Is your child's school prepared? Read on to discover what you need to be concerned about, and then ask about special precautions and preparations.
Do Odors From Foods Cause Allergic Reactions?
Many parents of children with food allergies have a concern that food odors and smells might cause an allergic reaction. While this possibility exists, it would be extremely rare. There have been reports of people with shellfish allergy experiencing allergic reactions to steam coming from shellfish being cooked. However, in the case of peanuts and peanut butter, there is no protein present in the air that can trigger an allergic reaction, despite the fact that the peanut odor is readily detected.Does Touching Foods Result in Allergic Reactions?
Yes, although these reactions are typically mild. Contact with certain foods, such as peanut butter, has been known to result in allergic reactions in children with food allergies. For the most part, these reactions are mild (such as urticaria), but don’t typically result in anaphylaxis.Cleaning of various surfaces, including hands, has been an additional concern at schools in regards to food allergies. Studies on cleaning of peanut butter showed that soap and typical household cleaners did a good job of removing peanut protein from hands and table surfaces. Alcohol-based cleaners and dishwashing liquid were not effective at removing peanut protein from hands or table surfaces.
Where at School Do Most Food Allergy Reactions Occur?
The answer might surprise you. The logical answer is that most food allergy reactions at school occur in the cafeteria during lunchtime, but this isn’t the case. According to the U.S. Peanut and Tree Nut Registry, 79% of recorded allergic reactions to nuts occurred in the classroom, usually as a result of contact with peanut butter during class projects. Numbers vary, however, by state. For example, Massachusetts schools reported that 46% of food allergy reactions occurred in the classroom compared to just 9% in the cafeteria.The reasons for this aren’t completely clear, although my suspicion is that schools (and students) are more cautious about food allergy reactions in the cafeteria, and less cautious in the classroom. Outside of the cafeteria, the school or the student might “let their guard down” and therefore be more susceptible to accidental contact with food allergens, such as at snack time. Alternatively, teachers and students may not think about contact with food allergens in regards to class projects, such as using peanut butter on homemade bird feeders or wheat flour in homemade modeling dough.
The lesson here is that schools need to prepared to treat anaphylaxis from food allergies at any place at school, including on the playground, in the classroom and in the cafeteria. Therefore, injectable epinephrine should be readily available at all times, and not just during mealtime.
Where Should Epinephrine Be Kept at School?
The key to successful treatment of severe food allergy reactions is the early administration of epinephrine. Therefore, injectable epinephrine should be readily available to treat students with food allergy. Preferably, epinephrine should be accessible within minutes, and should be kept in a secure but unlocked location. Keeping epinephrine in a locked drawer or cabinet is not a good idea, since quickly finding a key for the lock may be difficult when a reaction is occurring.Where to keep epinephrine is up to a child’s parent and the school, and I think that it really doesn’t matter if the epinephrine is kept in a school office, the classroom, with the student, or even better in multiple locations. However, epinephrine should be available within minutes, especially for a student with a history of severe food allergies. Most young children should not carry their own epinephrine, as injectable epinephrine pens are potentially dangerous. I often leave this decision to the parents and the school, but I wouldn’t recommend that a child carry their own epinephrine at least until they’re in high school.
In addition to where epinephrine is kept at school, determining which school staff are responsible for administering the drug is just as important. Leaving this responsibility only to the school nurse, who may not be present at the school at all times, is not a good idea. Other school staff members should be trained in the administration of epinephrine in case the nurse is not present.
Don't miss page 2: How Many Doses of Epinephrine Should be Kept at School?
