Don't Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack

[Lavabe]

The Lexington Legends minor league baseball team has now made its home stadium a peanut-free zone... for one night.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Well then I'm not going!

[EarlJam]

The Lexington Legends minor league baseball team has now made its home stadium a peanut-free zone... for one night.

If there was ever an appropriate moment for Wilson to post the U.S.S.R. flag, this would be it.

-EarlJam

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The Lexington Legends minor league baseball team has now made its home stadium a peanut-free zone... for one night.

So kids/people with peanut allergies could go to the game? Wouldn't the peanut dust still be in the air? Or is that not their motivation?

[Lavabe]

The Lexington Legends minor league baseball team has now made its home stadium a peanut-free zone... for one night.

So kids/people with peanut allergies could go to the game? Wouldn't the peanut dust still be in the air? Or is that not their motivation?

That's EXACTLY the motivation. The TV blurb about it last night showed workers spraying down everything. As if THAT would do anything.

And here I thought I FINALLY found a story that would get wilson to post again.

[lawgrad91]

I'm curious. Are peanut allergies more prevalent now than they used to be, or more well-known? I never even heard of a peanut allergy until I was in law school. Everybody brought peanut butter sandwiches to school for lunch (except me; my mother hated peanut butter). Now you hear about kids practically keeling over from peanut dust in the air.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The Lexington Legends minor league baseball team has now made its home stadium a peanut-free zone... for one night.

So kids/people with peanut allergies could go to the game? Wouldn't the peanut dust still be in the air? Or is that not their motivation?

That's EXACTLY the motivation. The TV blurb about it last night showed workers spraying down everything. As if THAT would do anything.

And here I thought I FINALLY found a story that would get wilson to post again.

Sounds like a politically correct feel good type of thing that will backfire when one little nook (sorry EJ) of peanut dust will go unwashed and that's exactly where some unfortunate kid will wander next to and he will blow up like a balloon and need an eppy pen.

lg91, I think the food allergies are certainly far more well known and publicized, therefore more diagnosed and recognized, therefore more prevalent. Sort of like ADHD kids. In the olden days they were called something else and not treated with meds.

[Lavabe]

Here's a link to the story:
http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Lege ... 80303.html
They're trying to raise public awareness of it; a lot of people in the region don't have enough good medical care, so raising awareness in this way is probably a good education tool for a number of people.

According to the link, they are indeed scrubbing down everything, but as you can see in one of the comments, that won't necessarily eliminate all traces of peanuts.

In the long run, it's probably good that the stadium gets a good scrubbing. And hey, speaking as a parent who almost lost a daughter when she went into anaphylaxis (sp) after ingesting a tiny piece of cashew, if enough people recognize allergy and know what to do when they see the reaction, that's probably a good public health move.

[DukeUsul]

In addition to differences in how we diagnose these things today, I think there are also real environmental factors at play. I'm a believer in the hygiene hypothesis for where allergies come from: some allergies are developed due to lack of exposure in our youth. If our kids aren't exposed to potential allergens in their youth, their immune systems will overreact later in life when exposed. It makes a lot of sense and there's some research to back it up. It's not the only factor, but it's one factor that would contribute to the increase in allergies diagnosed today.

We chose to wait a little bit before giving our daughter peanut butter. But we didn't wait until she was three, more like 18 months. Just a bit. No reaction. Gave her more. No reaction. Then let her have as much as possible. I also have never been the type to freak out over germs. Did that bippy just drop out of the baby's mouth, onto the floor, and then she picked it up and put it back in? No biggie. It's not like we have smallpox viruses all over our floor or anything. It's good for her immune system.

Yet we used to have a neighbor who was seriously obsessive about cleanliness and sterilizing with antibacterials anything that would come anywhere near her daughter. She made everyone take their shoes off outside when coming in (which wouldn't be uncommon if they were Japanese, but it's very rare among white Americans). And her daughter had serious asthma and allergy problems. I always wondered if her cleanliness obsession was a result of early signs of allergy/asthma issues or if her daughter's issues came later. I have no idea, and one example can hardly lead us to a conclusion. But it makes me wonder.

Regarding the peanut issue, I find the argument between parents of kids with peanut allergies who want schools to ban peanuts in all form in the lunchroom and those whose kids suffer but who insist on no accommodations, under the principle that their kids need to learn to live in a world where they may be exposed to a dangerous allergen, a fascinating one.

[lawgrad91]

Yet we used to have a neighbor who was seriously obsessive about cleanliness and sterilizing with antibacterials anything that would come anywhere near her daughter. She made everyone take their shoes off outside when coming in (which wouldn't be uncommon if they were Japanese, but it's very rare among white Americans). And her daughter had serious asthma and allergy problems. I always wondered if her cleanliness obsession was a result of early signs of allergy/asthma issues or if her daughter's issues came later. I have no idea, and one example can hardly lead us to a conclusion. But it makes me wonder.

Interesting you should mention the taking off of shoes. When we were in Seattle last year (and also in 2007) I noticed a lot of billboards that touted taking shoes off at the door so contaminants weren't brought into the house. I didn't notice any of my in-laws doing this, though.

[colchar]

Seems kind of dumb when only 0.4%-0.6% of the population is actually allergic to peanuts (which aren't even nuts, they are legumes). I am allergic to nuts yet I eat Snickers bars all the time without the slightest problem.

[captmojo]

I developed an allergic reaction to aspirin and all other NSAID drugs all at once, even though I had been taking them all my life. The reaction to this is so bad, that I do hope that peanut allergies don't compare. However, I've heard that they do.
What happens in my case...
1) Greatly increased pulse rate
2) Cold sweat
3) Runny nose
4) Sinus swelling
5) Tightening of airway passages and a feeling of general chest tightness

24 hours later...it's over. Just like nothing ever happened.
I can take Tylenol, narcotics or steriodal anti-inflamatories...no others!

[bluebutton]

I'm a believer in the hygiene hypothesis for where allergies come from: some allergies are developed due to lack of exposure in our youth. If our kids aren't exposed to potential allergens in their youth, their immune systems will overreact later in life when exposed. ...

In my head, that theory makes a lot of sense.

We chose to wait a little bit before giving our daughter peanut butter. But we didn't wait until she was three, more like 18 months. Just a bit. No reaction. Gave her more. No reaction. Then let her have as much as possible. I also have never been the type to freak out over germs. Did that bippy just drop out of the baby's mouth, onto the floor, and then she picked it up and put it back in? No biggie. It's not like we have smallpox viruses all over our floor or anything. It's good for her immune system.

We were at least as laid back as this with our daughter. In fact, my mother complained that we were taking care of her like she was a second kid and not the first. However, her first intro to PB at ~10 months, a tiny dab while I was making PB cookies, nearly sent us to the hospital. She puffed up and got really itchy, but her airways stayed open. Thankfully? we'd seen this reaction after feeding her eggs, so we knew what to do-benadryl and wait it out. The egg reaction freaked us out.

Regarding the peanut issue, I find the argument between parents of kids with peanut allergies who want schools to ban peanuts in all form in the lunchroom and those whose kids suffer but who insist on no accommodations, under the principle that their kids need to learn to live in a world where they may be exposed to a dangerous allergen, a fascinating one.

Unfortunately, for us this isn't fascinating, this is real life. I'm refilling her epi pen prescription today. When I read the "liner notes" for the epi pen the first time, it killed my mama-heart. You child will be doing very badly if that pen is needed. Our daughter is just a bit over 2. So far we've had a lot of control over her life and she's generally mild mannered and doesn't get into stuff she's not supposed to. She doesn't open the fridge and cupboards on her own and she doesn't take other people's food. But she's obviously growing into greater independence, and it's hard to know what to do. She has a toy cooking set with an crackable egg in it. So she knows and likes eggs. But I tell her eggs make her sick. Does she know what that means? Her allergist told us to not give her tree nuts either because at her age we don't want her to have to choose between "good" nuts and "bad" nuts. The doc thinks that we can introduce stuff like almonds in a couple years when she's likely to consistently know the difference between tree nuts and peanuts.

Fortunately, as far as we can tell peanut dust in the air or the PB&J sandwiches my husband makes for himself aren't a problem for her. (Allergens like oak pollen are and we've already been to the ER once and almost again this past Friday. We're going to see her allergist/asthma specialist today.) We tend to try not to be a nuisance to other people, but we also want our kid to live. At church, a very active boy also has peanut allergies. His mom has had to make the house peanut free and I suspect they are going to home school him until they think he can handle himself in public places.

Since my kid isn't apparently allergic to just being near peanuts, I'd just be happy if grown ups knew to ask kids before feeding them stuff, even stuff as American as PB&J and PB cookies. I'm a pretty laid back person and it is hard to know how vigilant to be about this issue but the stakes are high.

Anyways, I'm rambling. Just wanted to say that the issue is real. I think the stadium gesture is nice and I hope people don't get bent out of shape about it. Again, we have no interest in making other people's lives more difficult, but a little more awareness could help keep her safer.

[CathyCA]

We had a kid named "Peanut Butter Boy" in Sam's daycare. That child had every ailment known to mankind. The one thing that sent me over the edge was his allergy to peanuts.

Halloween was hell for us in that classroom because we couldn't send in any fun treats--no Reeses, no Snickers, no M&Ms, no candies that were processed anywhere near those candy factories. Peanut Butter Boy's parents actually suggested that we send in apples and pretzels for Halloween. Excuse me? It's the biggest candy holiday of the year, and you want me to do pretzels and apples? Bite my peanut butter loving butt! Actually, every day was a pain in the butt for us because I couldn't even send in a granola bar for Sam to eat for snack because it might have been made in a facility that processed peanuts. Couldn't they just keep the kid away from the party on Halloween?

My kid wasn't the kid who had the allergy to peanuts, but we all had to deal with this family's issue. GAH, I hated that.



[/rant over]

(My apologies to those of you who deal with this very real problem.)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Actually, every day was a pain in the butt for us because I couldn't even send in a granola bar for Sam to eat for snack because it might have been made in a facility that processed peanuts.

Just imagine the nightmare the parents have to deal with everyday. Peanuts and their derivatives are everywhere. If you were allergic to corn, you'd be totally screwed.

[CathyCA]

Actually, every day was a pain in the butt for us because I couldn't even send in a granola bar for Sam to eat for snack because it might have been made in a facility that processed peanuts.

Just imagine the nightmare the parents have to deal with everyday. Peanuts and their derivatives are everywhere. If you were allergic to corn, you'd be totally screwed.

I apologized for my rant. I sympathize to a point. But turning the Halloween party in a 4 year old classroom into a health lesson was NOT fun for my kid, nor was it easy for me.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Actually, every day was a pain in the butt for us because I couldn't even send in a granola bar for Sam to eat for snack because it might have been made in a facility that processed peanuts.

Just imagine the nightmare the parents have to deal with everyday. Peanuts and their derivatives are everywhere. If you were allergic to corn, you'd be totally screwed.

I apologized for my rant. I sympathize to a point. But turning the Halloween party in a 4 year old classroom into a health lesson was NOT fun for my kid, nor was it easy for me.

Oh I know...I was just thinking how hard it must really be. It would almost be easier to raise a kid with a mental deficiency or some other disorder that the threat of death wasn't around every corner. That must be nerve racking.

[CathyCA]

Oh I know...I was just thinking how hard it must really be. It would almost be easier to raise a kid with a mental deficiency or some other disorder that the threat of death wasn't around every corner. That must be nerve racking.

If there are motor vehicles within 50 feet of where my kid is (parking lot, driveway, street, sidewalk), there is a threat of death. The happiest day of my life was the day we sold our house with the backyard pool/drowning hazard. When my kid boards a plane, goes to Boy Scout Camp, attends a school field trip, rides in the car with his father, there is a threat of death around the corner. I think about it all the time.