Wnderlnd
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 Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 10:11 am
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Okay, I just need to vent a little....please don't take this personally.
Peanut allergies are terrible, but the news IS getting out there about PA. The problems we are facing are that we keep finding people who have no idea what a tree nut is, that it too can be an allergen, think if my daughter has a tree nut allergy that peanuts should be fine, and better yet, ...my biggest complaint....
only mention peanut allergies to parents at park district programs and preschool and say almond butter is a good substitute! WTH 
So now when I list tree nuts as her allergy I give examples, and I always reiterate that someone who's allergic to peanuts (perhaps just little kids) should also not have tree nuts and those allergic to tree nuts can also not have peanuts. It goes both ways. If I just listed nuts, they assume it's only peanuts.
Why is this difficult to understand? My Dd who's only 3.5 doesn't know the difference b/t nuts, so it's best just to say all nuts.
Even another mom of a toddler with a PA, said her DD lunch was made with almond butter. LADY!! Are you kidding me? That could KILL my kid if they sit at the nut free table together. Really. I am so sorry. I must be more than irked. I guess I'm PO'd.
On a good note, one of my DD's friends went out and bought sunbutter for her daughter's lunch so they can eat together at a park district program. I wanted to kiss her!  It made me cry.
« Last Edited by
Wnderlnd
Sep 25th, 2008 at 10:17 am »
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DD: Allergic to TREE nuts
DS: No known allergies
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Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 01:27 pm
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I'm right there with you! It's frustrating! Can I join you in the vent??
DS's (old) preschool thought it was okay to give him hazelnut bread for a snack. Luckily, we caught her mistake before she fed it to him. Okay, I told them only to give him food that we sent from home, I told them that he was allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and specifically said "all nuts"... But she still thought hazelnut bread was okay?? Shame on them, and they call their facility nut-free!!! Oh well, on to the search for a truly nut-free preschool we go...
Now we list all examples of all the nuts DS is allergic to, also.
If you find a better way to do it, I'd love to hear it.
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DS - allergic to TN, PN, Sesame, avoiding banana
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Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 01:50 pm
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Say 'all nuts, including their oils/butters, anything that looks like a nut, and anything that has "nut" in the name'. Sure, that'll eliminate coconut, donuts, and nutmeg, but better to eliminate too much than too little. 
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The way the world underestimates me will be my greatest weapon. People pat me on the head, and I go to myself, "oh, and aren't they going to be surprised." - Calista Flockhart
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gufyduck
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Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 07:27 pm
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It does drive me crazy too. I finally started to take advantage of it. If I have to explain my allergies, I include peanuts on the list (which i do avoid because of cross contamination) because people are more likely to get it than with other allergies. From there I build and say something to the extent of "my reaction to walnuts and almonds is nothing compared to peanuts." Because most people have heard of anaphylaxis from the news to peanuts, they make a jump that it is just as bad or worse, so they treat all nuts the same.
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Northern CA - Allergic to shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame
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Juliebove
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Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 09:12 pm
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Yep! A woman on another forum told me I couldn't be allergic to almonds because they grew on bushes. So not a tree nut. I almost believed her there until I remembered living in CA and remembered driving past all those almond trees. And yes, I know a peanut isn't a nut, but there can be cross contamination and most nuts are roasted in peanut oil.
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IgG, me: Eggs, oysters. OAS: Almonds, pistachios
IgG, daughter: Wheat, spelt, peas, lentils, peanuts, almonds
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[deleted]
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Posted: Sep 25th, 2008 at 09:41 pm
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dd is allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts. I found that when dd started school, the school was very aware of peanut allergies and they were more careful about pa. Tree nuts were in showcases, on bulletin boards, etc. I pointed it out to them and explained that both peanuts and tree nuts were just as dangerous to dd and that I thought they were more aware of pa and not so much tna. They are better now, but it does show that people hear more about peanut allergies.
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McCobbre
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 08:00 am
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Actually, almonds are drupes. But folks are certainly allergic to them!
I think this is an important vent thread. It will take some time to raise awareness. Until then
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"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are potent forms of enchantment, rich with the power to hurt or heal."~Albus Dumbledore
Me: shellfish, chamomile, sesame and a few odds & ends
DS: peanuts
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[deleted]
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 09:10 am
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It happened again this morning. A woman who has subbed in dd's classroom was sitting in the hall. She saw me come in with dd and baby. (I walk dd into school, but dd walks to class on her own.) She said, "It's too bad she couldn't take the bus today." It was pouring and she meant that I shouldn't have to drag the baby out in the pouring rain.
I explained, "Well, dd just can't be without her meds and there is no one to give her meds on the bus if she needs them." It's just the way the plan is for now. It's easier and safer if I just drive her to school right now.
The woman said, "<insert dd's name>...right...peanut allergy."
I said, "Well actually peanut allergy, tree nut allergy, and asthma. Because of all of those things, I don't want her to be without meds."
This woman has read her action plan, has subbed in her class, and all she remembers is "peanut allergy". I'm glad she remembers that at least (many wouldn't!), but it's exactly what I mean. For some reason, pa is what sticks out to people.
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[deleted]
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 09:12 am
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Sep 26th, 2008 at 08:00 am, McCobbre wrote:
Actually, almonds are drupes. But folks are certainly allergic to them!
I think this is an important vent thread. It will take some time to raise awareness. Until then
Almonds are drupes, but for fa purposes, it is on FAAN's list of tree nuts to avoid. The allergists tell you to avoid almonds when allergic to tree nuts. So it is commonly referred to as a tree nut even though it is a drupe.
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shank
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 11:28 am
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Thanks for starting this thread. I've been needing to vent my feelings on this subject for a while. I do sympathize with the plight of the PNA with PBJs dominating school lunch boxes, and I do think that all the press on peanut allergy has really helped raise awareness on nut allergy in general. It certainly makes it easy to explain to people that DS' nut allergy is just like a peanut allergy, except it's all the other nuts. They do seem to get that. They just don't realize that cashews and pecans are nuts, and sunflower seeds are seeds.
However, it's so frustrating to read all the press, even interviews with allergists or even articles written by allergists, in which they only talk about peanut allergy. Pretty much everything that applies to peanut allergy applies to tree nuts, except the PBJ thing and the fact that more people are allergic to peanuts than tree nuts. Still, there are a substantial number of people allergic to tree nuts, and tree nuts are deadly as well -- why can't they just address the issue as "nut allergy."
It just makes me crazy when I read an article about what to send in your lunch when the school is peanut-free, and they suggest almond butter or cashew butter sandwiches. Never mind that 30% of PNA are also TNA...
Yesterday, we went to a cafe for moms and tots, and I asked about nuts, and they said, "oh we're completely nut-free, too many peanut allergies out there." Then, I saw the special, a salad with walnuts...
I could go on and on. I think I get the most peeved by PNA people who think that PN are the only deadly allergen, and that TN are no big deal. Still, I can only imagine how much worse explaining an ANA milk allergy...
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DS, 2003, ana TN, coconut, allergic alder, birch
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[deleted]
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 05:50 pm
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Yup I'm with you on this.
My DD is most allergic to hazelnuts. There are kids that bring "chocolate" sandwhiches to school. HELLO its not chocolate, its nutella made with 57 roasted hazelnuts in each jar... watch their ads.
Grrr
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Sally
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 07:13 pm
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Same with all the other allergens - 'No one ever died from a milk allergy'. Um...hello? I guess in their defense I didn't realize this before dealing with LTFA ourselves. I'm surprised though that people don't 'get' that tree nuts are a LTFA.
Thankfully our school banned peanuts AND treenuts.
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Ciel
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Posted: Sep 26th, 2008 at 08:24 pm
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A girl tried to sell me chocolates yesterday. When I asked about nuts she assured me they were peanut free. They did however, contain almonds.
I got a blank look when I pointed out that almonds are tree nuts, they are different than peanuts and I can't have those either, thank you very much. She did seem to get the point though, and she looked guilty when I walked away, which was not my intention at all.
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lakeswimr
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Posted: Sep 27th, 2008 at 06:53 pm
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From an MFA POV I find that peanuts do get more attention but then tree nuts get a lot, too. I have a much harder time explaining DS's other FAs, esp the non- top 8 ones. All DS's are LTFAs. I tend to think those with peanut and nut allergies have the best accommodations in general (of course not in every case.) Seeds are just as potent as peanuts (and more potent than tree nuts) and do not have the awareness that peanuts and tree nuts do. Peanuts and tree nuts are responsible for the most FA deaths (esp peanuts) and I assume that is what drives this stuff.
It is very hard for those with things like milk allergy to get people to believe even a drop can be a risk much more than it is for those with peanut or even tree nut allergy, I believe, And harder still to explain that some of my son's allergens don't even have to be listed in the ingredients of products.
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MommaBear
Member (Banned)Member is offlineCapricorn . . . with a smattering of Sagittarius.
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Posted: Sep 28th, 2008 at 09:05 am
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Sep 26th, 2008 at 08:24 pm, Ciel wrote:
A girl tried to sell me chocolates yesterday. When I asked about nuts she assured me they were peanut free. They did however, contain almonds.
Completely understand. At work, people are bringing their children's candy fundraisers. One was some Kathyryn (?) Beicher(?) almond candy bars that boasted a peanut free symbol (red circle with line through it over a peanut). Sure enough, made in Canada....distributed through some TN entity. Bragged about how "peanut free" the facility was. Would I feed it to my child even if he was only "Peanut Allergic" (also allergic to almonds, hazelnuts, lentils, chickpeas).
NO FREEKING WAY. Peanut Free symbol be damned. As if I'd give him a commercially prepared nut of any kind, even if he were PA only.
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"This is one of the difficulties of having a child with severe disabilities......You have to trust a lot of people to care as much as you do, and in your heart, you know they can't possibly."
~Amy Gwin, mother of Mia, age 9.
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"How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers."
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IRKED that people don't know a tree nut! - (Read 2,859 Times)
