Student Peanut Allergies

When I first started leading school groups in the mid 90s, it was unlikley that any of the studentsin my tour group would have a food allergy. I noticed however, that as time wore on and the years went by, that more and more kids had food (especially nut) allergies listed on their medical forms. Now, it is quite common for a group of students to travel that includes someone with a nut allergy. The vast majority are minor allergies, and the fact that many more kids are being tested for allergies (of all kinds) today than ever before is the cause of this remarkable increase. 

As an attentive and safety-minded tour guide, I've taken the time to learn a little about nut allergies, and found some interesting articles about the sudden apparent increase in them among the population.

Nut Allergies 101...

What is an allergic reaction?

An allergic reaction is the body's defense to what it deems to be an "invader". It could be pollen, insect venom (as it is with bee stings), bacteria, fungus, or anything else. An "allergen" is an otherwise harmless substance that triggers a reaction. One of the results of an allergic reaction is the release of hormones and chemicals referred to as "mediators" which stimulate the production of more white blood cells and . Histamine is probably the most commonly known mediator.

How can allergic reactions harm or kill you?

The release of mediators during an extreme reaction by someone who is hypersensitive to the allergen can cause a couple of scary things to happen (aka anaphylaxis) The first is swelling of the throat and tongue which obviously makes it hard to breathe. The second is shock, which results from severe dialation of large blood vessels. The same amount of blood in more available space makes it harder for it to be pumped around, and this can result in unconsciousness, or even cardiac arrest. 

How big is the risk?

Each year in the USA, of the approximate 3.3 million who have nut allergies, about 150 people die from an allergic reaction. 150 seems like a lot, but when you consider that more than 3000 drown, more than 17,000 fall to their deaths, and more than 40,000 are killed in car wrecks each year in America, the peanut looks pretty harmless.

Play it safe, but don't overreact

I am all for people with allergies avoiding what they are allergic to, but we have to be careful about creating unnecessary anxiety and fear in children. Here is an article from TIME about just that - an overreaction to allergy fears. Creating a nut-free pre-school is fine, since toddlers always have their hands in their mouths. Evacuating a school bus because a loose peanut was spotted on the floor is a little much. My favourite quote in the article was from Dr. Robert Wood, chief of the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology department at Johns Hopkins Children's Center who said, "It's an unfortunate situation if a family with an inaccurate perception of the allergy leads a child to believe that a Snickers bar from 50 feet away is a lethal weapon."

A Word to Teachers

Please be diligent about getting the right medical and allergy information to your tour company prior to the trip so they can allert the tour guide and the restaurants. 

A Word to Tour Guides

Read up on allergies, or if possible get trained to recognize and deal with a student going into anaphylactic shock. That sort of thing is covered in standard first aid courses. 

A Word to Restaurants

Please take steps to eliminate or reduce visiting students' contact with nuts or nut products.The risk of anything happening is low, but better to quietly avoid having to deal with an issue like that than face it head on. Most comply, but every now and then I run into a restaurant that says they don't serve nuts, but then they put peanut butter out on the table at breakfast.