FrugalEnvy wrote:
> > When I was going to grade school in the 70's you never heard one
> > incident of a kid being allergic to peanut butter. While some of these
> > peanut allergies actually do occur I think a lot of parents say their
> > kids have a peanut allergy because they want the attention. If someone
> > is truly allergic to peanuts then they should also be allergic other
> > legumes such as peas. It's only been in recent years that you've
> > really started hearing about the problem. I did read somewhere that if
> > a nursing mother eats a lot of peanut butter she can give a peanut
> > allergy to her baby. Luckily I was born during the time when formula
> > was the baby food of choice.
>
> It is in fact on the increase. They would have noticed if people were
> dropping dead of anaphylaxis in school. Not only are there more now,
> but the ones that pop up are worse. They are not sure why. The
> hygiene hypothesis is one theory - it says we are so clean now that our
> immune systems malfunction and attack the self or harmless substances
> (peanuts, for example.) There is also the environmental theory. There
> is more asthma too - both are autoimmune condtions - and the air and
> water and food quality could have a lot to do with it. It would bring
> on the condition in those genetically predisposed. They are canaries
> in the well, so to speak, for the rest of us.
>
> As for seeking attention: on peanut allergy boards there are tons of
> posts in which parents of the peanut allergic agonize over being
> introverts and/or shy and how difficult it is for them to constantly
> have to speak up to protect their kids from the peanuts that are
> everywhere, especially in gradeschool. In fact, because both
> introversion and allergies are more prevalent among the HighQ
> community, I would venture that you would find more allergies among the
> introverted (and with other traits like myopia that also travel with
> giftedness) in many cases. They do NOT seek attention.
>
> Most would gladly give up this horrible condition that can kill their
> children and that is so hard to control. Very few other conditions are
> both so lethal while at the same time so doubted and derided and which
> garner so little sympathy or assistance. Peanut allergic parents are
> on their own and live in fear for their children (1/44,000 of a peanut
> can kill for severe allergies) and are laughed at; are assumed crazy,
> overprotective, and/or hypochondriacs; and are even the victims of
> bullying (people purposely exposing their children to peanuts, leaving
> peanut products on the doorstep, and that sort of thing.)
> It also gets very tiring to hear how more important a peanut butter
> sandwich for 5 meals out of the week are than their own children's
> lives.
>
> The ADA (Americans with disabilities act) guarantees the severely food
> allergic equal access to education.
>
> Also, it is actually quite rare to be allergic to peanuts and at the
> same time, other types of legumes.
>
> The jury is out about breastfeeding vs. formula, but it is thought that
> early 'soy' exposure hurts when it comes to preventing food allergies.
> There are also many reports that breastfeeding *protects* against
> developing food allergies.

Interesting.
"They are canaries in the well, so to speak, for the rest of us."
I don't recall hearing about canaries in the well. Used to be in the
mining business, and they used to use canaries underground to detect
lethal gases. When and where were they used in wells?