Nut Allergies in School

Nuts are high in calories and fat, fifteen cashew nuts deliver 180 kcal! Despite their high
calorific value, researchers found that people who eat nuts regularly have lower risks of
heart disease. Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein; they are rich in fibre and
antioxidants such as Vitamin E.  Nuts are also high in omega 3 - the good fats which have all
been shown to lower cholesterol. In 1996, a health study found that women who ate nuts at
least 4 times a week were 40% less likely to die of heart disease. However, since the 1990s
there has been an increase of people who suffer from nut allergies, especially children.
People with the most severe nut allergies could die in the space of TEN MINUTES! I will be
investigating in more detail the issue why schools need to ban nuts from their institutes in
my speech.

Five years ago, at a San Francisco primary school, a nurse stood by to ensure that the
children scrubbed their hands as they arrived, while their packed lunches were confiscated
and searched for nut products. The measures were a precaution to protect a 5-year-old boy
at the school who had a severe nut allergy. Another example of the extremes people go to
protect children with nut allergies is when a Massachusetts school evacuated a school bus
full of 10-year-olds after a stray peanut was found on the floor. On a flight I was on recently,
there was an announcement expressing the urgency that no nuts could be eaten on the
plane because there was a person with a very bad nut allergy. With all these extreme
precautions to keep people safe from having life threatening nut reactions there are some
schools which still refuse to have a nut free environment.

Some people can react to traces of nut dust in the air. Furthermore, nuts are full of natural
oils that leave traces. While these traces of nuts can be removed with common household
cleaners, it can be difficult or impossible to clean tables in the middle of lunch and school
cleaning staff don’t know to clean oils off of contaminated walls or door handles.

A boy who suffers from a severe nut allergy was excluded from school because he was
considered to be a health and safety hazard. Four days into his first term at his new school,
George Hall-Lambert was sent home after teachers at Howden School near Goole in North
Humberside discovered his allergy. He is being taught at home in the nearby village of
Eastrington until the matter is resolved. George’s nut allergy was diagnosed when he was 18
months old, he carries an Epipen, with which he has been taught to use to inject adrenalin
into his thigh should he suffer an allergic reaction, although if he suffered a bad anaphylactic
attack it could render him unconscious and he would need assistance.

More children are developing potentially dangerous peanut allergies, research has found.
Scientists believe the rise could be due to more women eating peanuts when they are
pregnant or breastfeeding. A team from the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre
on the Isle of Wight found that the amount of children who tested positive for a peanut
allergy had tripled since 1989. The researchers tested 1,246 children born between 1994
and 1996 for allergy to peanuts. Each child got a skin prick test for peanut allergy, and their
parents were asked about a history of asthma, hay fever, eczema and specific food allergies.
The results showed that 41 (3.3%) of the children had a positive response to peanuts. A
similar study in 1989 found a positive response rate of just 1.1%. Nut allergies trigger other
allergic responses to other substances. For example, I have asthma, hay fever, eczema, I’m
allergic to all animals with fur, I am allergic to all raw fruits and vegetables and more. Being
allergic to nuts is a lifestyle.

I too was diagnosed, at 1years old, with a nut allergy. My mother ate lots of nuts while she
was pregnant because it was thought to prevent a chance of your child having a nut allergy
but and she found out later this was very untrue. My personal experience of nut reactions
has been varied. My most serious reaction happened when I was four. I had picked up a
cashew nut and then touched my lip which caused my whole face to swell up. It was so
severe that the veins in my face broke and my tongue cracked. The most common reaction,
and most dangerous, is anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a sudden, potentially life-threatening
reaction that can make someone’s airways to swell and blood pressure to drop. In
conclusion the health advantages don’t out way the life threatening risk of people with
severe nut allergies. Schools must take the responsible action of banning nuts in their
buildings to ensure that no one is at risk. A 16 year old girl went out without her epipen, she
ate a nut. She ran to a chemist but they were not authorised to give her an epipen and she
died minutes later in front of the chemist himself. Attitudes toward people with serious
allergies need to change. Many people believe allergies are all a myth but there are many
people who, from experience, know that it is very real an extremely scary. The feeling that
runs though my body when someone tells me I have eaten a nut is pure and dreadful fear.