Details Section

Schools aid pupils allergic to peanuts

By Teresa Stepzinski| Morris News Service

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Dana Driggers reads a lot. It's a matter of life or death for her son, Sam.

Sam, 9, is allergic to peanuts. He will have a life-threatening reaction - called anaphylaxis - if he eats or touches peanuts or any foods containing peanut byproducts.

"I read a lot of food ingredient labels," his mother said. "We don't allow peanut products in our house, and you'd be surprised at how many things have peanuts or are made from peanuts."

Accidental cross-contamination is a concern for the family. They don't eat things from a bakery or many other commercially prepared foods because they might have been made with equipment also used for foods containing peanuts or tree nuts.

The third-grader from Oglethorpe Point Elementary School on St. Simons Island is among the nation's estimated 2.2 million school-age children with a food allergy.

About 94 percent of U.S. schools have students with a food allergy, according to a recent study published in the Journal of School Nurses.

Many life-threatening reactions - including anaphylatic shock, which can be fatal within minutes unless treated immediately with epinephrine - often happen while the child is at school.

Food allergies in children are the focus of proposed federal legislation to establish voluntary standards for schools to help protect students from accidental exposure.

Glynn and Camden school officials have been proactive in addressing that risk. Both school systems have implemented a series of policies and precautions intended to reduce the risk to students. Those measures mirror many recommendations contained in the proposed federal guidelines.

Neither the school systems, nor the proposed federal legislation, bans students or staff from bringing peanut butter sandwiches or nuts on campus.

"We don't have peanut-free schools because it gives a false sense of security," said Janet Mitchell, the food and nutrition coordinator for the Glynn County school system.

Ms. Mitchell, whose 2-year-old son is allergic to peanuts, said if a school were "peanut-free," an allergic reaction might not be immediately believed, and that could result in a delay getting help for the student. Peanut bans also are virtually impossible to enforce, she said.

In addition, such bans trigger unnecessary conflict, said Terry Furlong, the chief operating officer of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. A national advocacy group, the network is a nonprofit organization with about 30,000 members in the United States and 64 other countries, including parents of children with food allergies, school officials, and health care and food industry professionals. 

Precautions taken

The Glynn and Camden school systems have responded with common-sense measures intended to minimize potential feelings of isolation.

"If we serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in our cafeteria, we wear gloves and make the sandwiches in an area away from the other food preparation," Ms. Mitchell said. "We then clean up in a way to avoid cross-contamination."

Other Glynn precautions include designating peanut-free zones in classrooms and the cafeteria and training school personnel how to recognize anaphylaxis and administer epinephrine in an emergency, said June Paul, the school system's head nurse.

Allergic students and their friends sit at cafeteria tables wiped down by a teacher's aide with cleaning solution.

School nurses also teach the students' classmates about the allergy so they understand why it is important to be careful. A note is sent home to parents asking them not to send food containing peanuts or related items as class treats.

"We work with the parents to keep things as normal as possible for the kids," said Karen Fender, the school nurse at Oglethorpe Point.

Sam and three other Oglethorpe Point pupils who are allergic to peanuts all carry epinephrine. They eat lunch with their friends in the cafeteria. Their friends know not to bring a peanut butter sandwich that day, and they understand they can't trade food with each other.

Ms. Driggers praised her son's teachers and the school's staff for their efforts. Sam doesn't feel isolated at school, and his family is comfortable with the school's precautions, she said.

"I've never felt that I should ask other parents to stop their children from bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school," Ms. Driggers said. "As long as they have a peanut-free zone and the people in the school environment are educated about (anaphylaxis) and what to do, I don't think peanuts should be banned from school."

Camden County school officials have implemented similar precautions. Because they have more peanut-allergic students, officials have taken some additional measures, said Michael Wooden, a school system spokesman.

Mr. Wooden said no peanut butter sandwiches or other foods with peanut derivatives are sold in the cafeteria of schools where students are allergic.

A special code number denoting a food allergy is listed on the student's identification card, he said.

The proposed Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act would establish uniform, voluntary guidelines for schools regarding students with life-threatening food allergies. The measure was introduced earlier in the year, but Congress adjourned without acting on it.

Additional Information about Food Allergies - Medi Safe Alert Card - the card which provides instant vital medical information.

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