NUT Allergy Prevalence & Accommodations

I cannot remember anyone growing up that had a peanut allergy. My child's school is not nut free...in fact pbj is on the lunch menu some days. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to be the parent of a childvwith peanut allergies. However, I do think the children need to learn how to manage their allergoes since special accomodations are not available as adults. I would never intentionally do anything to harm any child, but I do think that some parents take this too far.

I do not think that it is ok for a parent to tell me that I cannot feed my child peanut butter in my own home because of her child's allergy. I have a dd that is on the small side...you can bet that peanut butter is on her diet to help her gain weight. For most children, peanut butter is part of a healthy diet.

I have a nut allergy. A very serious one. I can have a reaction from touching someone, who has touched nuts. Mine was less extreme when I was young, but each reaction does get worse...which is why I think it's so much worse now.

There are no nut free places, as adults. However, I am more equipped to be very careful. I wipe down tables before I sit down. I call around look online, and only eat at restaurants that serve no dishes with nuts. (I pretty much can't eat Asian food.) I pay attention to what those around me are eating. If I see someone with a granola bar, trail mix, pb&j, chocolate...I simply move away from them. If I am eating at someone's house, I do inform them of my allergy. I stay completely out of other kitchens. I don't go to stores, when they have sample days. (In case, the samples are something involving nuts.) I read every label of every food item I am exposed to. If I am at a park, zoo, (or a place with lots of kiddos) I do not eat near any children or touch anything. I don't go to functions at schools, unless I know the school is nut free. I don't have my son in daycare. Obviously, I always have an epipen. These are all things, that I was not able to do as a child. This is why I support nut-free schools when needed. Kids don't have the capacity to look for nut contamination in all the places and ways, that can be very dangerous. Other children are not good at washing up, thoroughly. I was NEVER a risk to myself as a child, it was everyone else. By middle school and high school, I was fine. I could use my epipen and I was mature enough to handle all the ways I could have a reaction. As an elementary school kid, no way. I think it's only necessary to have nut free elementary schools. (When needed.)

As for the prevalence, I have no idea.

They just got VERY sick or died if exposed.
Seriously, that's what happened. I still remember hearing about a little girl close to my age in our county, a town or two away, who died from eating peanuts. People were shocked, and I was afraid to eat peanuts for a long time.
It's just like everything else, it's always BEEN there, people are just more aware now.
ETA: the protections are there for children. Adults are able to manage their own health risks, they know what to look out for and stay away from.

I have a severe tree nut allergy. I handle it about the same way as Bug, although mine isn't as bad, I can go to restaurants that serve nuts. My husband and kids aren't allowed to eat tree nuts because they can touch me and cause a reaction. I became aware of my nut allergy when I was around 8 and had a nut from a bowl of mixed nuts and reacted. Luckily I was at grandpa's house and grandpa was a doctor, so he monitored me and I was fine but no nuts after that. Like Bug my reactions have become worse with age. Coincidentally shellfish allergies commonly develop the same way, mild at first but with age and repeated exposure they worsen.

I don't expect anyone to have a no nut policy, that's ridiculous. I'm an adult and fully capable of looking out for my own well-being. It's different with children, they aren't as vigilant and there are more opportunities for exposure so for them no nut policies are warranted.

I am 44, I figure if a kid had a peanut allergy back then they would have died and I am pretty sure they would have labeled it an allergic reaction but wouldn't have added peanut. Really they would have died of it before they were walking. It isn't like there was a restricted list of foods for babies.

Most of us survived. :)

It is good we know more now but I am pretty sure the same number of kids were born having it, we just didn't know what *it* was.

I would like to think by high school most kids can handle an epi pen. Hope I spelled that right.

Edit: Mamazita's response reminded me we did have a three year old who "choked" on a peanut. Kind makes me wonder if that was what really happened. I mean I know you can choke on anything but seemed kind of odd she died of it.

I will be 42 this year and never knew anyone with a peanut allergy until I was in my 30's (the same with autism, add, adhd, eczema etc.).

The human body can only take so much exposure then it reacts. Peanut oil was used in all kinds of everyday products and I think it was an over load for most humans. Now they are using soy oils and other stuff that I am sure will create more allergies.

I would say that a lot of this stuff is because of our environment and the changes in how we live.

Just my opinion.

I am 39 and I've had life threatening allergies to various foods since I was 5 years old. I tend not to buy into the whole "we are too sanitized" theory since I grew up in a filthy house.

My theory on peanut allergies: When I was a kid, my dad didn't buy peanuts or cashews much because they were expensive. They were mostly grown in Georgia, USA. Now the price of peanuts and cashews (just like soda) is the same, if not lower than in the 70's. A lot of them are grown in South America. And I can only imagine how much they have been bio-engineered in the last few decades. Maybe that has something to do with the rise in nut allergies.

My daughter and younger son are highly allergic to milk, and several other foods. When I was nursing, if ever I ate dairy, I passed it onto my son and he had an allergic reaction. So what was the cow eating that it passed through its milk and onto me???

When I was an engineer, I had to do a study on a cattle ranch which used highly treated sewer effluent and solid waste to irrigate and fertilize the grasslands. They figured as long as the cows didn't get sick from eating the grass, the meat was safe to eat. I can't remember if they got USDA on board with it, but It's enough to make my head explode ;-)

Bottom line, my family and I just bob and weave around our food allergies the best we can. I don't expect anyone else to C. their lifestyle or eating habits to accommodate us though.

I think that we are addicted to foods with chemicals and use way too many artificial additives. I think so many issues we are having with allergies and things like Autism come from what we are putting in our bodies while pregnant and when the kids are little. I do not think they are related to kids getting shots or anything like that.

I know there are people who would have truly been allergic no matter what.

I never heard of peanut allergies until I was an adult, in my 30's. One of the missionaries at church told me he had a peanut allergy. I didn't believe him at all ...I was wrong of course.

My niece is 7 and never goes anywhere without her allergy bag - liquid medicine, creams for topical reactions and for worse case the Epi-Pen. She has learned to deal with it. Fortunatly most of the adults she is with also know the signs of an allergy attack, so she is fairly "safe"

Truthfully, it is scary to see a reaction, be it itching, hive or worse. In public setting she is extra careful about what she eats and makes sure that she never touches her mouth with her hands (tought for a 7 year old).

i didnt know anyone with food allergies until after highschool when i worked for a country club at the snackbar&grill by the pool.. ..we hada golf side window where the golfers could stop at the 9th hole n get a drink or a snack .. we had those packaged peanut butter crackers out on the window for them so they could j ust grab them, one of the kids on the poolside was eating them and made a mess dropped one someone stepped on it.. this other little boys mother came up to the window screaming that it must be cleaned immediatley and cleaned thoroughly because if her son so much as stepped on it he would have a serious reaction... i didnt even know that was possible!.. needless to say we couldnt carry anything peanut butter after that b/c she complained to the clubpresident.. we had to keep the peanut butter for pb&j sandwiches in qa sealed container and always use a platic knifen throw it out, they couldnt be served on the poolside and we got rid of whatevernut toppings they had for icecream .. years later it seems way more prevelant, im not sure why but i know quite a few people whos kids have allergies to different foods

I saw a story on (I think?) Dateline a year or so ago, where they were discussing this..the increase in food allergies in people in the last decade and all of the things you describe in schools and such.

There was a researcher from somewhere (I wish I could find a related article online), who said a theory becoming more popular among scientists is this...

Our bodies have properties that have the job of fighting off disease and foreign things. But we have eliminated many of these things thru vaccinations, clean drinking water, good hygiene and good nutrition, so the body still needs to find something to go to war with inside of us. Its not something that can just be switched off, or let to rest in there. It has a job to do. So it attacks the parts of us that affect these food allergies, asthma related things, etc.

The way they explained it , it sounded pretty plausible...

I actually thought in this day and age everyone assumed nuts/peanut butter/etc. were not allowed in daycare or schools.

I do not know of the prevelance but know that if someone has the allergy it's very serious.

I didn't know anyone with food allergies until I was in my 30s...

do I think they are more prevalent now? No and yes. No because science wasn't as advanced now as it was then. People died for unexplained reasons....as to yes...for several reasons but none can really be confirmed....it could be we consume way too many processed foods now than before...many foods have been genetically modified so our bodies are rejecting it....some people are sooo clean obsessed that our bodies don't get to fight any germs and therefore anything they come in to contact with is considered an "enemy" and therefore our bodies fight it.

Who knows?

Same with asthma....I'm fairly sure it's related to particulates & other pollutants in the air now.

I'm 42. My sis had numerous allergies growing up. My boys have nut (and other) allergies. My girls don't. Their allergist said that yes it is becoming more prevelant and if i understand him correctly just chalked it up to the change in environment (soil/water/etc). I don't do much to protect the older kids because my attitude is this you get sick once and you learn really quick to ask questions (whats this, whats it made of, does it have nuts, etc). Only one of my boys is life threating so of course i let the teacher & school know but my goal is to teach them to handle themselves when i am not around. My sis never grew out of hers and we went to Friday's this weekend and she still has to ask a bunch of questions otherwise we're headed to ER.