Protecting Children with Allergies at School

Food allergies, especially nut allergies, have made headlines in recent years. Many people are unaware that food allergies can be extremely serious, even life threatening, as was the case with Natalie Giorgi, a vivacious 13-year-old girl who died last June as a result of eating a dessert that contained peanut butter. Giorgi had been staying at a summer camp with her family and had always been cautious about what she consumed. Her untimely death certainly provided an example of how deadly food allergies can be, causing schools and other institutions to seriously evaluate their own food policies.

In order to prevent potential tragedies in school, the federal government recently released guidelines to schools, detailing precautionary measures that schools can take to protect students. According to The Huffington Post, the guidelines, released on October 30, are the result of a 2011 law.

Food Allergies: How Serious Are They?

The guidelines are completely voluntary but recommend reducing nuts, shellfish and other common food allergens from school menus and events that involve food. The guidelines also advise schools to have EpiPens on hand in case of an emergency. To date, roughly 15 states, as well as individual districts across the nation, have already developed their own policies. Dr. Wayne Giles, who supervised the establishment of the new policies with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), feels that a more uniform policy is necessary. He said, “The need is for a more comprehensive, standardized way for schools to deal with this issue.”

Many children suffer from food allergies — about 1 in 20 according to the CDC. The numbers of children with allergies has increased by 50 percent since the 1990s, although no one has pinpointed exactly why this has occurred. While some children only have mild allergic reactions and can even grow out of them, some children suffer from life-threatening reactions where only a small amount of the allergen can lead to anaphylactic shock. The CDC lists the most common allergens as shellfish, nuts (including peanuts) and milk, but over 170 foods are known to cause allergic reactions.

The Recommendations

The CDC urges schools to take precautionary measures such as identifying the children who have food allergies, having emergency plans in place to prevent children from being exposed to food allergens, appropriately responding to allergic reactions and training teachers to administer EpiPens (or at least having medical professionals at schools who can do so). Teachers also need to be mindful when planning lessons that may involve food like candy.

Some schools still do not have policies regarding food allergies, says Carolyn Duff, the president of the National Association of School Nurses (a contributor to the guidelines), and this is concerning news. For the schools that do have policies, Duff fears that “maybe the policies aren't really comprehensive,” further necessitating the creation of the new guidelines. The guidelines, detailed in a 99-page document on the CDC’s website, are certainly a step in the right direction, so long as schools choose to utilize them to their advantage. Nita Lowey, a New York representative who worked on the law preceding the guidelines, is confident that the guidelines are what schools need in order to instill in parents “the confidence that their children will stay safe and healthy at school."

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