Oh, I love Giyen and Karen. It’s funny since I have never met them, and they live far away, yet I feel like they are my co-workers/pals. I could see meeting them for a drink after work (if we worked in a real office) and having an appletini while we ragged on that stupid Annie, the receptionist. And what did that creep Elliot think with that crack today? He’s got small hands.
In our virtual coffee klatch today we are talking about allergies. Since none of us are doctors or scientists, none of us can answer the real question: when did this allergy thing become such a big deal? Was it ushered in with the Clintons?
And then how does it affect your life?
Oh, this one is hard for me. We have 3 boys : severely allergic to nuts/peanuts/peanut butter. I’ve had all 3 in the ED, just about dying. Once, b/c one of them took some shared popcorn that was actually the FiddleFaddle stuff. Another child with a cookie that he was told was choc. chip and was peanut butter WITH choc. chips.
And, thirdly, on a playground, when my son went on a swing right after someone who still had peanut butter on their fingers went on the swing.
I’ve been told by some schools, “you should homeschool, keep them at home.” Of course, they’re not at that school anymore.
I’m sorry the peanut allergy ban is hard on you, but I hate to even have to apologize.
I do say that where it may be inconvenient for you, it is fatal for us.
Thanks for hearing the other side.
I have the rare place between both worlds. I have a child with multiple food allergies but none of which are anaphalatic(sp?). Here’s the deal. There were not as many kids with severe food allergies in the 70′s. And I think in all my educated wisdom that this was because of two reasons. First, kids with allergies like my sons probably just died as sickly infants. Kids with severe anaphylactic reactions probably just died too. Secondly, we are giving ourselves and our children more antibiotics than ever before. I was Group B strep positive with both pregnancy’s. With my first, I got all the antibiotics before he was born–my eldest only has excema and reactions to environmental allergens. But with my youngest, he got one of those huge doses of antibiotics and then his immunizations. This lead to a very, very long 2 years before we finally got his allergies under control. Long, because he didn’t sleep for more than 3 hours at a time during that ENTIRE period.
Now, hold on a minute. I am NOT against antibiotics or immunizations. But. A brand new baby does not need to be immunized against a sexually transmitted disease. We live in a very sexually conservative country, I’m not worried my infant is going to go crazy and start getting his groove thang on with the baby in the next crib. Even if she was showing alot of leg.
I don’t know what the answer is. I do know that more research needs to be done in this field. And better answers and solutions need to be found to help these families dealing with these situations.
For us– I wish moms would email me what they are bringing for birthdays so I can bring the same but allergen-free treat for my kid.
As for peanut-free zones. I’m for them. But making a kid eat outside because they were sent to school with a pbj is nuts(sorry:)) The whole purpose of peanut free schools is so children with nut allergies can not be isolated from their peers. So you isolate a child in response to that?
Hmmm, a friend of a friend who said they were studying this increase in allergies as part of their thesis threw this one out when we were out socially (he was still in the very beginning of his outlining and preparing what he wanted to study) One of his thoughts was that with all the interventions we have for sickly and premature babies now, a lot more children are surviving that wouldn’t have even 10 years ago. Those children would have fallen by the wayside in the old “survival of the fittest” mode. So he wondered if these “survivors” are in fact sort of “genetic weaklings” and that weakness either predisposes them or children and grandchildren to have more immune system glitches happen. I asked him why he thought peanuts were such a biggy and he didn’t know for sure, but thought that it must be something to do with the size of the protiens that break down. He explained that a lot of cow’s milk allergies happen when cow’s milk protien is absorbed into the lining of the digestive tract to a degree that causes the reaction. He explained that the protiens absorb as if it’s thru a screen or a filter and the size of the molecules of protien determines how far it will penetrate and if it goes where it shouldn’t, it causes a reaction. This was told to me after several bottles of wine several years ago so I could be botching the whole story up since I no longer drink and I’m approaching seniliity at an increasing rate every time I babysit my 3 year old and 1 year old hyperactive grandsons.
well good try explaining.. I could never retain it.
Alexandra, it’s not hard on me at all. I was more wondering why it seems more common now. I wonder if all are process food is a culprit. this is totally hair brain, but like they put corn syrup in everything maybe something is in food that has made kids get too much nut or something.
I worked with an adult who could be on a plane if a peanut bag was on board so I understand. How scary to have your boys go to the ER!
Apparently these parents do not have kids that have allergies. Try watching your child almost die b/c of a food allergy…then you’ll think again about a ban on peanuts or nuts in general.
I would rather not put a child at risk or a parent to be concerned that her child could have a major reaction just by going to school.
I fully support schools that do not want peanut butter in them. It is sad that so many more kids are allergic to foods these days as oppose to the past. I would like to see these mom’s handle 1 day in the life of a mom with a child that has severe food allergies and then let me know if they change their minds. I guarantee they will regret ever feeling that way over a peanut butter ban.
Sorry, Daphne! My comments were for Giyen, but I didn’t make that clear…sorry. Not meant for you, just responding to the video via your site.
I could tell you were just wondering WTH, why do all these kids have allergies?
This year I have a little girl in my Sunday School class with severe peanut allergies, so my classroom is a peanut-free zone. I am happy to make the necessary changes to keep her safe, but it is a little scary to be responsible for this sweet little girl’s life. Her mom leaves an epiPen with us each week, but I will never forgive myself if it has to be used because I forgot to wash my hands after eating my peanut butter toast.
As a mother of a child with a severe peanut allergy, I have tried to walk the fence of being laid back, but diligent. I am always amazed at the parent that writes the angry letter to the school about how upset they are that their child can’t bring their peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school. Yes, that actually happened at our preschool – a mom was furious about not being able to give her kid peanut butter during the day and she was just going to ignore the warning and keep on doing it. Even though my kid (and several others) in her class would stop breathing if they came near her. But, I am hoping that she is out of the norm, and I really try to not preach about it, because I know it is a sensitive topic on both sides. My son is only six and knows to ask what is in something when offered food, and everything he owns is labeled with peanut allergy warnings. Parents who have kids with allergies are very diligent, but it is nice that the schools can watch out for it as well. I am sure the liability factor for the school is an incentive too.
yes, I bet it is. Of course you wouldn’t leave a loaded gun lying around, sharp knives, etc, so why risk it for a cheap protein?
Have doctors ever told you what is it that makes peanuts so deadly? That’s what I can’t figure out.
oh and sidebar, my daughter HATES peanut butter so I don’t have to worry about cheating her out of treat she would like at school.
Придуманная мной технология значительно отличается от изложенной автором, кому интересно, могу поделиться своими идеями. Мой ящик:driller_lili@mail.ru, Михаил.