Ban Peanuts In Schools

1062 Words3 Pages

School systems should ban peanuts and peanut products because it will decrease the risk of children dying from anaphylactic shock to peanuts and can help decrease bullying creating a safe environment for all children. All children in a public school environment are affected by peanuts. A peanut allergy is the most common allergy and there is no escaping the need that things need to be changed to protect our future. To prevent a reaction, strict avoidance of peanut and peanut products is essential making it only right for schools to band peanuts and their products. Peanut allergies affect approximately 1% of children under the age of five years. According to Dr. Burks who is the author of “Peanut Allergy”, in the USA, food allergy alone accounts …show more content…

Trace amounts of peanut can cause an allergic reaction. Casual contact with peanuts, such as touching peanuts or peanut butter residue, is also likely to trigger a severe reaction. Casual contact becomes a concern if the area that comes into contact with peanuts then comes into contact with the eyes, nose or mouth for example; a child with peanut allergy gets peanut butter on her fingers, and then rubs her eyes (Bock). This then causes anaphylaxis a severe allergic reaction that is potentially fatal. “During anaphylaxis, allergic symptoms can affect several areas of the body and may threaten breathing and blood circulation. Food allergy is the most common cause of anaphylaxis” (Bock 902). Statistics show that every three minutes, a peanut allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency department – that is more than 200,000 emergency department visits per year (Haupt para 1). If peanuts are not banned in schools more and more children will be making a visit to the emergency room which can lead to possible death of a …show more content…

This new alternative is safe for children with allergies to eat so it will reduce the bullying of kids with peanut allergies that are always being taunted. It also reduces the risk of a possible lawsuit to the school as a result of a child dying of anaphylaxis from a peanut allergy. The isolation and segregation of peanut allergic children is no longer necessary to try and prevent cross contamination of peanuts in at lunch or in the classroom. It will not take long to incorporate sunflower butter into the schools as many kids would not know the difference. A letter informing parents that peanuts are banned from school is a crucial step to keeping peanuts out of school. The letter being sent home should give reasoning but also give examples of healthy snack that do not include peanuts as well as what to look for on labeling when allowing children to bring an item to

Open Document