To peanut or not to peanut...

My girlfriend, that I have known since high school, found out that her son has a peanut allergy in an entirely frightening way recently.  Her husband handed their nearly two-year-old son a "Monster" cookie- one of those cookies with everything in them: peanut butter, M&Ms, chocolate chips.  (Usually delicious!)  Soon after eating part of it, her little guy started throwing up and having some respiratory problems, so they rushed him to the ER. He received one dose of epinephrine (epi), steroids and Benadryl.  Fifty minutes after the staff warned them of the risk of a repeat reaction, they had to administer the second dose of epi, increase the steroid strength and keep him overnight for observation.  I thank God that they decided to take him in because I don't know if the results would have been the same had they decided to wait it out.

I originally found out through a facebook post that she made.  After calling her, I received more information about the whole situation.  She has needed to completely change her family's lifestyle.  Her family had no history of peanut allergies, but they now need to take strong precautions to protect her son's health and life.  She mentioned that she may even pull him out of parent's day out if there is no peanut policy.  Her doctors told her that every following reaction will absolutely become stronger.  For a two-year-old to react as strongly as he did, she is terrified, and rightfully so.  I cannot imagine how it feels to know that such a seemingly innocuous food item could cause such damage to your child. 

Her scare did get me thinking though.  As parents, we all do whatever we can to ensure the safety of our children.  To a degree, this allergy makes it difficult to do that completely.  You have to rely on the kindness of those around you.  I have several friends whose children also have peanut allergies, and I know from their experiences, that once a child enters school there can be a backlash.  I cannot wrap my mind around the extreme ugliness that can appear after a peanut ban in a school.  At first, I will admit that my reaction was less than compassionate to those who were objecting so strongly.  My opinion at the time was that it was just laziness that caused such an uproar.  I could not see why it was such big deal to avoid peanut-filled  foods in their childrens' lunch boxes.  If it was me, I would do everything in my power to protect the life of another child.  That is exactly the idea of a peanut ban.  But, after talking to my mother, who worked in a school for years, I realized that maybe we need to increase the education on this issue.  Maybe the backlash is the result of insufficient instruction.  And, I do want to empathize with the parents who now have to rewrite the school lunch menu for their children.  Life is hectic and having to put in extra time to find foods that are appetizing to your child, and meet the new school guidelines, must be somewhat strenuous.

My hope is that by diving into this topic, maybe we can gain a little understanding and compassion for both sides of the matter.  My personal experience with peanut allergies is somewhat shallow in nature. I never was around a child that had one growing up.  However, a few years behind me at my grade school, and later my high school, long after I graduated, there was a boy with a severe peanut allergy. (Mostly I know of this from my mother's presence in the lower grade school.)  He, of course, started as a normal child does with this allergy: reacting to eating peanuts.  This progressed to reactions when coming in contact with but not directly eating the nuts.  Then it became an issue when seated at the same table as a peanut product, as the particles of peanut in the air were enough to elicit a reaction.  Not just a simple rash or sneezing, this reaction always required an epi pen, and his mother to come and shuttle him off to the hospital.  Soon, he could not be near another person who had eaten the peanuts, even if they were not at his table or even during the same lunch hour.  And finally, he became so sensitive that when another student opened up a peanut containing product in the same high school hallway in which he was standing, he had to again be rushed out of the school to receive medical attention.  This is the real life of a child with a peanut allergy.  This is not parental neuroses.  This is not being a helicopter parent.  It is a LIFE or DEATH situation.  

According to Allergicchild.com, "The main problem with a peanut allergy is the severity of the reaction. In fact, studies by Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a researcher in the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, suggest that 80% of people with a peanut allergy have had a reaction that involves a breathing problem or have experienced a reaction that affected multiple areas of their body. He further estimates that 100 to 150 people in the USA die each year from peanut allergies."  While only one percent of the population deals with this issue, the allergy seems to be striking more children in an increasing proportion.  This means that as our children grow, they are more likely to experience classmates with peanut allergies than when we were students ourselves. This is a serious issue!  

My concern is that there are parents who poo-poo the issue thinking that it is an overreaction, when it really is a fatal allergy.  The parents of a child with peanut or tree nut allergies, for that matter, are required to maintain constant vigilance for the protection of their child.  They aren't doing it to put anybody out, or to be difficult.  They are only reacting to a possible danger that those of us with non-allergic children have never dreamed of facing.  For those who oppose such bans, I will try to post some ideas of peanut-free meals that you can send with your children tomorrow.  I can imagine that finding out that your child cannot take something to school in their lunch, that you believe to be the only food that they will eat, could be somewhat infuriating as you wonder what you can send to make sure that your child has a full tummy. Hopefully, I can offer some fun, healthy suggestions that will help to subside your frustration, while still allowing for a safe environment for all children.  Once you become a parent, your responsibility is not just limited to your own child, but also to all children with whom your child interacts during the day.  Please join me in protecting all of God's children with some very simple fixes!  Saint Alexius, patron saint of allergies, pray for us!

I dedicate this post to my friend, Jen, and her little guy, Jonathon.  Love you guys!