PEANUT ALLERGY

What Is A Peanut Allergy?

With a peanut allergy, as with any food allergy, the immune system misinterprets a food as harmful and releases histamine and other chemicals to protect the body from harm. A serious reaction could lead to anaphylactic shock. Complete avoidance of the food in question is required.

What Is Anaphylactic Shock?

Anaphylaxis is a sudden, severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that can involve various areas of the body (such as the skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and cardiovascular system). Symptoms occur within minutes to two hours after contact with the allergy-causing substance, but in rare instances may occur up to four hours later. Anaphylactic reactions can be mild to life threatening. Symptoms: An anaphylactic reaction may begin with a tingling sensation, itching, or metallic taste in the mouth. Other symptoms can include hives, a sensation of warmth, asthma symptoms, swelling of the mouth and throat area, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, a drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness. These symptoms may begin in as little as five to 15 minutes to up to two hours after exposure to the allergen, but life-threatening reactions may progress over hours.

Enrolling Your Peanut Allergic Child In School

Parents have the right and are entitled to the assurance of a safe and supportive learning environment for their child. San Diego City Schools acknowledges its responsibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to identify, review evaluative data, and provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. The Section 504 coordinator at each school site can provide additional information and assistance.

Tips For Starting School Safely

Arrange to meet with your child’s teacher, the nurse and principal prior to the beginning of school to discuss your child’s special needs.
Complete all required medical forms.
In addition to completing the required medical forms, consider filing a 504 Plan. This plan will allow you to set up special accommodations for your child, including things like setting up a peanut free table in the lunch area, in-servicing recess and lunchtime aides on the symptoms of anaphylaxis, training school staff on the use of epinephrine (EpiPen) in the event of an emergency, etc.
Peanut allergies can range from mild to very severe. If you are unsure about the nature of your child’s allergy, talk with you physician about a more comprehensive blood test that can rate your child’s allergy. All peanut allergies, whether mild or severe, should be taken seriously. However, knowing the extent of your child’s risk may help you determine what special accommodations to request.
Make other parents aware of your child’s peanut allergy (back-to-school night is a great time to do this). Ask them to avoid bringing peanuts to class, or if your child’s allergy is less severe, not to "hide" peanuts in special treats brought to class.
If your child will not be sitting at a special "peanut free" table at lunch, make sure he or she knows to NEVER share food. Asking if the offered food contains peanuts is not good enough, as the other child may not know.
Have your child wear a medic alert ID bracelet. There are many fashionable styles available. This bracelet will alert others to the presence of the peanut allergy in the event of an emergency.

Sending a peanut allergic child to school can be frightening and overwhelming. Open communication between parents and school personnel makes all the difference.

Information contained in this document was compiled from WebMD, allergysupport.org, Asthma and Allergy Network/Mothers Of Asthmatics and the San Diego School District Web site.

References/Parent Resources

www.allergysupport.org

www.aanma.org

http://my.webmd.com

www.sandi.net

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