Peanut allergy & MNSSHP

[Daxx]

FYI - "Filberts" are nuts (not peanuts, but nut nuts.) My son's Kindergarten teacher didn't know this and he went into anaphlaxis right there in the room. That poor young woman was beside herself.

People with allergies that send them into anaphylactic shock should carry the Epi-pen EVERYWHERE. All the time. It is a pain in the patootie, but you just never know. My son is a teen now and doesn't want to carry it...it is embarrassing and makes him "special," different.

"Better safe than dead!" I always tell him.

Thanks for the FYI. I def. wouldn't serve any nuts in my class (peanuts, pistachios, cashews, macadamias, etc.) b/c I would be too afraid. I figured that a peanut allergy often isn't limited only to peanuts but could include nuts in general!

As for the epi-pen, I always had one on hand and so did the office. I would always have it on me ... in class, on the playground, on field trips, etc. If the student w/allergies went to gym, art, music or any other classroom, I'd give it to the teacher just in case he/she needed it. I know the chances of having to use it in music class were prob. slim, but I wasn't about to take any chances w/my students!!!

 

[Fitswimmer]

I've had nut allergies my entire life and you learn pretty early about Halloween candy. I know I sound like an old fogie when I say this, but I lived with it all the way through college before I got my first epi pen. I used to carry an inhaler that would keep my throat open long enough to get to the ER so I could breathe. Now I carry that thing everywhere I go and it's great that kids have it more available now. I was never allowed to eat anything out of my Halloween bag until I came home and my parents went through it. I also had to be very careful during school parties, lunches and birthday parties. It seems like there were fewer kids that had those kind of allergies when I was a younger-or it's just better publicized. I will say that WDW is very good when you tell them about food allergies. It kind of surprises me that they are not as sensitive about the candy they give out. I've had the chefs come out and tell me what my safest choices will be, and assure me about the safety of anything I choose. It's really nice.

 

[disykat]

My son is a teen now and doesn't want to carry it...it is embarrassing and makes him "special," different.

It always seems like my child is the only teen out there with this problem. He's always been the oldest child we know with PA. He was the first child in his junior high with PA. He doesn't like carrying his epi-pen either, so it's an issue when he doesn't have his backpack with him. I also am having trouble with him not wearing his medic allert necklace. Letting them grow up is a giant pain in the patootie because you have to give up some of the control!

 

[Fitswimmer]

It always seems like my child is the only teen out there with this problem.

I always felt like that too. It's hard because you always have to be thinking about what you eat and it does make you stand out. The last thing you want as a teen is to be different from everyone else.
I still don't wear a bracelet, even though my MD thinks I should. As you get older, you have to worry about the effects an attack might have on your heart.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I've had nut allergies my entire life and you learn pretty early about Halloween candy. I know I sound like an old fogie when I say this, but I lived with it all the way through college before I got my first epi pen. I used to carry an inhaler that would keep my throat open long enough to get to the ER so I could breathe. Now I carry that thing everywhere I go and it's great that kids have it more available now.

An inhaler can't boost your bp, and it can't move blood to places it needs to be. Anaphylaxis is very, very serious. For some folks with allergies, if they aren't treated immediately, they die. No "time to get to the hospital," or anything of the sort. Handing someone in the midst of anaphylaxis an inhaler would do about as much good as handing them a spoon.

Not everyone has this type of allergy, of course, but those who do really need to carry the epinephrine around. The epinephrine is what buys them time to the hospital.

If my son hadn't had an epi-pen, he wouldn't have made it to college. Hell, he wouldn't have made it to first grade. He'd have died in that Kindergarten classroom before I (or the ambulance) got there.

I hope this doesn't come off as a flame - that's not my intent. It is just that many people don't take this seriously...not saying YOU don't, but there are many folks who don't. They think it is blown out of proportion.

And though there are some people who do go a little overboard with the whole nut issue, the reaction itself is very serious. Honestly life-threatening. And the folks that see people going overboard figure those people are just loopy, and blow the whole thing off. (Again, not you. Just wanted to throw it out there.)

 

[momof2inPA]

Ironically, we were talking just tonight about taking the kids (who have peanut allergies) to MNSSHP next year. I think we'll just skip it and go a different time. A bunch of kids smearing melted peanut butter cups on the railings and rides sounds like a nightmare. I'm so glad that everything turned out ok.

 

[Fitswimmer]

An inhaler can't boost your bp, and it can't move blood to places it needs to be. Anaphylaxis is very, very serious. For some folks with allergies, if they aren't treated immediately, they die. No "time to get to the hospital," or anything of the sort. Handing someone in the midst of anaphylaxis an inhaler would do about as much good as handing them a spoon.

You misunderstood my post. There was no such thing as an epi pen when I was a child. They did not exist. I'm sure if they were available, my doctor would have given me one. I came pretty close more than once as a child and our housing choices had a great deal to do with how close the place was to an ER or MD's office. The type of inhaler I had would provide a topical medication that would slow the swelling of the throat-that's all it did. It was probably more for show than anything. If I didn't get to the ER or to the doctor's office near our house I was done. Things are much better and safer for kids now.