How to deal with nut allergies & parent

[Gunny2862]

Thanks Ed, but that's not at all what I'm saying.

I'm saying that the Scouts need to be responsible for caring for themselves in these issues. We as Scouters do need to ensure that somethings we wouldn't normally do are done - like putting an ingredient list up at meals. But for me to place items on some Scouts plates and not on others seems wrong to me, a clear violation of boy led and various elements of Scout law and oath.

We also do need to provide for emergency aid, too. There is no way to know when or whom anaphalyxis will strike or how hard it will do so. I had a sense of unease but no symptoms arond cats for years. And one night a cat walked past, the wind blew dander about 12 feet and I barely made it to the hospital. I "coded" three times that night- once after they had stabilized me and they brought the wife back. With dander still on her, I coded that time before she was within 5 feet of me. But it is my allergy and my responsibility to ensure that I have my self-care availible and that I monitor my exposure.

 

It's not my place to ask everyone else to get rid of their cats so we have a Cat-free Troop. It does mean that when asked someone should let me know that there is a cat in their home so that I can take precautions.

[scoutldr]

And armed with the knowledge that most, if not all, Troops are NOT cat-free, the reasonable person would choose another alternative.

[eisely]

In my earlier brief post, I did not describe how we came to be nut free. This boy was about to bridge over and the family had settled on joining our troop. The mom then approached the adult leadership to discuss the boy's allergy. She was willing to walk away with no hard feelings and not have her son go into boy scouts, although she and her son would have been disappointed. Nevertheless, we decided that this was something that we could do and we did not want to turn away a boy eager to join. We did put a burden on her, which she willingly bore, to help us understand and teach the other boys, what we could and could not use in our menus.

[Eagle732]

We should try to provide as safe an environment as possible for our Scouts. If this means asking the rest of the troop to go without peanut butter, posting ingredients, and knowing what to do in case of an allergic reaction than so be it. The scout and his parents also have the responsibility to check foods and make everyone aware of his condition. For the past 3 years I have been the Safety Director for our districts Cub Scout Day Camp which hosts over 500 scouts. I have reviewed medical forms from these scouts and you would be amazed at the number with severe allergies and other serious conditions.

[Gold Winger]

Why should everyone else suffer because of one boy's allergies? He knows that he's allergic to peanuts so he shouldn't eat the peanut butter.

 

A lifelong friend of my son's is allergic to everything. From the time that she was little, she would ask "What's in this?" before she accepted anything in someone else's house. Since she was a regular visitor, we knew what she could and couldn't eat and usually had snacks on hand that she could eat. However, we never said, "the rest of the kids can't have cookies because she can't" and her parents didn't expect that.

[anarchist]

CaveEagle,

 

As has been said there are allergies and there are ALLERGIES and for some reason the nut allergies seem to frequently border on death sentences. For some folks the slightest exposure can result in a massive reaction. So as a unit you need to investigate all there is to know on this boys problem. Your unit needs to understand that sometimes eating food from a really well scrubbed and well rinsed pot that was washed in the same hot soapy water used by the scouts to clean a knife used in a jar of peanut butter can kill some folks...and the picture gets just gets plain scary.

 

At the minimum, the scouts parents should provide 5 or 6 epipens for campouts...If this boy has had life threatening "events" the patrol may have to start with all new (peanut exposure free) kitchen gear to even hope to be safe...having the scout scrutinize what he eats just does not cut it...if he is one of the "really" reactive sufferers. You need all the information to make an informed decision. Sadly, Sometimes the unit might have to say "we can not manage the risk"...and wish a boy and his parents well.

 

good luck

anarchist

[OldGreyEagle]

I think it depends on a lot of factors, as scouters I can understand that we need to be aware of our health issues. As a diabetic I dont load up on bug juice or delve deeply into the Krispy Kremes. I am not so sure I would expect the same from all scouts. There may be the scouts who understand their limitations, but I dont think you can broaden that out to all scouts. I can see a 11 year old cross over who so badly wants to fit in that when he says he is allergic to peanut butter, he allows others to talk him into "just a bite" of a peanut butter sandwich. Now, as you walk from the wake, you can take comfort in knowing your troop wont have to worry about that anymore.

[Gold Winger]

Where'd this deadly peanut allergy come from? I went most of my life without hearing about it and then suddenly about 10 or 15 years ago, it was national news. Airlines pulled peanuts from their snack list. Warnings appeared on foods.

 

My brother's been allergic to peanuts and regular nuts since childhood but all he gets is a runny nose. Now, everone knows someone who could die if they eat peanuts.

 

Was there some great shift in the fabric of the universe? Thinking back through my childhood and young adult years, I could count the number of asthmatics that I knew on my fingers. Now it seems that every third person has asthma.

 

Deadly cat allergies

Peanut allergies

Tomato allergies

Rubber allergies

 

I'm not doubting that they exist. I'm just wondering where the heck they came from. My son's allergist (he has allergies and asthma) says that was a dramatic upswing of allergies starting in the late 70s.

 

Late 70s? That was Carter's era. Carter is a peanut farmer. I smell a government conspiracy.

[evmori]

I'm with GW! If the rest of the unit wants to eat peanut butter, they should be allowed. It is really up to the Scout & his parents to inform the unit of these allergies so the leadership is aware of them. It is really unfair to the rest of the unit to ban a food item because one kid is allergic. We had a kid in my unit who was allergic to a bunch of stuff. He knew what it was & how to manage it. We did ask him if he was allowed to est certain things we weren't sure of and he knew what he could & couldn't have.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[OldGreyEagle]

I understand Gold WInger, last summer Olympics I watched it seemed moe than half of the swim team was asthmatic, it does seem like there are moer alleries than ever. I dont know why. I do know I would rather go without than wish I did

[scoutmomma]

I'm not doubting that they exist. I'm just wondering where the heck they came from. My son's allergist (he has allergies and asthma) says that was a dramatic upswing of allergies starting in the late 70s.

 

I understand that asthma is now the No. 1 chronic illness in children. Have you heard of the "hygiene hypothesis"? That seems to be the leading explanation for the dramatic increase in asthma and allergies: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905174501.htm

 

 

[Oak Tree]

I agree with Scoutmomma that the hygiene hypothesis is the leading contender.

 

There are a couple other ideas postulated as well, including an increase in peanut consumption by pregnant and/or breast-feeding women, and a much higher prevalence of peanuts in so much of the prepackaged food that we eat. See this BBC story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2487769.stm

 

At any rate, the increase doesn't appear to be just in your imagination, nor merely an increased awareness of the allergy. It looks like there's a real increase.

[nldscout]

They used to say that you would eat a peck of dirt before you turned 21, now some parents get upset if Jr. comes home with dirty hands.

[Gold Winger]

Gee, my grandmother used to say that a boy would eat a bushel of dirt and a peck of worms EVERY YEAR. :-)

[eisely]

Easy explanation for incidence of allergies: It's George Bush's fault.