# Kids with peanut allergies **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 6, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104 "2001-09-06T20:21:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/41 "2001-09-07T21:54:13Z")
> [@](#): > > However, I don’t want people to believe that the psychosomatic effects of smelling an allergen can be controlled by the person. I get uncontrollable migraines from the smell of pistachio fluff because my body’s natural defense mechanisms take over. I can intellectually tell myself that I’m not digesting anything but my brain just doesn’t work like that. I don’t think anyone believes that the psychosomatic effects can be controlled by the person. However, as far as I know,psychosomatic effects are not life-threatening.It’s one thing to say peanuts should be banned from a school because the dust can cause a life-threatening reaction.I can understand “peanut free tables” or a particular class having a ban on peanut butter because of the issue with little kids smearing it around.If the smell of peanuts really \*\*does \*\* cause a life threatening reaction (but according to [http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm#asthmapeanut,it](http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm#asthmapeanut,it) doesn’t seem to) then I can understand wanting a ban on peanut butter.But a non-life-threatening psychosomatic reaction being the basis for a ban?How is banning peanut butter from a whole school because an allergic kid might get an upset stomach or a headache from the smell different from banning tuna-fish because a kid who doesn’t like it gets an upset stomach from the smell? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/42 "2001-09-07T22:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > \*\*If you’re concerned about overkill regarding bans on peanut products, check out some of the proposals made in forums on [this site](http://www.peanutallergy.com). I suspect that overprotective urges in some may be doing psychic damage that outweighs the benefits of their hypervigilance. One mom on the [peanutallergy.com](http://peanutallergy.com) website proudly related how she had trained her small child to announce to waiters at restaurants that she had a severe life-threatening allergy and that even the tiniest amount of peanut contamination could kill her. > > Eeesh. \*\* You’re wrong. I would have done the same than this mother. That since I met someone (my ex) who is extremely allergic to eggs. A lot of waiters in restaurants (and other people, like shop sellers, etc…) underestimate (like you) the danger. When you say “allergy” they think “two spots on the nose the following day”, never “intensive care”. So, they don’t pay much attention, and you have to make very clear that if they don’t make sure there isn’t any trace of eggs, they can as well call the ambulance at the same time they serve the dish. So, speaking from experience, if I had a child in a similar situation, I would certainly teach him to clearly state what his condition is and what the consequences could be when he goes eating somewhere, like this mother rightly did. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/43 "2001-09-07T22:42:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by horhay\_achoa \* > It is the most common food allergy, and one of the most severe. \*\* I suspect it’s related to the widespread use of PB, or something, since here, where it’s quite impossible to even find PB, peanut allergy seems to be more or less unheard of (though people eat peanuts (oil, the nuts themselves, candies, etc…). Do allergy usually appear when people live in an environment where the allergen is very common, or are people allergic from birth? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/44 "2001-09-07T22:57:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > At this age, I think she can handle something on the order of “Peanuts can make you sick, we need to be careful”, not “You’ll die! You’ll die! Tell the waiter!!!” > Rather than setting her up to think that death is imminent, I’d feed her at home - or take the waiter/manager aside out of her hearing and explain that there’s a serious problem. \*\* And some day, she would eat some peanuts, since she think that at worse she’ll be ill, or someone (the parents of a friend, for instance) will give her something with peanuts because they didn’t realy pay attention to the content, or just because the child will forget to warn them, and you’ll have to choose a lovely white coffin. Once again, you obviously don’t realize what is a real _severe_ allergy. That exactly because a lot of people are just like you (or like me some years back) that it is necesseray to always warn people that it’s a life threatening condition. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/45 "2001-09-08T00:47:14Z")
SaxFace wrote: > [@](#): > > However, I don’t want people to believe that the psychosomatic effects of smelling an allergen can be controlled by the person. I hear ya. I **wish** psychosomatic reactions only happened up at the intellectual level. They seem to happen waaaaaay down at the level of basic instincts, which are damn hard to do something about. > [@](#): > > I get uncontrollable migraines from the smell of pistachio fluff because my body’s natural defense mechanisms take over. I can intellectually tell myself that I’m not digesting anything but my brain just doesn’t work like that. I **would** be curious if you’ve ever tried anything like the following experiment: [li]Put on a nose-clamp so that you can’t smell anything.[/li][li]Walk into a room where you **know** there is pistachio fluff that you’d be able to smell if you weren’t wearing the nose clamp. See if you still get a migrain. If not, problem solved. Sort of.[/li][li]If you **do** still get a migrain, have somebody prepare 3 rooms. One of the rooms has pistachio fluff in it, the other 2 are pistachio-fluff-free. While wearing the nose clamp, see if you can tell which room has the pistachio fluff in it by your reaction. Take as much time between rooms as you need to recover.[/li] Admittedly, since a positive reaction comes in the form of an uncrontrollable migrain for you, this isn’t the kind of experiment you’d be inclined to perform on a whim. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/46 "2001-09-08T01:14:49Z")
Hmm, no one has come up with a cite for any kids dying from smelling a PBJ. Wonder why? Let’s consider this. According to the Houston Chronicle link in the OP, > [@](#): > > anaphylactic shock, which annually kills about 125 people nationwide. So anaphylactic shock kills 125 people per year. It doesn’t even say that all 125 cases are caused by peanuts, but let’s say that’s what they meant. 125 people out of 281,421,906 (US Census, April 1, 2000) is, get this, .0000444% of the population. The population of Houston was 1,953,631, so 1,953,631 X .0000444% equals .8674 people that may have died from this horror. Less than 1 person. The fact that a School Board spent even a second of time thinking about this, let alone creating “policies”, posting signs, or telling parents what to feed their kids IS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!!! Methinks some people need to lie down, and sniff the smelling salts. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/47 "2001-09-08T01:51:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milroyj \* > **The population of Houston was 1,953,631, so 1,953,631 X .0000444% equals .8674 people that may have died from this horror. Less than 1 person.** Too bad that person wasn’t you. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/48 "2001-09-08T05:12:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clairobscur \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > > At this age, I think she can handle something on the order of “Peanuts can make you sick, we need to be careful”, not “You’ll die! You’ll die! Tell the waiter!!!” > > Rather than setting her up to think that death is imminent, I’d feed her at home - or take the waiter/manager aside out of her hearing and explain that there’s a serious problem. \*\* > > And some day, she would eat some peanuts, since she think that at worse she’ll be ill, or someone (the parents of a friend, for instance) will give her something with peanuts because they didn’t realy pay attention to the content, or just because the child will forget to warn them, and you’ll have to choose a lovely white coffin. Once again, you obviously don’t realize what is a real _severe_ allergy. That exactly because a lot of people are just like you (or like me some years back) that it is necesseray to always warn people that it’s a life threatening condition. \*\* On the contrary, Clair, I’ve made it abundantly clear that I’m aware that peanuts can cause allergic reactions, which may on occasion be quite serious. I suggest you reread the quote you posted, and pay attention to the words “at this age”. The parents of this child should take on the responsibility of monitoring her eating habits when they are with her, and teach her with due forcefulness not to accept food from strangers. They should **not** , in my view, be encouraging her to visualize her own death _at this age_ and deliver speeches about her possible impending death to strangers. It’s up to all of us to decide what are reasonable societal precautions to take to deal with allergies. In the case of children with peanut allergies, it’s up to parents to make an informed assessment with the aid of their physician as to what degree of risk their child faces, and to deal with that risk in a way that not only protects the child from ingesting an allergen, but avoids psychologically damaging the child through overprotective overkill. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/49 "2001-09-08T05:26:58Z")
milroyj wrote: > [@](#): > > The population of Houston was 1,953,631, so 1,953,631 X .0000444% equals .8674 people that may have died from this horror. Less than 1 person. Ah, but don’t forget, that’s **per year**. Over the course of the average human lifetime (say 72 years), we would expect, on average, that 62-and-a-half Houston residents would die from anaphylactic shock. And just think – over the next hundred thousand years, that’s 86,740 residents of Houston that will die from this horror! Why, in two-and-a-quarter million years, the **entire population of Houston will have died!!** We can’t let this tragedy occur! ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/50 "2001-09-08T07:36:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milroyj \* > \*\*The fact that a School Board spent even a second of time thinking about this, let alone creating “policies”, posting signs, or telling parents what to feed their kids IS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!!! > > Methinks some people need to lie down, and sniff the smelling salts. \*\* Methinks that some school boards did just that, by weighing the cost of dealing with a lawsuit if they DIDN’T create the policies and a kid died, versus having the policies in place, and being ‘safe’ in court. Just another example of our wonderful American way of life :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/51 "2001-09-08T14:48:56Z")
I have a question for the peanut allergy sufferers on the board. Since it seems that most (or all) of you agree that reactions from the _smell_ of peanuts are likely psychosomatic, have any of you tried (or considered) some type of desensitivity therapy? Or if the smell of peanuts causes something like a panic attack do any of you take any anti-anxiety meds when you may be exposed to the smell (e.g. on an airplane)? Perhaps doing either of these things might improve your quality of life a bit. I agree that having an allergy like this must suck big-time. You have my best wishes. ---
**Author:** ![schplebordnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@schplebordnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schplebordnik)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/52 "2001-09-08T15:13:47Z")
The question I had when I read the NYT Magazine article, which was never answered, nor has it been answered here: The majority of the horror stories and proposed legislation/bans revolved around people who went to restaurants, or ate prepared foods, which contained peanuts (or whatever they were allergic to) but either didn’t indicate so (on the ingredient label), or had been “contaminated” by the allergen due to proximity, etc. (like the example given above of the chocolate chip cookies cooked on the same sheet as the peanut butter cookies). As a result, the enraged parents or allergy sufferers pressed for legislation mandating more detailed ingredient labels, or more stringent preparation procedures which would eliminate any form of contamination. Why on earth would anyone with a severe food allergy eat prepared food of any kind? Make your food from basic ingredients, chosen yourself, in your allergen-free kitchen. Has our society reached the point that access to prepared food is now a fundamental right? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/53 "2001-09-08T16:45:16Z")
And if we’re going to ban peanuts for fear of people with peanut allergies, then for God’s sake, what are we going to do about those people that have **soybean oil allergies?!** (I’ve met someone who had this allergy.) My God! Do you have any idea how many things are made with Wesson oil or Crisco, or variants thereof? Two-thirds of the items on grocery store shelves would have to come down! ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/54 "2001-09-08T17:16:07Z")
**KellyM** > [@](#): > > Too bad that person wasn’t you. :rolleyes: [Moderator Hat ON] KellyM, I do not think it is appropriate in this forum to express the wish that one of your fellow posters would have died. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/55 "2001-09-09T00:31:16Z")
But … but … but, then what about [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=83988)? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/56 "2001-09-09T01:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > [On the contrary, Clair, I’ve made it abundantly clear that I’m aware that peanuts can cause allergic reactions, which may on occasion be quite serious. I suggest you reread the quote you posted, and pay attention to the words “at this age”. The parents of this child should take on the responsibility of monitoring her eating habits when they are with her, and teach her with due forcefulness not to accept food from strangers. They should **not** , in my view, be encouraging her to visualize her own death _at this age_ and deliver speeches about her possible impending death to strangers. > > . \*\* Actually, I did understood what you meant. Rven if you taught you child not to accept food from strangers, are you sure he won’t accept something from the mother of one his friend, for instance, _especially_ if he can’t tell her what the real risks are? Or even from another schoolmate? I am wondering what you would say/have said to your child to teach him not to put his finger in an electric plug, not to swallow funny-colored pills, cross the street running or whatever else life-threatening situation? Also, take into consideration that there will be adults that won’t think it’s dangerous or even will tell him to eat the stuff (Imagine the situation where most other adults wouldn’t prevent your child from putting his fingers in the plug, and even could actively encourage him to do so). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/57 "2001-09-09T01:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*And if we’re going to ban peanuts for fear of people with peanut allergies, then for God’s sake, what are we going to do about those people that have **soybean oil allergies?!** (I’ve met someone who had this allergy.) My God! Do you have any idea how many things are made with Wesson oil or Crisco, or variants thereof? Two-thirds of the items on grocery store shelves would have to come down! \*\* It would be absolutely impossible. I myself discovered how many things contain eggs. And since whatever could be the ingredient, there will always been someone who is allergic to it, all prepared food would have to be banned. But certainly, all the ingredients must be listed,even when there are only traces of them. It’s enough to insure the security of allergic people. ---
**Author:** ![RoboDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@RoboDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoboDude)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/58 "2001-09-09T01:11:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Why on earth would anyone with a severe food allergy eat prepared food of any kind? Make your food from basic ingredients, chosen yourself, in your allergen-free kitchen. Has our society reached the point that access to prepared food is now a fundamental right? Actually, it has reached the point where many disabled people think they have a right to have people do whatever it takes to enable them to do anything normal folks can do. The cost of printing “May contain stray peanut molecules” on food packaging would probably be negligible, but requiring facilities where food is prepared to treat peanuts like plutonium sounds a bit excessive to me. We must find a cure before this gets out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/59 "2001-09-09T01:14:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by schplebordnik \* > Why on earth would anyone with a severe food allergy eat prepared food of any kind? Make your food from basic ingredients, chosen yourself, in your allergen-free kitchen. Has our society reached the point that access to prepared food is now a fundamental right? \*\* As it has been said by another poster, and as I myself witnessed, severely allergic people do avoid to eat in restaurants, and tend to stick to products they are familiar with when buying prepared foods. ---
**Author:** ![schplebordnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@schplebordnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schplebordnik)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104/60 "2001-09-10T03:50:28Z")
Read the NYT mag. article; the substance of the article was to the contrary. Parents asking that food companies, for example, not process foods in equipment that has previously processed peanuts, not ship foods in trucks that also contain peanuts. Basically, a huge tax on all of us, to allow the allergic the right to eat prepared food. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-with-peanut-allergies/80104.md?page=4)