School districts should bar anyone from bringing peanut products to school

Agree

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by Miravanni

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I live with this every day, the sick feeling that one day will be the last day for my 4 year old son. Peanut has become a weapon,and grocery shopping ,eating out,finding a preschool all potential death sentences. People don't get it either, they think I am just being over protective. They don't understand that just touching the residual oil will give him hives. They assume his eppi-pen is a solution. Well it's not even a band-aid. If he makes it to the hospital the same thing that could save his life could take it. The eppi-pen could send him into cardiac arrest, so if and when I need it, I have to pray that they have advanced life support to keep him alive just on the ride to the hospital.

This has been a long road to discovering a lot about food, the way we eat and how ignorant people can really be. We found out when his grandmother gave him a peanut butter cookie, mistaking it for a sugar cookie when he was 13 months. At that time he had not been diagnosed with it, but had gotten hives from the shells so I suspected it enough to avoid it but had not had testing done yet, it actually took longer then I expected, at first I thought he was just getting seasonal allergies or a cold, we were walking him in his stroller. He started coughing a little but wasn't real fussy, when we got home I give him some benedryl. I, to this day have no idea why I did that, why not tylenol? About 2 hours later he threw up and his bowel movements had erupted through his diaper and clothing. Still no swelling, I didn't see the signs. Maybe because I didn't know what I should be looking for. I really thought well me must be getting the flu, first time mom at the time, I washed him up and get him settled for a nap but he wouldn't let me leave and usually he settled right down for a nap. 20 minutes later I was still laying with him side by side and he rolled over with his thumb in his mouth.

I was horrified his little face and ears had swollen up and his tongue seemed to no longer fit in his mouth. I tore the stroller apart, collecting my diaper bag and keys to go to the hospital and then found the wrapper of the peanut butter cookie my mom had feed him on our walk while I was in the bank. Then the panic set in.

I literally left him for minutes, and never thought twice about it, I assumed my mother understood not to feed him peanuts.

Those days of assumption have long passed. My son survived thanks to the benedryl I gave him, which slowed it down enough to get him to a hospital. That time. That was the first bit of peanut he ever had, each reaction is worse then the last. As far as his allergy goes he is the worst it gets, the next time we may not be so lucky. Our lives will never be the same, people don't understand that benedryl is not a solution. I can't just give him a teaspoon and call it a day. It stops working after so much exposure, and I don't mean after eating it. Then he needs steroids to stop the inflammation. Sometimes a reaction can take 6 hours after the benedryl wears off. Maybe while he is asleep overnight. The funny thing is, as a baby I just thought he was a fussy eater, turns out he was just spitting out the stuff he was allergic too. Our allergist said unlike most kids are in tune with their bodies. Didn't know that colic, eczema and cradle cap are all signs of allergy did you?

There is no assumption, I can't make myself any more clear, to the waitress that gives us a hard time and rolls her eyes because she has no idea and doesn't feel like asking the manager. Or kids eating candy and not washing their hands, and the million of other products that for some ungodly reason have peanuts, even shampoo. Or the occasional food company that, oops, made a mistake and forgot to label it on there. Or worse had a plant mix up. I mean you would think the extreme out break of salmonella would be a clue for people. The problem with this allergy is that you can't destroy the protein in the oil by cooking it. Unlike other allergies. why did they think that so many people got sick, the oil residue gets everywhere.

I am not asking for special treatment, both my kids have an egg allergy as well and I bring my own cake for them to share at birthday parties so they can partake. I cook three meals a day just about everyday and the only thing baked they can eat is what I have baked for them. I just want them to have a normal life. Really it's sad, but our kids' friends have no problem with it and are always thoughtful. It's adults. We took 10 kids including our nieces and nephews trick or treating last year and not one kid complained about sorting out the candy they knew he couldn't have and locking it away till they went home. Why? Because well they are kids and the world hasn't made then that self centered yet that it's the end of the world because they can't eat the kitkat till tomorrow. We teach religious tolerance, equality, kindness, humanity. Yet it's such an difficult to read a label, or worse pay attention to what you put in your mouth or your children's. Like really are you serious?

So imagine a day in my life, going to the grocery store takes hours, reading and rereading every label because plants change and may process with peanuts. Everything I put in my cart, and not just peanuts think soy.....yeah peanuts other family member in large doses sends most peanut allergy suffers into shock without ever knowing it. People think tree nuts, but they aren't even the same family, it's really just the cross contamination that makes them a danger for us. Forget anything baked because unless you cooked it in your kitchen and checked every ingredient yourself there really is not way of knowing. If we do go to restaurants on more then one occasion they would not serve him because they wouldn't take the time to prepare him a grilled cheese in a separate pan, and use fresh utensils. We have sat there for over an hour without complaint just waiting for an allergy list. Oh and traveling, well forget the airplane and if you drive you better pack meals. Not once does he complain, get upset or make a fuss if I tell him he can't eat something. He will bring an adult a box and ask them to read it before he puts it in his mouth. So yeah should schools ban it, like really are you kidding?

Let me tell you why all of a sudden we have 1% of the population mostly children developing these allergies. Our food. That's right. The food you eat, loaded with names you can't pronounce, chemicals, preservatives, and well peanuts, because they use them as cheap filler. I mean evolution can only do so much eventually enough is enough. We now eat so much processed food and it's in everything our bodies start to treat it as a invader and does what it's programmed to do. Fight.

So your kids' peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a death sentence for mine. Still parents will disagree with the ban. We don't allow guns in schools. This is exactly like a loaded weapon. Imagine how much damage a bully can do with a bag of peanuts or an eppi-pen if he/she wanted to. Still we debate while more children develop allergies. I have heard it all....it's an American staple. Well, really think about that so is obesity.

Do you know how much sugar is in your average white bread pb&j sandwich. I doubt it because I don't recall us giving our kids a bowl of sugar and then asking them to sit still in class all day. So really the ban is just forcing you to one, read labels and two, educate yourself and your children. Wow that's stupid

Or here's is another one, well then they should sit by themselves and eat, okay well then you better just start segregating the whole lunch room, because I guarantee that my kid is not the only one. I mean I am only asking for you to prevent a death that is in your means to prevent. I mean you wouldn't expect a diabetic to eat a bowl of sugar for a snack, and we certainly wouldn't rub say a raw chicken all over our home or lunch table for that matter, but yet we understand cross contamination when it comes to avoiding disease,but not keeping my 4 year old safe at school. Parents are perfectly okay with soda being removed but will complain about peanuts. Well they maybe should complain to all the food companies that put peanuts in foods where it doesn't belong. Or ask for allergy information to be more clear and readily available. Or complain about news broadcasts "on the possible cure for peanut allergies" saying that small doses of peanut butter will cure him. Hey, guess what let me tell you why that therapy won't work for him, because the first dose will kill him. One step forward and two step back. Thanks NBC.

So if you are still not convinced, be me for a day and don't cheat, don't eat anything with peanuts, for just one day. I will save you some homework, avoid chinese food, pizza hut, mexican, indian food, subway, arby's, baked goods, candy, and anything that is not labeled. Ask at every place you eat before you put it in your mouth. Then you come home pissed off, hungry and well saddened.

Now think about trying to get 400 kids to do the same thing at school every day. Just to keep the 4 kids that may have the peanut allergy alive, now pretend that your kid is one of those kids. Then you won't care if it's 1% or 100% of the kids that have the allergy you just want your kid to come home alive. Well, so do I.

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