Peanut Allergy's latest news

I just read an article online about an eighth-grader in Lexington, Ky., who "was arrested Sunday on felony wanton endangerment charges for allegedly putting peanut butter cookie crumbs in the lunch box of a classmate with a severe peanut allergy. A recent report of a 13-year-old spiking his peanut-allergic classmate's lunch may highlight a dangerous gap in food allergy education in schools, experts say. A student in Kentucky has been charged with a felony for contaminating an food-allergic child's lunch with peanuts."(ABCNEWS) Here's the link to the story: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesNews/story?id=4697036&page=1

Then I found another link to a story of an eight-year-old boy who just died in February from his peanut allergy. Here's the link to the story--you can read it and/or watch the video:

http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=5678

Matthew's school stopped making peanut butter cookies for school lunches when Matthew started kindergarten there last year. Matthew came home distressed at the beginning of this school year when one of his close friends kept showing up next to him at lunchtime with a peanut butter sandwich. He used to break out in hives if he was even touched by someone who had eaten peanut butter. Now, he's not quite as sensitive... it doesn't seem to affect him unless he actually eats something with peanut butter in it.

Matthew is usually very cautious--ever since he was a toddler he would ask others "Does this have peanut butter in it?" He even asks me that, and I'm his own mother. Of course I wouldn't feed him something with peanut butter in it. He's very smart about asking, but the one time he did go into anaphalactic shock--his tongue and throat swelled up immediately, he couldn't swallow, couldn't breathe, and I had to stick him with an EpiPen. (And the poor boy is terribly afraid of needles). That was summer of 2006 when he ate what appeared to be a chocolate brownie that someone had made with peanut butter in it. From that experience, we know just how allergic Matthew is to peanuts: deathly.

Unfortunately, most people don't understand that. Church socials are the worst threat--so much activity, kids everywhere, lots of food, and people always bring stuff with peanut butter in it, no matter how many times we tell them of Matt's allergy. When he was a toddler, I found him at one social about to be given some treat from an elderly gentleman who was just trying to be nice and share his dessert with him. I caught him right in time--the treat had nuts in it. I've requested numerous times that people label their potluck dishes with food allergy information, but I usually have to case the whole place, tracking down who made what food so I can ask them if there are any peanut products in it. Moral of the story, if someone around you mentions having any food allergy, especially a nut allergy, take it seriously. As the second article said,
"Dr. Hugh Windom, an associate professor at the University of South Florida, said "Even the most aware children and adults could use the watchful eye of a peer who's educated about their allergy." Windom says it's easy to bite into a brownie with nuts, or another food with an allergen.
"These kids don't have a sixth sense, they don't know where peanuts are at all times."