one - so group treats can be peanut-free and students know not to bring peanut snacks (they have an in-class snack time). During lunch those with allergies are seated together - a totally peanut-free table which is not noticeably different from any other table.

I've seen schools with "nut free classes" and "nut classes". I think that seems pretty sensible. Another requirement that a lot of schools institute is only allowing sealed store bought goodies (cupcakes and cookies and such). Even if you don't put nuts in your brownies, there can be cross contamination.


It's a pain for the parent's of allergy-free students, but far less worse than if a child were to go in to anaphylactic shock. And I've heard of cases where even peanut dust can set a person off, so in those cases, it's better to be safe than sorry.

It's just bizarre to me. What are we doing different today that wasn't happening 20 years ago? I know we never thought about these things in grade school, and I didn't know a soul with a peanut allergy. And don't say it's vaccines!!!

I think the reason these allergies are popping up because kids 1) aren't going outside as much when they are younger and 2) are eating different foods than we did. I know my parents made me eat whatever they prepare and I'm sure there are a lot of parents that feed kids whatever they want in order to pacify them.

My county has required that all staff members receive epi-pen training for allergic reactions. Anaphylaxis is no joke- a child can easily die if you don't know what to do. At the middle and high school level, kids are mixed in and are pretty aware of what they can't be around. At the elementary level, we have tables that are nut-free in the cafeteria.

One thing that I have seen more and more often now are students who have Crohn's disease. I had a volleyball player who had it last year and missed most of the season due to the symptoms being so sever and having to go in for infusion shots. Crohn's is one of those things that can really keep you out of school and is super embarrassing for the kids. My mother has it and has it relatively in control through medication, but with students going through puberty and their bodies changing, it can take a very long time before its relatively in control.

Students at my school are aware of what they can't be around, but that may not happen at the elementary school level. The schools are trying to cover their behinds by being safe. It's the same thing with zero-tolerance for drugs, alcohol, and weapons. You are there to be guardians and ensure the safety of children for 7-8 hours a day.

I'm in this camp. There was a section on this in an infectious diseases class of mine (well it's not quite infectious, but it's slightly relevant), and the basic conclusion was that parents aren't exposing kids to enough substances during the window of time where their body can learn to handle it. Everything is sanitized, sterilized, gluten-free, etc. and some kids aren't developing the antibodies they need at the fault of overprotective parents. Basically, let your kids eat dirt, and stop applying Purell to every non-porous surface they touch. Make them have a variety of food, even if it's just a little bit. Remove them from their plastic bubble.

Omg this drives me nuts! (no pun intended). The district I work in just established a NO FOOD AT ALL ban. We used to have an adorable program called "passports" to teach all about the world and cultures from all over. A big (huge) part of many cultures is the food. Parents would bring in family goodies from all over the world. It was awsome. Until... one parent complained (the child had several allergies) so the program was scrapped. I know it seems heartless but why should 350 kids be denied a great program for one? I think if it was my kid I'd just try to bring something he could eat!

My daughter has a peanut allergy and thankfully, she only has an anaphylactic reaction if she ingests it. If she touches it, she only gets hives in that area (so far). However, each time she is exposed, her reaction is more severe so continued exposure in any form frightens me. She has lesser reactions to other legumes but realized that when she eats garbanzo beans, soy, lentils, etc., her throat gets irritated.

I was buying the Barilla Plus pasta in an attempt to eat a healthier pasta (more fiber, more protein). After about 6 months, she said "Every time we eat pasta my lips feel puffy". I checked the package and found it has "legume flour" as an ingredient. I never bought that again!

I don't know that I agree with the reasoning for the increase in peanut allergies. It certainly doesn't fit her situation. She had gastro reactions to soy formula at four weeks old (after having lactose intolerance to milk based formulas and gastro reactions to my breast milk, probably because I ate a ton of peanut butter). She had her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich around age 2 and had her first peanut reaction with the second peanut butter and jelly sandwich about a week later. She definitely ate a wide variety of foods and my home was not a sterile environment. They have found some common genetic markers in kids with peanut allergies. Perhaps, before there were better medications to deal with it, people died of these reactions before they could reproduce and pass the genes on? Perhaps it is recessive (neither my ex husband or I are allergic to peanut products and neither is my son).

I was lucky that we didn't have to go to extremes with her at school. She knew she couldn't eat it and her friends knew she couldn't eat it. My son and I eat peanut butter. I make our sandwiches with plastic knives on paper plates so I can throw it all away and not get peanut oil on anything. I wash my hands after putting the peanut butter on the bread, before I touch the jelly jar. I use a separate utensil for the jelly. It's a hassle.

I have a friend whose son has had anaphylactic reactions from being in the same cafeteria as a child who was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't know what I'd do if my child was that sensitive. Perhaps the better solution is to have children who are that highly allergic eat in a separate space.

And my son was that kid who wouldn't eat any kind of sandwich except peanut butter and jelly.

A few years ago, I had a student who was one of those highly allergic kids. She had an epi pen in her purse and two in the nurses office. She passed a kid in the hallway eating peanut butter and crackers, she barely made it to the nurse's office on time. She was in my class for three of her four years in high school and I always went to the epi pen training even though I have used one before. I wanted her to be comfortable with me using on her, if it came to that. She was very aware of her allergy and went out of her way to avoid peanuts. I always made sure it was included in my sub plans and she was very good about making sure people in her classes knew that foods like peanut M&Ms and Reese's cups were triggers for her.

As a teacher it was scary to know the possibility for her to go anaphylactic existed, I cannot even imagine what it would be like for a parent.

These stories are surprising. It just doesn't seem logical that someone could react to the scent of peanuts (outside of a psychosomatic reaction). I could understand it if someone were cracking open peanut shells and letting dust into the air.

With so many children developing allergies from lack of exposure to certain foods, are there not options for controlling the allergy instead of reacting to it with epinephrine?

I'm sorry - this made me laugh. "You're in the nut class? So... you're nuts?"

I used to volunteer at a temple that ran a religious school. There was one child who was apparently VERY allergic to nuts of all types including peanuts. Every year, in addition to noting the allergy on her son's medical information form, his mother wrote a letter to the school informing the teachers and staff of her son's allergy and demanding that no nuts be allowed in the building. So the entire temple was a nut-free zone ... I don't think they were even allowed to serve foods containing nuts after Friday night services (typically snacks, soda, and coffee were available after services, so attendees could have a nibble and chitchat).

I don't recall this being an issue at all when I was a child. Kids often brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school for lunch, and when kids brought peanut M&Ms to class, the only reprimand they got was, "Did you bring enough to share with the whole class?"

I worked in a massive day camp for 4 years, and there was a nut free policy. However, if a child brought something with peanuts/peanut butter then an instructor would eat with them outside the room. The logic was why should the child with allergies always have to be removed from the situation. I'm not sure if I agree with this 100% but it worked for us.

I'm allergic to peanuts, If someone eats peanuts near me, I have trouble breathing. I only get really really sick if I ingest them, but people eating peanut butter sandwiches near me is a problem.



ETA My allergy developed very late, we only found out when I was around 16 that it was (among other things) peanuts

I don't buy that. It would be one thing if the allergies developed around the same age uniformly, but they don't. I ate what was in front of my plate and it didn't stop me from having food allergies; I went outside all the time, and run about 20 miles a week now, and I've always had environmental allergies, even as a tiny kid. My parents are outdoorsy types, so it wasn't that I was holed up inside the house. My grandmother developed a very severe shellfish allergy in her late 20s, after her first pregnancy and after a lifetime of eating shellfish. So, while I'm sure it's cute to blame the increased prevalence of allergies on overprotective parents, it's not the case.

This is probably an extreme case, but every so often I go in for my allergen testing. Each year I have a reaction to a different allergen that I didn't have an issue to the previous years. I wonder if kids are reacting to the allergen in the skin tests, where they wouldn't necessarily present symptoms in real life. That triggers the allergy notifications and it's all downhill from there.

While peanut reactions are the most common food allergy death, they're still pretty rare. Because of the 24-hour news cycle, increased parental education/awareness of issues, and the fear of litigation, we're just hearing a lot more about it.

Researchers are working like crazy on a vaccination for those with peanut allergies. At this point, the goal is to delay or lessen the reaction to allow time to get treatment for the symptoms.

My daughter had allergy shots for all of her environmental allergies, but with the severe reaction to a tiny amount of allergen, it wasn't an option for the peanut allergy. Her last "peanut exposure" that gave her a reaction requiring epinephrine and IV steroids was from eating half a cashew that, it turned out, was roasted in peanut oil.

Someone I know is so allergic to peanuts and peanut oil that he can't even go into the town mall without needing an epi-pen. AFAIK, he's in a very, very small minority. I'm not his doctor (or anyone else's), so I don't know how those reactions happen.

We don't suffer from nut allergies at our house; however I do suffer from other severe allergies. I've experienced anaphylaxis several times in my life. It sucks.

There's nothing more irritating to me than when people believe that I am overreacting or that it's all in my head. I feel for these kids and these parents. I would never want to do anything to make a child sick. I happily comply with th peanut-free guidelines at my daughter's school. It's not as if keeping peanut products only for at home is a huge and unbearable inconvenience.

I hear parents complain about how how it wasn't a problem when we were kids. So what? It is a problem now for whatever reason. Think of the guilt one would feel if he/she were responsible for a child going into shock and dying because of a peanut butter sandwich.

I'm fairly certain that throughout history medical conditions have evolved that "didn't use to be a problem." Denial of the condition or disease won't make it go away.

Without going into nitty gritty genetics, it's highly unlikely that this upsurge in allergies is a natural selection type of shift. Natural selection doesn't happen over 2 or 3 generations. While there are certain diseases, notably cancer, that people used to die from because it went undetected or untreatable, there isn't a huge history of kids suddenly going into anaphylactic shock from peanuts and nobody being able to do anything about it. I'm not saying it never happened, but if it did, it was nowhere near as common as seeing kids today who can't be around peanuts without a severe reaction. The huge gap between the number of kids with such an allergy now and the number of kids who had it, say, 50 years ago, is so large that it couldn't possibly be considered a normal genetic shift.

Whether the change is caused by our lifestyle, an environmental agent, underexposure to peanuts, overexposure to peanut products (like latex allergies), I couldn't exactly say, but to me, it's apparent that these allergies are a byproduct of people's actions over the last few decades, not just random genetic selection.

I have wondered if there are different fertilizers or pesticides being used on peanut farms that could be contributing. Are peanuts absorbing something from the ground that has been introduced?

However, I also wonder whether we are just more aware because we hear more on the news, etc. There were three kids in my elementary school (which I attended 35-42 years ago) who had peanut allergies. One was a neighbor who had a reaction after eating apple cobbler with her school lunch. Her mom went ballastic on the school because they had used peanut oil and not warned the girl, even though the school had been notified and warned the girl when brownies or cookies had peanuts in them.

My ex-husband blames my daughter's peanut butter allergy on me because I ate a ton of it while pregnant. I ate the same amount when pregnant with my son though and he's not allergic to it.

When people say they never heard of these things until recently, I'm always kind of surprised.

There have always been SOME children with allergies, even if they grow up in a very outdoorsy situation, but what we're seeing now is different. It's SO many kids with the same allergy. And call me crazy or knee-jerking, but the schools I hear about that institute peanut bans are usually in middle to upper class neighborhoods.

What hit home to me was the person in the article who said that some autistic kids will only eat PB & J. My friend's daughter is autistic and on a special diet besides. She can't have gluten or soy, but my friend isn't trying to ban those things from the school.

You have to tell your child that they WILL NOT trade food - just like they WILL NOT play with matches.

I agree, for those who react only to ingestion. The most severe cases, where they react to something in the air, it's more difficult. My daughter was well trained to always ask. When she went to Europe, she had a card that said "I have a peanut allergy" in each language (she was in France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland) and showed it to the waitress before ordering. Her friends were almost more cautious than she was and would read ingredients lists before giving her something. Most kids who have experienced a peanut reaction don't forget how scary it is and are good about it though.

I had an ER doc yell at me when I mentioned my son eats peanut butter all the time. He said "I hope you prepare it in a separate kitchen."

Children on the autism spectrum may react to textures of other foods, leaving few options available.

I really can see both sides.

I understand that it's impossible to keep kids from sharing food, so a ban in elementary schools makes sense. I also understand that expecting an entire population of kids to cater to a few students with allergies can be inconvenient, so a ban seems excessive.

I can see how separating students with peanut allergies from the non-allergic kids can lead to feelings of alienation, so a ban seems more appropriate than segregation. And I can also see how the students who don't have allergies should have the right to bring PB&J sandwiches to school, so segregation seems more appropriate than a ban.

I'm truly on the fence. I think it's unfortunate that some students have such severe allergies, but I don't think it's necessarily fair to the students without allergies to be prohibited from bringing peanut products to school.

My kids take PB&J to school practically every day. It's quick, easy and cheap, and both kids love it. My daughter has been a vegetarian since she was still in the womb, so I like that she can get some protein from peanut butter. I would be irritated if their school banned peanut products entirely, and I would gripe about it from time to time, but I can see how it's the best thing to do in some situations. I guess I'm just surprised to learn that people can have a reaction just from the scent of peanuts - it seems to defy logic. But evidently, it does happen.

I think in the cases where they separate students at lunch they allow their friends to sit with them if they don't have peanut products. It's not like there are 5 kids at a cafeteria table by themselves eating their lunch while the rest of the cafeteria buzzes with chatter about recess. I've seen parents making sure their kid has a lunch buddy, usually one of their kid's friends.

I know when I was in elementary that the school cafeteria's offered SWAK (sealed with a kiss) as a lunch option. It was usually a pb&j with an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and a hershey kiss. It was awesome for me because cafeteria food never resembled what it was supposed to be and I knew that it wouldn't be overcooked or seasoned with tons of salt. I never understood kids fascinations with the mashed potatoes that were perfectly round from an ice cream scoop.

Schools need to take a proactive approach in making sure students are protected but also ensure they aren't alienating or separating students from positive social interaction. An outright ban doesn't seem smart, but you can find some middle ground. It goes down to educating the students, just like students who have asthma and carry an inhaler, or students who are diabetic and need to eat a snack in the afternoon. Stop keeping your students in the dark.

Mine has eaten a peanut butter sandwich every single day for years (and years). Fortunately, for us anyway, our schools have not banned peanuts, but I'm open to measures taken to protect other children (my child would probably welcome the opportunity to avoid cafeteria chaos and noise!).

I recall in preschool that a (typical) peer was severely allergic to peanut products, and the other parents were informed not to send class snacks containing peanut products. Still, this must be a little scary for a parent worried about cross-contamination and left wondering about other parents' knowledge of ingredients.

I didn't know that the scent of peanut products could trigger a reaction -- wouldn't this depend on proteins becoming airborne at some threshold? I just didn't realize that this occurred.

I think its because of the oils in the peanuts that can cause a reaction. Same concept with an air freshener or oil diffuser. You get the scent because of the oils in the product.

Some schools have banned homemade goodies for classes, thinking that store-bought is a better option, but if it doesn't specifically say on the package that it was produced in a factory where peanut products aren't used, it's not any safer. I doubt very seriously that Little Debbie has two separate factories for ding-dongs and nutty bars.

I think you're right, I also think that there are a few factors behind that that might apply to kids today in general and that we hear about these things happening in more affluent areas because that's what's covered in the media.

One is that kids go to the doctor more often. My parents were always insured; they just never took us to the doctor outside of symptom-specific information. It wasn't until I was an adult with my own insurance that I had a full allergy panel, even though I had been diagnosed with asthma at like 7. My parents aren't uneducated or poor; they just didn't see the need in our going to the doctor when it wasn't necessary. My sister, on the other hand, has her kids take an annual physical above and beyond the one they need as athletes. As a result, they have a lot more diagnoses than we had. None of them are serious or life-threatening, but my sister is a lot more aware of their health challenges. I'm going to chalk that one up to being generational.

For better or worse, there's just a heck of a lot more information out there about allergies, and there's always good old Dr. Google to make people even more neurotic. I remember when I was diagnosed with asthma, my pediatrician told my parents to take it seriously because childhood asthma is often perceived as being faked or not that serious in some black communities; as a result, the death rate among black kids with asthma is much higher than among white kids. I'm not sure if a pediatrician would tell a mother that today, for obvious reasons; that same mother today, however, would probably go to WebMD or Google to supplement whatever the doctor told her.

Also, like I mentioned upthread, you can test for sensitivities for allergens without ever having presented symptoms; as a result, the diagnosis can shock people into action that may be unnecessary. Not only do wealthier families take their kids to doctors more regularly, they'll be more apt to visit specialists who, with insurance co-pays, can cost twice as much as a PCP.

Finally, there's just straight up fear of litigation. I suspect this fear is more common in affluent areas and schools/parents will make a bigger deal about it. I think that a lot of private schools did this first because it's easier to make a decision like this at the single-school level.

One of the theories about peanut allergies is the GMOs, which would coincide with why there has been an increase in the allergies.
My neice is one that can't be around peanuts or peanut butter. She went to a birthday party where there were sundays and reeses pieces. She had a horrible reaction. She once got a swollen eye just from going through a grocery store.

Am I the only one whose mind went to peanut farts? Sorry yinz guys, it's been a long day.

I do know a (bratty) kid who had a terrible reaction just from picking up a peanut, but not actually eating it. I think he was trying to be a brat to his Mom (i.e. threatening to eat it) and it sure backfired on him.


One of my co-workers had a shellfish allergy. Her fiance ate lobster or crab for lunch and then (forgetting this), kissed her a while later. Her lips puffed up like crazy and she had trouble breathing and went to the E.R. just to be safe.

aephi, I think we're around the same'ish age. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I agree, this wasn't really an issue. I honestly do believe that the foods that kids are eating today, are so modified and messed with, that kids are now manifesting all of these allergies and sensitivities that didn't really exist to the same degree back then in the 70s and 80s. Ah..the good old days.

This is exactly why my boyfriend doesn't eat peanuts either, if he eats it and kisses me a few hours later, I can still get a reaction.

What do kids with severe peanut allergies do for Halloween? Do they go trick or treating & ask for no peanut candies, toss/trade the peanut candies, or only take candy if there are no peanut candies in the bowl? Or do they just not go?

We just bought candy for Halloween and it made me (belatedly) think of this thread in panic. Peanut butter cups are pretty common (and fragrant), not to mention things snickers or paydays or peanut m&ms.

The kids I know with peanut allergies do just what they tell you to do. They trick or treat with everyone else and then mom and dad go through the candy and throw out any with nuts (or if really sensitive that might be from a factory that has nuts.) It does mean they get a lot of starbursts and lollipops.

It is pretty rare to have the peanut allergy so severe that peanut dust sets off the allergy. I guess those kids can't go trick or treating or to the grocery store?

Well... this was the absolute BEST thing about having a kid with a peanut allergy, quite honestly :) I always bought a lot of extra candy of a type she liked and when the night was over, I traded all her peanut butter cups and snickers, etc. for the candy she could have. I GOT ALL THE REESE'S!!!!!!!!!

Darnit, she's away at college now and I won't get any Reese's anymore :(

Sure you can! Buy a few bags of candy to give out, plus a bag of Reese's... And accidentally forget to put the Reese's in the bowl :D

Just about ALL schools ban homemade treats, but when that occurred back in the 80s, it had more to do with AIDS than allergies. I vaguely remember when you could bring homemade, then the next year it was banned.

I never heard of it having anything to do with AIDS. It was always just a more general hygiene thing.

In my area, AIDS was specifically mentioned as one of the major reasons. That info might have come from a source outside the school system, though. My mom had a contract with UofI at the time and was a clinical counselor for their AIDS clinic. There's a good chance that's where I read about those details. The myths surrounding AIDS back in the 80's somewhat intrigued me.

I've always made sure that my Halloween candy bowl contains things like individually wrapped Life Savers as well as chocolate and/or peanut butter treats. I figure that a child (or his/her accompanying parent) will give me a heads up if s/he has a chocolate or peanut butter allergy, and I can then pick out a few Life Savers for the child's bag. I also keep a small bowl of spare change for children who trick-or-treat for UNICEF, and if there's a major allergy problem in question, or if the child (or parents) mention that the child is diabetic, I'll give the child some change.

My daughter has a peanut allergy, but it is not severe. If she accidentally digests a peanut, her throat feels very scratchy & she just feels sick for a couple hours, which is easily taken care of by taking a Benedryl. She's actually allergic to all types of nuts.

Reading this thread makes me so thankful that we don't have to worry about anything extremely severe.