We have a student who has a life-threatening allergy to nuts enrolled in our Kindergarten class.
We have a student at our school in our kindergarten class who has a life-threatening allergy. The student has an allergy to Peanuts/Tree Nuts. These foods, even in trace amounts, may cause a severe reaction (anaphylaxis) that can lead to death.
The following symptoms may occur:
- hives,
- difficulty breathing,
- vomiting and diarrhea,
- swelling of the lips, mouth, and throat,
- itching and sneezing,
- loss of consciousness,
- and, potentially, death due to shock.
Even touching contaminated surfaces may cause a reaction. Our school staff has been trained to recognize such a reaction and to administer medication (epinephrine) in an emergency.
Here are a few suggestions for you as parents:
- Never take food allergies lightly; they can be serious and life-threatening.
- Ask your child’s friends what they are allergic to and help them to avoid it.
- Tell your child, “DO NOT SHARE FOOD.”
Frequent hand washing reduces the spread of viruses during the school year and helps protect our food allergic students. Please wash your hands thoroughly after eating. Similarly, encourage good hygiene before and after-school. If your child had peanuts, peanut butter or tree nut foods (includes Nutella) for breakfast, please have them brush their teeth, wash their hands and face prior to coming to school. Additionally we should also wash hands and surfaces before handling text-books, computers or school equipment.
For the safety of this child and others who may have allergies, please do the following with your children:
- Tell your child to get help from an adult immediately if a schoolmate has a reaction.
- Please DO NOT SEND ANY PRODUCTS WITH PEANUTS/TREE NUTS for LUNCHES or SNACKS (Includes Nutella).
- Check the bottom of the ingredient labels to see if it may contain peanut/nut products or was processed in a peanut/nut factory.
- If items state, “…may contain nuts…”, please do not send these items to school as they may have trace amounts.
In addition to peanuts, our student is also very allergic to tree nuts. This tree nut allergy compound can be found in:
- Almonds (Almond Milk)
- Brazil Nuts
- Cashews
- Macadamia Nuts
- Hazel Nuts
- Nut Butters (Nutella, Sun Butter, Nutzo, etc.)
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Pralines
We truly appreciate your support in keeping our school safe for all students. Together we can make a difference! If you have any questions or concerns, please call Patrick Mooney or Erin Geddes at the school.
