Strollerderby : peanut allergies

Peanut-Free Candy Sources for Safe Easter Baskets (or anytime!)

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

While the jury may be out on whether or not peanut allergies are over-diagnosed, there are those among us who know the hard way, beyond a shadow of a doubt that their kids can't have peanuts. We've got not such allergies in our family, but decided to go peanut-free "lite" last year to be more hospitable to a good friend (and frequent visitor) who does have a serious peanut allergy. We replaced peanut butter with cashew butter and peanut oil with sunflower oil and choose non-peanut alternatives when buying a rare bag of candy or trail mix and the like. What we don't do is scour every label for that ominous "manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts" and toss the offenders out.

But some folks have to go that extra step and for them, Easter can be as scary as Halloween. In fact, it was just last Easter when our peanut-allergic pal found herself at the business end of an epi-pen and on a frightening trip to the ER, after tasting a playmate's Easter basket booty.

In response to the need of some folks to have peanut-free Easters (and the desire of others to be sensitive to those with whom they are egg-hunting), we've found a few good sources of safe candy for the allergic set.

Vermont Nut-Free candy offers a wide variety of chocolate candy, including some cute ideas for a non-traditional Easter basket. Tired of bunnies? How about workbench tools or "creepy-crawlies?"

Peanut-Free Planet offers a pretty violet Easter basket safe and filled with chocolate. They also offer a lot of other allergy-sensitive products for those with dairy, wheat, or other sensitivities.

For those of you north of the 49th parallel, or wistfully longing to be, Canadian Sweets will ship your favorite Canuck delights anywhere and offer a large allergy-sensitive selection including several Aero bars and Dare candies.

I know not everyone celebrates Easter, but everyone loves candy--well everyone I want to be friends with, anyway. So even if Easter is not your basket, may you find something delicious (and safe) to indulge in this week.

Salmonella Might Be In Second Peanut Plant

Brett Singer — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:26:00 GMT

The AP is reporting that samples from a second Texas plant owned by The Peanut Corp. of America have a "presumptive positive" result. What'd they find? Salmonella.

This just keeps getting worse.

The news is currently being reported as a "maybe," and the AP story says that no products from the plant were shipped to consumers. Personally I have a hard time believing that. Not that I have any knowledge of the situation beyond what I've read. I'm just suspicious.

This line made me furious: the plant in Plainview, Texas "had operated unlicensed and uninspected for nearly four years." How exactly does something like that happen?

Are you still giving your kids peanut butter and jelly? Or have you switched to cream cheese or some other sandwich spread?

Source: AP via Yahoo! News

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Is The Peanut Allergy Scare Overblown?

Brett Singer — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:32:00 GMT

Over at the new SuperEco, Alex Fayle wonders if the increase in peanut allergies and the resulting peanut bans in schools are a lot of hooey.

Fayle cites stats that show the increase in peanut allergies is a North American thing. He says that in Spain, where I guess he resides, "no one ever talks about peanut or other nut allergies." Nuts and nutty spreads are consumed at a much lower rate of course, but when Fayle asks parents about the topic, "they look at me blankly then say that it's the responsibility of the parents to manage their child's allergies."

This jives with my own (admittedly limited) experience. I know someone who returned to the States after living in Europe and giving birth there, and they told me a story about visiting the doctor and asking about allergies. The doctor just shrugged and said, "Well, if you see symptoms, call me." Basically, no big deal, just see what happens. Both of these anecdotes remind me of a Chris Rock routine – "We got so much food in America we're allergic to food. Allergic to food! Hungry people ain't allergic to sh*t. You think anyone in Rwanda's got a f**king lactose intolerance?!"

I did once see a child have a reaction to peanuts that was quite frightening. It was several years ago, before I had children myself. I was working at a theater and during the intermission, a little boy bought a cookie from the concession stand. The cookie had peanuts in it, but there was no sign to indicate that. (Like I said, it was several years ago, pre-allergy mania.) The little boy's grandmother did not that he was allergic. One of the ushers noticed that he was having a reaction, asked the grandmother, who didn't know what was happening. The theater manager called 911 and everything worked out fine. But if no one had been able to figure out what was happening, I don't know that it would have.

At the same time, the wholesale bans on peanuts make me insane. Peanut butter is a staple food in my house. (I myself have no allergy issues; I just don't like peanut butter. Yes, I'm a weirdo. Whatever.) When my children's schools banned peanut butter and all nuts from the premises, I was annoyed. If someone in the classroom has an airborne allergy, I understand a ban in that classroom. But what if there are no kids in the class that have an allergy at all? And not all allergies are airborne. How hard is it to teach kids (and parents) to just keep away from the peanuts, and to keep an Epipen around in case of an emergency?

Other good statistical tidbits from the SuperEco piece include: "50 fewer people die from lightning in the US each year (150 from nuts vs. 100 from lightning)", and a British report from December of 2008 that concluded "that perhaps the protections against nuts are actually making things worse" by creating a kind of "social hysteria."

(Let's not forget the recent recall of peanut butter products due to Salmonella. That's a different issue not related to allergies, but it's worth mentioning. Oh, and check your Cliff Bars too.)

What do you think? Is the peanut allergy epidemic as real and dangerous as some say? Or should we not believe the hype? Should parents take responsibility for their kids' allergies or is it up to society to adjust?

Source: SuperEco

Image: Wikipedia

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Peanut Allergies Peanut Schmallergies?

Shannon LC Cate — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

LA Times Columnist Joel Stein had a piece in yesterday's paper claiming (based on his opinion and about an NPR-listener level of information) that peanut allergies are an invention of rich white people because said people just want to feel "special."

Now let me tell you, I am as happy to gang up on rich white people and their narcissistic parenting styles as anyone, but my daughter's good friend--an African American friend, a member of a population Stein claims doesn't have serious issues with peanut allergies--has been to the ER 3 times in four years after accidentally eating something with peanuts. She might well have died on at least one of those occasions if not for her father's quick epi-pen action.

I know that one example does not break a rule of thumb and perhaps it is true that there are fewer peanut allergies found among racial minorities and the poor. But perhaps that is because racial minorities and the poor--as another rule of thumb--have crappy access to healthcare. And I am more than willing to buy the idea that most allergic reactions don't lead to death, and poor people suffer allergic attacks and deal with them at home, because they can't afford to see an allergist for a round of testing.

I myself have food allergies that cause anaphylactic shock. But every single incidence of exposure to the allergen won't kill me. It's more a case of Russian roulette: maybe 12 times out of 13 I'll survive an attack with mere discomfort and anxiety (which I don't doubt makes the attack worse) but there is no real way to know if this time will be the 13th time, and I'll be dead in minutes.

Because I know how serious these allergies can be, I have a peanut-free household. We don't go to the extreme of banning things "made in a factory that also manufactures foods containing peanuts" but I have switched out my peanut oil for soy oil; my peanut butter for cashew butter, because when my daughter's friend visits I don't want her getting another epi-pen, ER visit, or god forbid, 13th allergic reaction on my watch.

"Peanuts: Serious Allergen or Good-Old-Fashioned Americana?" is not a proper topic for an "opinion" piece. We don't get to vote on whether or not such allergies exist. Peanut allergies are real and even if they only cause death as often as a lightening strike, they cause enough pain and suffering short of death to be taken seriously by those lucky enough not to have them.

image: planters.com

Preschool Bans Cute Clothes

Madeline Holler — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:20:00 GMT

So you think life in a peanut-free school zone is tough? Try sending your 3-year-old to a school that requires bland clothing.

At a pre-school in Koskullskulle, Sweden, children are prohibited from wearing stripes or polka dots. Fashion police going too far? Not quite.

One of the teachers gets migraines looking at the bold patterns. And officials are left with creating a dress code that will keep him/her headache free.

Some of the parents are pissed, which I'm rather glad to read. I figured the Swedes would fall in line, look at the big picture, take one for the team, maybe even levy an extra tax on themselves in honor of the teacher's unpredictable brain condition. No, some of the parents don't like the fact that their kids come home in school-issued, solid-colored shirts and pants, even though they donned a vibrant, colorful, wildly patterned Hanna Anderson dress with not-so-matching tights that morning.

Photo: HannaAnderson.com

Strollerderby Playdate: Anyone Have An Epi-Pen?

Kelly Mills — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:03:00 GMT

Wow, school is almost back in for us. I'm happy-sad about it, but I do sort of regret that we did not do many playdates for the wee one this break. Nor have I done much playdating blog-style, because what with the big meals and the family crap and blah blah blah, I'm lucky I could read the dosage on the bottle of Advil, let alone check out anyone's blog.

But in a gallant stab at returning to normalcy, I've come up with a date for y'all. Its on one of our hot topics: kid allergies. There's all kinds of theories about what causes allergies out there and so on, but I must confess this is the first time I'd heard Jimmy Carter's name dropped. It makes sense. Anyone who does that much good in the world, building houses for people and all must have some dark karma he's trying to purge. And causing kids to go to the hospital is pretty bad karma.

You might even recognize this blogger, because he is one of our own, meaning he's taken the dark oath and had the pentagram carved into his chest. And he's a funny guy who often drops the kind of musical references I can relate to, thank god. (So tired of the kids talking--make that texting--in language I don't understand about bands I've never heard of and who are probably too loud.) Anyhow, he sacrificed his blow-up doll for his kid, so you know he's going for a world's best dad trophy too. Check out his conspiracy theory on allergies, and bring your inhaler.