This fall, parents will need to think twice before packing their kids? lunches at one local elementary school.
In a letter to parents dated June 22, Clear Lake principal Sue Hannant announced the school enrolled a student with a ‘life threatening airborne allergy to peanuts and peanut by-products? for the 2006-07 school year and that parents will have to ‘rethink what is packed for lunches, sent in for snacks or brought in for birthday treats.?
But some parents of Clear Lake students are questioning why the school decided to become peanut-free without discussing it at board meetings and why the letter sent out wasn’t more clear as to what exactly ‘peanut-free? meant.
‘We were left wondering ‘Does this mean we can’t send peanut butter sandwiches?,?? asked Scott Crabill, who has two children that attend Clear Lake. ‘There was no real description as to what that meant.?
Children with the airborne peanut allergy can react within seconds to the smell or touch of any peanut product. The air passageway closes off due to the swelling, which could cause the child to die.
According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology’s website, peanut allergies affect 3 million Americans, or 1.1 percent of the population. Those with the airborne version is a much smaller number.
Although Hannant said there are numerous students in the Oxford school district that have a peanut allergy, this is the first student with the potentially deadly airborne version of the allergy.
Crabill said he does have empathy for the new student’s health problem, but that the precedence the situation is setting is not right.
‘If I let my son ride his bike to school he’s got a better chance of dying than this kid who’s got a peanut allergy,? he said. ‘Does that mean we ban bicycles??
Crabill also stressed that it’s important students with certain health problems be able to take care of themselves and not have society accommodate to their every need.
‘They’re gonna need to know how to deal with it, recognize it and be able to deal with that environment, just like a kid with diabetes or my son with asthma has to,? he said.
Another Clear Lake parent, Aimee Hurtado, agrees with Crabill that parents should’ve been notified sooner and said she’s at a loss as to what she’s going to feed her son who eats peanut butter for lunch every day.
‘You’re losing your right on what to feed your kid,? she said.
Hannant said the school had already planned on eliminating peanut butter and jelly from their lunch menu at the beginning of this past year, but when the child enrolled after school had ended it became a high priority.
‘The key is to make sure it’s not purposely brought in to create an environment where something could happen, and having a medical plan in place,? she said.
Oxford High School sophomore Katherine Bosetti knows first hand what it feels like to be the kid with the allergy.
Her allergy to milk forced her to wear latex gloves when using paint or glue in art classes and having to bring her own soap to school, because of the traces of milk used in those products.
‘It’s been tough,? she said. ‘Especially because a lot of the kids didn’t understand.?
Bosetti’s mother, Lori, said she had to fight tooth-and-nail with the board of education to allow her daughter to carry an EpiPen, which is an auto-injector that administers epinephrine for severe allergic reactions.
Once an allergic reaction occurs, a shot in the thigh gives Bosetti approximately 45 minutes of relief to seek emergency care.
Thankfully, Bosetti hasn’t had to use it at school, but said she uses it often while at home.
Her mother favors making Clear Lake a ‘peanut-free? school, but thinks the board of education should use the same discretion with other medical conditions.
‘When you come (into a school) with other allergies, sometimes mountains don’t move so quickly,? she said. ‘I’m glad to see that somebody’s mountain was able to be moved.?
Starting this fall, Hannant said Clear Lake will be educating students on peanut allergies and remind students not to share foods.
She will be writing more letters to parents at a later date with more specific information as to what students can and cannot bring to school.
Hannant assured parents that any staff members or paraprofessionals who are in contact with a student with these severe allergies is trained in how to use the EpiPen.
‘We’re ready to meet the challenge and I’m hopeful the community will work together, as they do in other things, making this work for the child as they enter school,? she said.
Currently, there are no other Oxford schools that are peanut-free. Daniel Axford Elementary is considered on ‘peanut alert.? There are three schools in Lake Orion that are ‘peanut-free.?