Peanut Allergy Epidemic May Be Overstated

[NCDisneyMom]

That all sounds very reasonable, and I hope it does help keep your little guy safe. I certainly never meant to be insensetive to those dealing with what I know is a scary condition. I just wanted to point out that saying we should ban peanut products and comparing jars of peanut butter to loaded guns is just way beyond reasonable.

And I apologize if I got at all snippy in my first post. I am usually VERY non-confrontational (and avoid any kind of debate threat like the plague) but as you can imagine, this topic is very personal, and very emotional to me. And, sometimes I can go off without thinking about what I'm saying first.

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[Disneyrsh]

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[DawnCt1]

I didn't say that watching your child almost die was an overblow and ridiculous statment. That doesn't even make any sense.

Your child is allergic, and I'm really sorry about that. It does sound horrible, and I hate that you all had to go through that. But, to say that every jar of peanut butter in every pantry across the country is a loaded gun just waiting to go off and kill someone - which is definately what your post implied - is nuts.

And, for what it's worth, I've watched my child go through MANY horrifying things.

In all fairness, when she said "a loaded gun in the pantry", I took it to mean HER OWN pantry, not every pantry in the country. That statement is true for her and her family. Anaphylaxis is very scary. Minutes count.

 

[C.Ann]

The problem with the allergy is that it can spontaneously erupt in *any* kid with immediately fatal consequences. Kids who for years were perfectly fine with peanut butter. That's what my problem with peanut butter is! It's a potentially fatal substance that can unpredictably kill somebody, with no way to predict who or when it will happen. That's just nuts (pardon the pun) to me!

I think it's the same thing with insect stings, some can cause immediate severe problems. I don't see anyone keeping bees around on purpose, or ants. We go out of our way to eradiate them. My mother in law, who is very allergic to bees and wasps, wages war with them all summer to cut down on the chance she'll get stung.

And thanks for the squeaky wheel remark, it's nice when people take personal pot shots. So grown up.

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Believe me - I am not making light of your concerns, but a seafood allergy can have immediate fatal consequences as well.. Do we ban all seafood?

Bee stings can have immediate fatal consequences - yet bees are needed to pollinate, produce honey, etc. Do we eradicate them all?

Some childhood vaccinations have been known to cause immediate fatal consequences - as well as brain damage and a multitude of other problems.. Should we ban them all?

There are SO many things in our society today that could be considered "a loaded gun", yet we educate ourselves about them and make appropriate choices..

If it were a case of hundreds of children dying on a daily basis from peanut butter, that would be different - but the number of immediate fatal reactions is quite small and therefore I see no reason to totally eliminate peanut butter from our food supply..

 

[redbirdgrad]

I've seen this debated many times on the DIS and have always steered clear. The Peanut Allergy epidemic may be overstated depends on what is epidemic and what is overstated - when I was in grammar school - no one had a peanut allergy. In the same grammar school, which my children attend, 6 kids have the allergy - is that an epidemic, no - is it a trend over the last 25 years, yes.

My son is one of them and we had a life threatening experience, ambulance, ER the first time it happened at the age of 3, after eating a chicken nugget with peanut oil in it. It then also evolved into some health problems with duodenitis caused by soy allergy that we were unaware of - until a second experience at school where he swelled, vomited, epi pens were used, ambulance, ER. He is deadly reactive to Soy protein. Soy flour, which is a preservative in most breads, caused the stomach pains he had been experiencing earlier. The best theory that I have read is the one that children over the last 25 years have been exposed to soy earlier in their lifes, whether through soy formula (such as my son) and other foods and are genetically predispositioned to be allergic first to peanuts (same family) and then later in some children soy.

To make a long post longer - I explained to my wife that #1 we must educate my son on the allergy and reading labels, not eating without asking, etc... but #2 and just important educate my daughter, family, and others how to treat a reaction and pray they never have to.

 

[disykat]

What is sensationalistic about "Peanut allergy epidemic may be overstated"?

The word "epidemic". In all my reading about peanut allergies, I have never heard the word epidemic used. Saying that allergies are on the rise vs. saying an epidemic are two vastly different things. Trying to alarm people and get them to read your article by tossing in $50 words is sensationalistic IMO.

 

[Cass]

Just to make it clear (not just to this poster above, but in general), not all of us dealing with the allergy are asking for an all-out ban.

SOme people do though, last week some Mom was harrassing the GF to change the menu on the Pirate Cruise for her son

My DD's school has 2 kids with life threatening allergies to nuts. It is a nut free school - no nut or nut products, it is tough sometimes to pack her lunch - so many things can have traces. We are also implored not to give our kids peanut butter & toast at breakfast incase they come in with it on their hands/face or breath.

My DD is allergic to oranges/tangerines and breaks out in hives and rashes -but it is not life threatening, but what if it was? I would be a nervous wreck sending her out the door everday - just in case.

 

[C.Ann]

To make a long post longer - I explained to my wife that #1 we must educate my son on the allergy and reading labels, not eating without asking, etc... but #2 and just important educate my daughter, family, and others how to treat a reaction and pray they never have to.

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A well thought out - and very appropriate - plan of action - for something I truly hope you never have to experience again..

 

[Maleficent13]

In all fairness, when she said "a loaded gun in the pantry", I took it to mean HER OWN pantry, not every pantry in the country.

I don't think so. In her follow up post she made it even more clear that she thinks all kids could develop severe peanut allergy at any time, and so any peanut butter in any pantry is a "loaded gun". Which is a ridiculous statement, IMO. I am not doubting her son's allergy, or the fact that peanut butter is dangerous in her house. But it isn't in mine, or thousands upon thousands of other houses. Which is what I think GEM was saying.

 

[DawnCt1]

I don't think so. In her follow up post she made it even more clear that she thinks all kids could develop severe peanut allergy at any time, and so any peanut butter in any pantry is a "loaded gun". Which is a ridiculous statement, IMO. I am not doubting her son's allergy, or the fact that peanut butter is dangerous in her house. But it isn't in mine, or thousands upon thousands of other houses. Which is what I think GEM was saying.

I'm sorry, I missed that part. Now that I know, I am going to check my jars of peanut butter for trigger locks! Thanks,

 

[Tantor]

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Severe allergies can occur from anything - at any time - so what is the solution? You can't ban all food products and drugs because there "might" be a reaction..

By the way. Allergies change every several years.
Hubby was stung by a wasp when he was 9 with no reaction and then was stung again at 36 and went into anaphylactic shock.

 

[DawnCt1]

The problem with the allergy is that it can spontaneously erupt in *any* kid with immediately fatal consequences. Kids who for years were perfectly fine with peanut butter. That's what my problem with peanut butter is! It's a potentially fatal substance that can unpredictably kill somebody, with no way to predict who or when it will happen. That's just nuts (pardon the pun) to me!

I think it's the same thing with insect stings, some can cause immediate severe problems. I don't see anyone keeping bees around on purpose, or ants. We go out of our way to eradiate them. My mother in law, who is very allergic to bees and wasps, wages war with them all summer to cut down on the chance she'll get stung.

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Allergic reactions are always unpredictable.....the first time. Peanut butter is no worse than any other food allergen. Your answer can't be to eliminate peanut butter, can it?? People do keep bees on purpose. How do you think we harvest honey?

 

[Planogirl]

Allergic reactions are always unpredictable.....the first time. Peanut butter is no worse than any other food allergen. Your answer can't be to eliminate peanut butter, can it?? People do keep bees on purpose. How do you think we harvest honey?

Right. Bees are necessary in nature too. Most bees are docile though and easy to avoid.

Peanut butter a loaded gun waiting to go off? That is a bit sensationalistic right there IMO.

 

[poohandwendy]

Interesting to me that no one is really discussing the main question the article brings up, are children being properly diagnosed? Are doctors taking the time to make sure they are administering the right tests to find out if there really is a peanut allergy and the extent of the danger for their patients?

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[minkydog]

all this yelling about peanut butter made me have to get up and get a sandwich

 

[puffkin]

I find it appalling that there aren't better tests to determine peanut and other allergies. Why? Instead of focusing on banning peanuts in public places, shouldn't advocacy groups be putting pressure on the medical field to develop these types of tests?

I also don't agree with the word "epidemic". I think the better word would be trend. I think that our society has reached an interesting dynamic where everyone's child has something wrong with them. It is almost like an unspoken competition....you see it here on the DIS everyday. It seems like everyone has a child with ADD/ADHD, allergies, asthma or some other issue. Part of this may be better diagnosic, part may be parents are more willing to speak out and be advocates. But I do think that a lot of it is parents completely overreacting and seeking a "diagnosis" to something that may just be a normal part of that childs behavior.

Heck, I wheeze when I run outside sometimes, that doesn't mean I have asthma. I sometimes feel funny after eating certain foods, that doesn't mean I have an allergy. I get antsy sometimes in long movies, doesn't mean I have ADD/ADHD.

My point is, I truly feel for the parents whose children do have severe or life threatening reactions to things like peanut allergies. But I am tired of a small percentage of people dictating how and what I eat. I cannot tell you how many people have told me not to eat peanut butter because I am pregnant. I am offended that my children will not be able to take any peanut products to school. I would support the precaution if there really was a peanut allergic child in their class, but a blanket policy is overkill in my opinion. I think society has chosen to favor sensationalism and scare tactics rather than implying good old common sense, especially where children are concerned.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I find it appalling that there aren't better tests to determine peanut and other allergies. Why? Instead of focusing on banning peanuts in public places, shouldn't advocacy groups be putting pressure on the medical field to develop these types of tests?

I also don't agree with the word "epidemic". I think the better word would be trend. I think that our society has reached an interesting dynamic where everyone's child has something wrong with them. It is almost like an unspoken competition....you see it here on the DIS everyday. It seems like everyone has a child with ADD/ADHD, allergies, asthma or some other issue. Part of this may be better diagnosic, part may be parents are more willing to speak out and be advocates. But I do think that a lot of it is parents completely overreacting and seeking a "diagnosis" to something that may just be a normal part of that childs behavior.

Heck, I wheeze when I run outside sometimes, that doesn't mean I have asthma. I sometimes feel funny after eating certain foods, that doesn't mean I have an allergy. I get antsy sometimes in long movies, doesn't mean I have ADD/ADHD.

My point is, I truly feel for the parents whose children do have severe or life threatening reactions to things like peanut allergies. But I am tired of a small percentage of people dictating how and what I eat. I cannot tell you how many people have told me not to eat peanut butter because I am pregnant. I am offended that my children will not be able to take any peanut products to school. I would support the precaution if there really was a peanut allergic child in their class, but a blanket policy is overkill in my opinion. I think society has chosen to favor sensationalism and scare tactics rather than implying good old common sense, especially where children are concerned.

Oh my gosh!!!! I was thinking the exact same thing. It's really sad, isn't it?

 

[GEM]

And yes, it is like having a loaded gun in the pantry for me, since I can't speak for anyone else.

Well, that's a 100% turn around from how your previous posts came off. Here's what you said before, among other things.

Why do we need to have a food around that your kids can suddenly die from ingesting, just like that?

The problem with the allergy is that it can spontaneously erupt in *any* kid with immediately fatal consequences. Kids who for years were perfectly fine with peanut butter. That's what my problem with peanut butter is! It's a potentially fatal substance that can unpredictably kill somebody, with no way to predict who or when it will happen. That's just nuts (pardon the pun) to me!