Parents want stricter food allergy guidelines in schools

Awareness growing on dangers of allergic shock

‘‘It was the tiniest little bite,” said Acebal, of Bethesda.

For the more than 12 million Americans with food allergies, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s (FAAN) Web site, the smallest trace of a taboo product can result in serious health problems. And for the roughly 2.2 million school-aged children with food allergies, the classroom, with its peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, cartons of milk and the occasional birthday treat, can be especially difficult to navigate.

That’s why some Montgomery County parents are pushing for state and federal standards to help schools manage food allergies, regulations they say vary by county and school system.

‘‘It’s so that every parent who faces sending a food-allergic kid to school knows there’s already a standard of care in place,” said Rockville resident Kari Keaton. Her 15-year-old son and one of her 10-year-old twins have food allergies. ‘‘[Schools] have come a long way already, but they’re kind of dealing with it on an individual basis,” she said.

In Montgomery County Public Schools, schools maintain emergency health care records and compile a list of students with food allergies, according to MCPS’s Web site. School staff are trained to handle anaphylactic reactions, though the number is unspecified.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last month to create voluntary allergy guidelines for schools, according to published reports. A Senate committee considered the issue last week, also the 11th annual Food Allergy Awareness Week.

State lawmakers are drafting guidelines on emergency care for students with special medical needs, such as food allergies. And a bill introduced last session outlining specific standards for schools in dealing with anaphylactic allergies passed in the House but stalled in the Senate.

‘‘It was lacking a tightness in terms of it being clear,” said Del. Sue Kullen (D-Dist. 27) of Port Republic, the lead sponsor of the House bill. ‘‘...We were very disappointed that it didn’t go anywhere, but we’ll be trying again next year.”

If passed, schools would have had to maintain health plans for allergic students, disseminate information throughout the school, designate a nut-free table in the cafeteria and train staff to treat students having an anaphylactic reaction, according to the state legislature’s Web site. Civil liability immunity would also be provided to school employees acting in good faith to help a student during an allergy emergency.

‘‘We can accommodate kids with food allergies without burdening the schools,” said Acebal, who founded the nonprofit Safe@School Partners Inc. about two years ago to provide food allergy training for schools.

Acebal and Keaton, who both testified in favor of the bill, said they were satisfied it did not pass this year because it still needs revisions, including broadening the focus from peanuts and tree nuts to emphasize that many foods can cause life-threatening reactions.

Food allergies occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks certain kinds of foods, triggering a variety of symptoms that can include swelling of the tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, a drop in blood pressure or even death, according to FAAN’s Web site. A food allergy is different from a food intolerance, which is less severe and causes symptoms such as bloating, gas and cramping.

‘‘The mentality with food allergies is, ‘Oh, you’ll get stuffy and sneezy,’ but no, you could die,” said Justine Beachley of Germantown, whose 7-year-old son has a peanut allergy. The family has learned which brands are the most allergy-friendly and will occasionally order Kit Kat candy bars from Canada, which, unlike their U.S. counterparts, are not made on the same equipment as candy that contains peanuts or peanut products.

‘‘It’s like if you’re using a cutting board to cut raw meat and then using it to cut vegetables,” Beachley said.

Though food allergies are still often misunderstood, awareness has been growing, the parents say.

‘‘One of the most heart-warming things is her classmates,” Acebal said of her daughter Nina, now in kindergarten. ‘‘They know about her allergy and they check with their parents whenever they bring in a treat to make sure she can eat it.”

About foodallergies

Food allergies cause 30,000 emergency room visits and between 100 and 200 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Two out of five Americans believe they are allergic to certain foods, but less than 1 percent of the population has true food allergies.

94 percent of U.S. schools have students with food allergies.

One in 17 children under the age of 3 has a food allergy, though many will outgrow them.

Eight foods are responsible for 90 percent of food-allergic reactions in the U.S. (milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and fish).

Sources: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, University of Maryland Medical Center