Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

The threat of nut allergies has lead many schools to put precautions into place to protect students from potential harm. Unfortunately, a doctor from Harvard believes that the measures amount to “epidemic hysteria.” Dr. Nicholas Christakis recently published an article entitled “This Allergy Hysteria is Just Nuts,” BMJ 2008; 337. According to Dr. Christakis, the threat of a nut allergy has created a “cascade of anxiety” in otherwise healthy people prompted by fears of contamination. He believes that the nut allergy is also fueling anxiety among parents. Unfortunately, Dr. Christakis beliefs and opinions could not be further from the truth.

Over 3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts. Over two thousand children and adults are hospitalized due to nut allergies. One hundred fifty people die from food allergies each year.

Guidelines issued by the National School Boards Association, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and the National Association of School Nurses do outline steps that parents and schools can take to reduce the risk of serious allergic reactions... and death.

In the fall of 2002, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued guidelines for schools to provide children with life-threatening food allergies a quality education in a safe environment. It is important for schools to take this issue seriously.

First, parents should:

• Notify the school about a child’s food allergies;
• Provide written medical documentation of the allergies to the school;
• Provide medications and replenish them as often as necessary;
• Educate their child about safe and unsafe foods; and
• Review procedures with school staff, the school nurse and the child in the event of a
reaction.

A school must do the following:

• Create a food allergy action plan;
• Be aware and follow applicable laws addressing food allergies;
• Review health records of allergic students;
• Create a team to establish a prevention plan;
• Ensure that all medications are stored properly;
• Educate all individuals who will come into contact with the child about food allergies; and
• Enforce a “no eating” peanuts or tree nuts policy on school buses.

Despite such a clear and obvious plan, a recent study suggested that food allergy action plans may be lacking in many schools. In a survey of elementary and middle school nurses in Greenville, South Carolina, forty percent (40%) did not have an food allergy action plans for at least half of their allergic students.

If one were to listen to Dr. Christakis, the nut allergy in students is far-fetched and is creating some type of anxiety in our society. Is it far-fetched? Is it ridiculous? I do not think so. In fact, ask a family member of one of the 150 people who died from a food allergy or one of the parents of a child that was afflicted with a nut allergy and hospitalized, whether their concerns are far-fetched... I doubt it.