Food allergies

[Rhonda]

Bright Sparks. It's not just that the family has signed on knowing I was not peanut free and then discovered an allergy. Even after the allergy was discovered they stayed with me knowing I was not peanut free, knowing I fed the kids peanuts, stating it was ok they weren't peanut free at their home either. So, yes it is a little bit of a shock to receive the email I did.

I agree that I need to make a decision, but I didn't expect to have to make this decision.

[playfelt]

Do you think it is possible the parent was in denial about what a peanut allergy means and figured oh it was just a rash not a big deal. Then after the allergist appointment she got info drummed into her about peanut allergies and how the reaction can escalate and now she is fearful. My child with the allergy still had peanut butter in the home but precautions were taken and brother was scrubbed down before being allowed near his sister etc. I sent a notice to all parents asking them to do the same should they let their child have peanut butter for breakfast - most just said thanks for letting them know and they would keep it an evening/weekend thing and no problem.

My daycare as such is peanut free from a meal standpoint although my own family has it but again they know the required precautions which are not a big deal. Just explaining to our girls using your own issues and they will understand and while it will take time and they will forget every once in awhile they will master the use a plate, put knife in certain place, wash thoroughly etc. Since the child doesn't come in contact with your kitchen other than to sit at the table it shouldn't be a problem if it is ingestion only. The other thing is you take precautions using a special silicone mat to butter bread on just in case the counter had a peanut butter slice on it and then it isn't as big a deal if the girls forget.

Problem with comparing allergies is that I have had kids in care with egg or carrot or rice allergies and all that happened was they got an upset stomach and if too much threw up. That is not the same as breaking out in hives which have the potential if they happen in the mouth/throat area to make the area swell and cut off breathing - equivalent to anaphylactic shock symtoms. So the issue does have to be taken more serious because it is more serious than just not serving it to the child. And that is where you will need to decide if losing the family over serving pb and j sandwiches once a month is worth it or not.

[sunnydays]

I totally agree Playfelt! I have a child with a rice "allergy"...it isn't exactly an allergy, but if he eats it he might throw up for hours on end and in worst case end up in hospital...but it is not really life threatening. This is the only child I have taken on with a food sensitivity and I have to say, while I totally love this kid and family, I would not do it again. I have to read all labels (rice is in a lot of things!) and then I have to worry about other kids giving him something from their plates. As such, I have completely removed rice from my menu as well as rice cakes because the risk was too high. Parents didn't ask me to do this and even signed something saying that I would not be responsible if the child accidentally eats a rice product while in my care. BUT, I would feel awful and I do not want this child to get sick! There is no way I would continue serving peanuts to other kids in care if I knew one was allergic. I would either terminate or eliminate peanuts completely. What if one of the other kids shares their PB sandwich with allergic child when your back is turned? What if you miss a fallen piece on the floor and the child later eats it? Too many risks. If I were his parents I would find a nut free daycare. This is actually why I don't serve nut products in my daycare...I don't want the risk of an under 2 who has never had it getting ahold of an older child's peanut butter etc. It is just too much too keep track of.

[playfelt]

Sunnydays when I had the child with the rice allergy it was worse than almost anything else I have dealt with. Her list was a mile long - just started out as a cranky baby but over time they kept testing and the list got longer and longer and sure enough once eliminated she was much more civil to deal with. Rice was the worst as it is used in most foods to help with consistency. She also had a dairy, egg, cherry, carrot, almonds (other nuts were fine) but then I had to watch for flavourings in stuff, - good reason to bake my own stuff. Parents provided a special margarine for her and she couldn't do soy or goats milk so she drank juice or water only while here and parents had a special formula from the hospital for a daily feeding. I had never heard of a child with a rice allergy till this one. Interesting to hear of another one. Guess is struck me as odd since rice is the first grain we introduce to babies and with so much gluten intolerances rice is one that most of them can tolerate. Really seemed weird after nearly 3 years to actually make rice krispie squares for snack.

[sunnydays]

I know rice seemed odd to me as well. They call it FPIES (Food Protein Induced...something someting...LOL). When they were interviewing they said it was rice and oats...but then provided me with a list of many other possible culprits including sweet potatoes, cucumbers, etc. When I saw the list I actually told them I had changed my mind and could not take on their child as there was no way I could eliminate so many things! So they promised to trial all of the foods except rice before he started...and it was all fine...so we are left with the rice. You get used to it, but it is complicated because if I am really tired or distracted, I am always worried I will forget and give him the wrong crackers. My 3 year old daughter helps me a lot with this as she knows exactly which crackers he can and can't have and she is on top of it...LOL. I buy multi-packs of crackers at Costco, so she knows he can have the red box ones and the green box, but not the purple or white. And his parents have supplied a box of back-up crackers in case I am ever stuck with only the ones containing rice. I used to serve a lot of pasta that contained rice...and then I had separate pasta for him...but even that has become too much trouble and I have just switched everyone to the non-rice kind. It happened once where I forgot to cook his and realized when it came time to serving...that was the last time I bothered making two kinds.

[madmom]

I just took a course on anaphalaxis and it scared the heck out of me. An allergy can go from zero to full blown unable to breathe in less than 3 minutes! I have a little guy in my care who has peanut allergy and has only reacted in the past by vomiting and nothing else. His last reaction was a total accident and his eyes swelled up, his mouth and throat swelled and he was miserable. I would say it is your daycare to decide what your course of action would be but to be honest think of how you would feel if the child collapsed after ingesting peanuts "by mistake" good luck

[Rhonda]

I've taken the anaphylaxis course as well but I didn't find it scary. Maybe it is because I live with food allergies and my daughters both have hyper sensitivities to a food, and my oldest daughter also has a food allergy. The difference between a food allergy (as explained to me by my doc) is that a food allergy has anaphylaxis while a hyper sensitivity there is limited to no risk of anaphylaxis. Yet, when I speak with my family doc he says as long as there is a reaction it is an allergy, so at times I find the definitions of allergies to be conflicting. My oldest also has so many environmental allergies she should never go outside.

I could certainly be more relaxed about allergies because I have always caught my signs on time, or because my oldest was diagnosed with her allergy at 6 months old and she is now an adult, that I taught her to overcome her allergies and live life, her allergies never controlled her she controlled them. By the time she was 4, she was able to fully manage her allergies, her asthma, and her meds, she knew the signs she knew what foods to avoid etc. Though I admit the one thing I did forget to tell her is that she shouldn't eat certain foods at friends; she was staying with a friend of mine while I was away, the friend knew my daughter's allergies, but my daughter said we eat that all the time at home and ate it. Well, at home we always make foods that are safe and we use substitutes. All turned out ok, but my daughter quickly learned that lesson the hard way, she was 15 at the time.

I think I am struggling with 2 things. I know how hard it is to eliminate foods from a menu. And maybe my problem right now is I feel the daycare family being new to the allergy is a nervous nelly. I also think that once I've had a few days to get over being upset with the family, that I might be ok with it. But, for me, I've never wanted to be peanut free, always have enjoyed when my daycare children are over 2 and we can have peanuts. I find the precautions a pain in the butt when I have children under 2 in care. The hardest part is still, I'm not a peanut free home or daycare, the family knew this, stayed with me, and then when I'm feeling vulnerable because I have too many daycare spaces becoming available (in less than a few months I could have all but 1 of my daycare kids leaving; mat leave, moving, going to school, etc) the parent then wants me to go peanut free.

I will never be a peanut free home, I won't take peanuts away from my family. I might be able to get used to being a peanut free daycare, I don't know, it's not something I ever considered doing. I can't use many of the substitutions for peanuts because of my allergies The substitutions would have to be completely nut free.

[bright sparks]

Can I just ask what it is that you generally serve that includes peanuts? Is it just pbj or something else? I suppose I have a hard time wrapping my head around why eliminating peanuts from your meal plan would be so difficult so that's why I ask, to get a better understanding of how it would actually effect you. I understand with your allergies that a lot of peanut butter replacements are still nut butters but other than that I'm not clear on the issue. Thanks

[Wonderwiper]

I'm with Brightsparks...I don't really get it. Regardless of what they originally signed up for, the current situation is stop serving peanut butter sandwiches or lose the client. It's really up to you. Surely it's not hard to take those sandwiches off the menu....I don't use peanut butter or any of the substitutes and my children are not starving. If there are other issues than term them and find a new family.

[sunnydays]

I have used sunflower butter or soy butter (they both look and taste a lot like peanut butter), but I do not serve any nut products at all...even though I don't have allergy kids. It isn't hard at all. My family can still eat it...just isn't served in the daycare. Personally, if my child was diagnosed with a peanut allergy, no matter what the severity, I would be a "nervous nelly" as well. It's just not something to take chances on.