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I used to think that the idea of banning peanut products in schools was ridiculous. Sure, I felt sorry for kids who were allergic, but why should a minority dictate to the vast majority?

Then my husband developed an adult-onset, lethal peanut allergy, and I got a rough lesson in reality.

There are two things that more civilians need to know about peanut allergies.

First off, peanut allergies differ from many seasonal or animal allergies in that the response to an exposure is not a mildly uncomfortable, undesirable but fairly benign bodily reaction. This is not a matter of red eyes or itchy skin. This is quite literally a life-threatening situation.

Second, the sufferer does not have to ingest peanuts or peanut products to suffer a reaction. Once, my husband had to grab his inhaler when a neighbor of ours brought a WRAPPED peanut candy to my son. My husband was a good ten feet away from the candy at the time, and as he hadn't noticed the offending article, he was puzzled at first to know why he was suddenly almost unable to breathe.

Another time, he was in an elevator when a fellow passenger pulled out and unwrapped a Snickers bar. What was to have been a wonderful family weekend was spent at the hospital and at home in bed recuperating.

Even outside, he has been hurt by peanut exposures. We were at a carnival where one of the booths was selling cookies baked fresh right there. Unfortunately for us, some of them were peanut butter. We had to go home immediately, and even after taking his emergency medication, he was weak and uncomfortable for several days.

This is not a matter of choosing to avoid the allergen in question or face the consequences. This is not my figuring out after a few unpleasant experiences that I'd better stop ordering or preparing shellfish, or my neighbor regretfully passing on the eggplant parmigiana. The peanut allergy sufferer may have no choice, and suffers a far more violent reaction to a forced, involuntary exposure than I ever will if I decide to say yes to those sauteed scallops.

Many people who don't completely understand the situation say that children suffering from peanut allergies have to learn to live in the "real world." The rest of the world isn't going to just start revolving around them.

These people seem to think that requesting an on-campus peanut ban is the equivalent of depriving all school children of their lunchtime milk because some children are lactose intolerant. As I've explained, the situations are not analogous.

A peanut ban is the only safe, working solution short of requiring parents of children who suffer from peanut allergies to homeschool. This is hardly a fair or particularly effective long-term solution.

Parents of healthy children should keep my experience in mind. For whatever reason, peanut allergies are growing increasingly wide-spread, and just because your child doesn't suffer from one today doesn't mean he might not wake up with one tomorrow.

One of the arguments against the peanut ban is that peanut butter sandwiches are a staple of many packed lunches. And one of the theories about the disturbing rise in peanut allergies is that people are suffering from them in response to ingesting too many peanuts. If parents of non-allergic kids think that it would be too difficult to think up non-peanutty lunches for the sake of other children, what are they going to do if the child at risk is their own?

Learn more about this author, Deborah Markus.
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