Peanut Allergy: Never Assume (again)

I was at Whole Foods yesterday getting a sandwich (which, by the way was terrible - every sandwich I get there sucks).

I was looking at all the options and noticed that I didn't see peanut butter - woo hoo! I love not seeing peanut butter on menus.

But (oh yeah, there is a but)...

I asked. B wasn't with me so I didn't need a sandwich for her, but I asked anyway.

"So you guys don't do peanut butter sandwiches here?"

You already know where this is going, don't you?

The answer:

"Of course we do! We just don't list it on the menu."

Gah!

There you go. I'll never stop asking, even if it 'seems' safe.

It never ends.

Staying Reaction Free in the Classroom with a Peanut Allergy: Questions to Ask

Here's a (partial) list of questions I asked B's teacher and principal when I met with them a few days before school started. I say partial because I know that I am prone to asking four billion questions when put in a situation like this. It's not necessarily in order, just the order on the chicken scratched paper sitting in front of me. Also, I wont go into their answers because, frankly, it will take too long. Suffice it to say I got positive answers to basically everything I asked and/or requested.

I'll try to add to the list as I remember more things that I asked.

Here goes:

1. Have you ever had an allergic child in your classroom? If so, how did you keep them reaction free (notice that I didn't say "safe" - I find people get defensive when you imply they might not be safe with them) in class?
2. Ideally I'd like an epi kit (my definition of kit is an epi pen, benadryl single dose, her photo, and doctor's note) in the office as well as any room/location B will be. These need to be in accesible, NOT LOCKED locations.
   
3. How many places will B be? Note: B has PE, recess, lunch, snacks, and art class outside of her official classroom. So we've got epikits in the office, her class, the room where art class is, a kit for the lunch/recess monitor and one for the PE teacher to carry (it's stored in the class and she picks it up when she picks up the kids).
4. Where are snacks eaten? Where is lunch eaten? Is there an allergy table? Or do you create a barrier around my child of kids who aren't eating peanut butter?
5. How often do the kids wash their hands?
6. Are faces wiped after snack/lunch if the child is dirty/has obvious residue?
7. Can I provide wipes for the above?
8. Who provides snacks?
   
9. Is the hot lunch option allergy aware? How can I contact them? Note: I have really no intention of letting her eat hot lunch, but I checked and was happy to see that no peanut products are sold in the hot lunch program.
   
10. How do you handle birthdays? Can you ask parents to just be aware that there's an allergy and to let us know if there will be nuts in the treat?
    
11. Can I provide you with a safe treat bag to keep in the classroom for cases where unannounced treats come in?
12. Do you reward with candy? If so, can you come up with a non candy alternative?
13. How will other teachers/staff that come in contact know who B is?
14. What happens when there is a substitute teacher? Can I provide you with a printout/photo to help the sub know that she should be aware of B's allergy?
15. Have you ever been trained on an epi trainer? If not, can I train you now? (note: I did it right there!)
16. Do you know the signs of anaphylaxis?
17. If an emergency happens, what is your plan of action? Specifically, is 911 called from the classroom, or is a call made to the office who then calls ambulance.
    
18. Will you follow an allergy plan written by her allergist (e.g. will they give benadryl or only epi pen)?
    
19. Are there other children with allergies in her grade?
20. Will parent volunteers be made aware of her allergy?
21. How are field trips handled? Can I be a permanent chaperone? (note: they said i could!). I mentioned that for instance, if we were going to a farm, many times the feed has nuts in it. I think they'd rather have me there than have to stress about it, and I don't mind that a bit.
    
22. Can you give me an idea of the types of projects you have that might involve food? Can you give me a heads up so I can provide safe ingredients or alternatives? I gave them an example that gummi worms many times have a peanut/nut warning and that I could find a safe brand to use that wouldn't affect the project at all. They were surprised to hear that and were happy that I offered a solution.
    
23. Do you have class pets? What kind of foods do you feed them? Turns out they have frogs that eat crickets. No chance of B ingesting those :)
    

I think that was the majority of the questions I asked. Each question started a really good, open dialog with her teacher and principal. I felt really happy about it. Of course, we'll see if everything is followed (so far so good), but they weren't at all defensive. Going in to the meeting with solutions instead of demands was my main objective and I think it worked out well. Catch more flies with honey, right?

One thing I didn't ask about was art supplies. If your child has a wheat allergy, you definitely want to ask about the types of supplies they use to ensure your child wont react to wheat in playdo for example.

Also, know that I DIDN'T ask for her class to be peanut free or for the school to be peanut free. Some of you wont agree with me, which is fine. But this is the road we're taking. B is not airborne reactive, so we are taking this road towards easing into a peanut filled world. Since there's really going to be very very little eating going on in her room, we're going this route.

Did I forget anything? What did YOU ask that I didn't?