That allergy debate on ravelry

[isabelladangelo]

First some background on what the heck I'm allergic too and what happens...


My most severe allergies are Tomatos, Buckwheat, and a couple of chemicals. The chemicals are the worst because they far harder to avoid. I can avoid eatting Pizza or 12 grain bread. I cannot avoid Crabtree and Evelyn in the mall. I also have trouble avoiding cleaning products at various workspaces and schools. It's only certain chemicals and I can smell them before I get too close.
There is also that whole "raw silk" thing. I cannot be near worm spit. If it's not processed silk (charmesue, dupioni, stuff like that are fine), I cannot be near it.
If I get near these things, the first thing that happens is I'll start to itch, turn red, my throat will start to swell...I'll stop breathing and get hives...followed by a full body swell. Although, the one time they changed the soap at one old work place, my skin just peeled off my hands and my knucles all bleed. (I had my hands wrapped up for a few days) However, I think the soap one was rather unique since it wasn't the smell, it was the actual substance.
But yes, I have problems with smells of certain things and I should carry around my epi pen where ever I go.
Now, given all that, do I expect other places to bend over backwards to accomidate me? Do I expect others to not wear certain things because I can't be around them? I use to. However, I know now it's a heck of a lot easier for me just to take a couple of steps back, explain the problem, and excuse myself. Taking yourself out of the situation is so much easier than forcing those around you to change. Now, some people change because they happen to like to be around you. That's great! But it's not something that should be demanded.
This goes to the heart of the "no peanuts at school" debate. Should all the other children "suffer" because one kid can't be around peanuts? Should all the other parents be extra vigilant because of one kid out of possible 400? Honestly, no. If a kid is THAT allergic, home school them! Have them eat elsewhere if it's possible to seperate the child from the lunch room. Get the one child to change, not the other 399. It's easier on everyone and far safer. By putting your child into a public school like that, thinking the school, the other parents, and the other children have everything covered for one kid is completely idiotic. It's also putting your child at risk. Don't do it. Trust yourself and your child and that's it. You might get the help of a teacher but don't expect it. It might be easier in a private school than a public school, however, in these cases where even the slightest hint of a smell can cause an allergic reaction, home schooling is the best option.
No, I wasn't home schooled...but then again, most of my allergies developed in my teens. By college, I did have to work out class schedules with professors and have assignments emailed to me because I could not attend a class after the cleaning crew came through. (Luckily, they only cleaned once a month!) Take responsibility for your child, don't force that responsibility on to everyone else.

Comments

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

I'm allergic to oats, adhesive tape, mosquito bites (no, really), Candida albicans (rolls eyes, yeah, really), and sodium sulfite. You know that stuff that they used to put on salad bars -- it's still legal, you just can't put it on salad bars any more? I'd be *thrilled* if all it did was make my throat swell shut. In about 20 minutes, it's the diarrhea from hell --- complete with pseudo-shock. :-( Not a happy place to be.

Shalimar, the perfume? I love it. I'll have to try it (again) now that I no longer have Functional Hormones (tm). Depending on The Time of The Month I could either wear it just fine, or I'd have the migraine that wouldn't die.

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

try cigarette smoke. it sends me into anaphylactic shock.
do you have any idea how hard it is to avoid THAT?

and not all cigs do it equally badly/quickly as it seems to be a combo effect of the actual tobacco, the sulfur compounds and etc..... since i also have allergies to garlic and raw onions.. the sulfur compounds are the prime suspects.

of course with an allergy to garlic (not lethal... its manageable, but i spend the next many hours in the bathroom with my guts on fire) and raw onions, my eating out is kind of limited....

for perfume, have you tried BPAL? i think someone said there was one that smelled like Shalimar but didnt give them migraines..

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Cigarette Smoke just makes me want to throw up.

"Do you mind if I smoke?"
"I don't know; do you mind if I throw up all over you?"

I generally don't wear much perfume at all because I have such issues with scents. :-( Interesting thing, smoked cheddar is one of the food triggers that I have for migraines -- but if I can smell it without getting a headache, I can eat it. If I get a headache from smelling it, I don't dare eat it!

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

up to a point.. sure....
HOWEVER...
peanut allergies are so common. and can occur in children very unexpectedly. that it just makes sense to ban peanuts from school. (also a choking hazard)
if you have a known peanut allergy in the school.. it really does make sense to ban them (and mind, peanuts is one of the things i am NOT allergic to) because not everyone can homeschool.. and seriously? its not a big deal to ban peanuts in the school given the frequency of peanut allergies... and how bad they can be.

now, that said? YES you have to take responsibility for the kids allergies on your own. YES you have to assume that its possible that some kid will, (probably not getting the severity) sneak peanut butter in some day.....

if you CAN home school... heck yes its safer, but if the kid is peanut allergic they are going to have to leave home at some point, and the more they can learn coping mechanisms the better.... and starting with a semi controled environment like a school, you can slowly work up to "normal life exposure"

oh.... i wear a silk dress sometimes from Throny Rose. it is a standard nubby silk dress..... but has been wahsed and washed, and washed... is that an issue? if so remind me often. i forget.. and my silk dress is a coppery gold color (old gold) the black and maroon ones are linen.

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

In the case on raverly, the person in question was comparing bringing a peanut butter sandwhich in with bringing a gun to school. Everyone called her out on it.
Can everyone afford to homeschool, no. But to ask a large public school, the students, and the parents of those students, all look out and make sure nothing they send in has peanuts is really demanding your entire neighborhood to take responsibility for your kid...to me, it just doesn't make sense.
Instead, if the child is so allergic that they cannot be in the same room with the peanuts, why not just have them eat in their classroom rather than in the lunch hall? Why not have all the kids put their lunchboxes in lockers in the lunchhall so that the one child doesn't get ill since they wouldn't be allowed in there in the first place. If they are so sick that they can't even go into the building that has had one peanut in it, well, the child shouldn't be outside.
It might be easier for a private school (ie, smaller) to accomidate the needs of one severely allergic child. Latex is also a very common allergy but I don't think we've seen widespread banning of latex gloves/balloons/ect.

If it has a slight "smell" to it still, probably. But don't worry about it. I'll smell it long before a reaction. I'll probably just stand a good few feet away and that's normally okay. The silk one is if I'm dumb, put it up to my nose, and smell it (or if I'm really dumb and try to wear it!). If I'm just around it, it will make me itch if I get too close. As long as I stay about 5 feet away, I'm okay.

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Part of the problem is that most folks don't realize how dangerous that allergy can be. About 4 years ago, there was a child that *died* because the teachers aid/parent volunteer nagged him to eat a cookie because "just one won't hurt you." The kid was dead before the rescue squad got there.

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

There is also that whole "raw silk" thing. I cannot be near worm spit. If it's not processed silk (charmesue, dupioni, stuff like that are fine), I cannot be near it.

Really? That fact that processed silk is fine but not raw is interesting. Any idea of what they do that allows you to be near it?

Yes the topic of allergies is near and dear to my heart. While my allergies are more to "mother nature" both LLT and Roxie have food allergies that make us much more aware of the topic.

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

Worm spit. :-) Actually, it's the smell of the unprocessed silk so I'm guessing some sort of natural chemical found on the silk that get's bleached out normally before weaving?
Food allergies are not fun. The trees/pollen/grass ones aren't much better either.

[lady-grainne.livejournal.com]

Isabella, I forget: did you grow up in the DC area? I know that it's almost typical for people to move to this area and develop allergies to pollens and such (I'm a stereotypical case of that), although I doubt that your allergies would fall into that category.

Which Ravelry group was this? I logged in there today for the first time in forever. Hopefully once I've got my new laptop at home I'll be able to do a better job of keeping up with it.

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

Not really. We moved here in my teens. But, I lived in Va Beach from the time I was 2-3, 5-11 so I guess you can say that's where I grew up...and it ain't too far away. :-)

This was the remnants forum "shearing = fatal?" or something like that.

[jehanni.livejournal.com]

My sister-in-law was deathly allergic to eggs and flaxseed, among others (anaphylactic shock), and uncomfortably allergic to yeast (hives and swelling after 2 consecutive days of exposure) among other things. When she developed lymphoma, most of the treatments where unavailable because of her allergies, or merely ineffective...a health issue that had not occurred to me before encountering it with Susan. ("What do you mean, she can't have that chemo treatment because it's an egg-based protein?" It brings new understanding to the phrase "the cure is worse than the disease"--the disease killed her in less than a year; the "cure" would have done it in less than an hour.)

My allergies seem to be seasonal pollens and cigarette smoke(annoying runny nose to migraines), certain antibiotics (hives, so far: don't wish to see if it can become life-threatening), and bee stings (so long ago I'm not sure the level of reaction, but the phobia helps me keep from experimenting to find out ;-).

Most people I know with peanut allergies, it's both life-threatening, and triggered by very small levels of exposure: a kid eating peanuts breathing on a kid with allergy is potentially deadly. That puts responsibility in more hands than just the kid with issues, IMHO. But since I like peanuts, I don't wish to eradicate them from the planet, either.
SO I'm all for balance: and research into resolving allergies!