RE: Re: Missing the point

[Guest guest]

Ok, I said I was going to stop, but one more thing

By the time these “allergic” children reach junior high, it is

our hope that they can be self aware of the dangers, and take proper

precautions. But in elementary school, we can hardly expect them to be solely

responsible for their own allergy. “It takes a village…” remember? And my

nightmare… a VERY, VERY, VERY severe allergy to peanuts, PLUS Asperger’s???

This is the child who injected his THUMB with his epi pen in grade 1, because

his teacher thought it’d be better for him to carry it in a fanny pack. We can’t

expect them to know to wipe every surface before they sit down, or use a

computer, or play on the jungle jim, or open the washroom door. Nor do we want

to instill fear. They shouldn’t feel scared to go to school, and that’s

CERTAINLY not another anxiety I need to deal with, as we try to juggle enough

=)

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of tdhssp

Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 1:39 PM

Subject: ( ) Re: Missing the point

Missing the point?

Were this your child that you send out the door each day with a potentially

deadly allergy, would you not be terrified that they might come into contact

with the item? You speak of discrimination, well, segregation is as bad as it

gets and is definitely not the answer... its comparible to smoking in a public

place: On this side of the restaurant here you can smoke, while this side is

non-smoking. It just does not make sense because contaminants travel.

While children can be taught to avoid allergents, they cannot protect

themselves from what they are unaware of and that cross-contamination is deadly

ground. Do you really think that a child consuming PB is going to spray down

the eating area with bleach and scour his hands? Even going to the washroom to

clean up, he/she must turn on the tap - again, contaminating the surface.

PB can remain a staple, but one that stays within the house. Make a dinner of

PB & J send in pasta for lunch or cheese sandwich for lunch. Serve PB for

breakfast on toast and ensure the children's hands are free of the oil. Its

that simple, rather than put a child's life in danger. ONE DEATH IS TOO MANY.

>

> Why should 500 or so kids have to give up p.b.--a staple for many--for 1

or 2 kids? There has to be a better way to tackle the issue, right? Perhaps

better cleaning methods then as you cited the oil left behind? Maybe the

parents and doctors could work with the school to teach them how to keep an

area clean of debris? Wouldn't this better help them for life in general?

>

> Surely, there are smart enough people to come up with ways to let others

not be discriminated against. I have read about allergies and the information

is changing. Just recently a specialist was on PBS radio saying that the number

of kids with true allergies is no where as high as once believed. Parents often

include their kids in the allergic category if the child gets diahrea. He also

said that he was able to successfully introduce peanuts to patients that were

once allergic to them.

>