Saturday, January 20, 2007

Did you know?

Peanut butter can Kill.

That statement sounds dramatic doesn't it?

Well that it should because death is dramatic, traumatic and heartbreaking when it occurs from anaphylactic shock due to exposure to Peanut Butter.

Such is my worry and fear for my little one.

FYI - Plain M & M's are NOT safe. Even though they don't have an actual peanut in them, they are processed on equipment that has made products with peanuts in them.

Factories do not clean their equipment/machinery between batches of candy, cookies and various forms of processed foods. It would not be cost effective and I understand that.
But as a mom with a peanut sensitive child, they make it very hard to protect him.

Go to the grocery store and check out the cookie packages. More than 90% have the warnings.
Same with candy.
I don't buy ANYTHING edible made in China. There's been too many slip ups and they don't consistently follow USA safety standards. If they can get away with it, they do.

I remember the Gel Lollipop (like a jelly bean consistency) that had peanut oil in it a couple of years ago. There was no allergy warning label and of course someone had to be rushed to the ER because of it. (They are also infamous for lead content)

Some, not mine Thank God, are so sensitive, the AIR borne proteins in a room would be enough to initiate anaphylactic shock. That's why airlines have to be SO careful and parents need to notify them prior to flight.

The oils left on a table where a PB & J sandwich was eaten is enough to cause a problem too.

The cross contamination occurs in jelly beans, generic pancake mixes, certain ramen noodle type packages, animal crackers, ALL of the store brand cookies I've ever seen, and movie theater popcorns.

This is just a pinky nail's worth of my check list.

How did this come up? I was visiting Brandy and left her this HUGE comment on her blog, a portion of it explaining about the play date that is happening this morning.

I much prefer a nonallergy child to come here to play so I can know My child is safe. I can't control his safety outside the home in a place where the parent, no matter how much I repeat the warnings, JUST DOESN'T GET IT!

I cannot nor will not except the excuse "I forgot" or "I'm just not used to thinking about that" or "It's OK, I had them eat at opposite sides of the table".

I understand it's not their normal routine, however, my child's life IS on the line. I cannot accept these excuses.

What about medication?

Epi-pens go everywhere he goes. How many people are educated in the application of an Epi-pen? Why should they be if they have no one around them that has food allergies? How many parents want to be taught just so this child can come over to play with their child?

I'll tell you something. If you don't know anyone now, you will. The increase of food allergies among children is rising at an alarming rate and no one understands why.

Schools are adopting Food Allergy policies and that is a step in the right direction. I belong to a group of mothers who have done that in our school system. We do it not just for OUR kids but for all the youngin's coming after.

We want our children to have a future and we're doing what we can in our little way to insure that.

Food Allergies are not the same as seasonal Hay Fever.
It has the potential to be more than hives, sneezing and itchy skin.
It is nothing to laugh at and say "Deal" or "he/she'll out grow it." Most never do, at least with Peanuts.
Unlike tree pollen or rag weed, Milk, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Wheat and Soy have the power to kill.

Of anything from my post, I hope that I've made you aware and perhaps understand.

Thank you for reading this. It is a topic very important to me for obvious reasons. I just felt the need to spread the word.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for bakeries like Divvies (check out www.divvies.com). They are dedicated to being peanut-, tree nut-, milk- and egg-free. Their cookies and gourmet popcorns are incredible. They ship their delicious cupcakes all across the country, too. I read about them in GOURMET Magazine, and sent Divvies as holiday gifts!

Dru said...

I hear what you say. You definitely have to be careful with allergies and it is ashame that people don't respect that it can do more harm. Keep spreading the word!

Anonymous said...

It's an important topic. (((Michele)))

Michele said...

Anonymous! Oh, Thank you! Thank you very much for this tip. I checked out the site and was impressed. I'm going to let the other mom's in my group know about it too.
**thumbs up!**

Dru - Thank you for reading my post! I don't know why it took me until today to post something this near and dear to me. Just the right time I guess. Yep, I'll keep on ...:)

Bonnie! Hi! Yes, it is..thank you for agreeing.

FYI - the play date went fine!
Little guy was so excited that he nor my kids wanted to eat. They played for 5 1/2 hours! LOL

Can I take a nap now? *gg*

Brandy said...

I'm glad you posted this warning. I'm aware of all the allergies that are on the rise, though none of my kids is allergic to anything. I just like to know these things. AND, if we lived closer to you, I would clean my house until it was spotless of any peanut particles!! AND I think it's important that everyone should know how to use an epi-pen.

Michele said...

Thanks, Brandy, you are so sweet!
And your house is ALWAYS spotless... ;-)

Angela's Designs said...

A lot of people don't take allergies seriously, and plenty don't give a damn if they know so you have to keep an eye on children. I have reactive airway disease, that is triggered by certain allergens.

Lysol in particular is a constant evil in my life. It's how I think of that poor, defenseless product that almost everyone uses. But, it really hurts me. It's scary to me, because my heart rate increases, along with blood pressue, when my lungs seize. I'm still relatively young, but what happens when I'm older and my body isn't as strong and resiliant.

Anyway, I can barely handle Lysol when I'm healthy, but the moment I get a cold, the reaction I get triples and I often can't breathe. Right now, Lysol is very likely the reason I've been sick for a month solid.

Sadly, at my current job, a employee has taken to spraying Lysol! We're all sick, and she wants to kill germs. So, when someone uses her phone ... out with the damn Lysol.

I told her it makes me react, and keeping me sick, but she won't stop using it at her desk. I think she's convinced she needs to kill germs. Come on, even on the bottle it says that it only kills 99% of germs. Since it only takes 1 germ to be infected, I figure Lysol is about useless as an anti-bacterial.

Angela's Designs said...

PS - Sure enough, she caught the cold anyway.

Michele said...

LOL! **Evil Grin** Serves her right for not respecting your needs, Annalee.

Truthfully, If you get an MD'S order stating the nature of your allergy and verify that it's life threatening, you could then enforce the No Lysol order as discrimination under the Disabilities Act. You should be able to work in a safe and productive environment. She's jeapordizing BOTH!

And there ARE other products besides Lysol that work..she should try WASHING her hands! Not touch her nose,eyes, or mouth and wash! Purell on the phone will work as well instead of spraying all the Lysol molecules in the air.

Have you mentioned it to your boss?

Annalee, as time goes on, you could develop an systematic reaction. You NEVER know when that threshhold will be reached.

YOU should also carry an Epi-pen, if only to keep your lungs from swelling and asphyxiating you when anaphylaxis happens.

Girl, I am WORRIED about you!

Angela's Designs said...

I have discussed with managers, but with 100+ people they have a tough time monitoring everyone. That makes it sound bad! Well, most of them just need to be reminded that cell phones are against company policy. It's not such a bad place to work. This one lady had some serious health issues and they really worked to help her. They got a temp longer then then needed to for medical leave and hired her back. You're right, that I do need to keep an eye on the allergy though. Our bodies change over time. I developed new allergies over time, and lost some too.

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