Peanut allergies put students in nutty situations

Throughout the day, students are constantly snacking on food, and taking various nibbles of friends’ lunches, and even kissing up to the various birthday students for a cupcake. Most do not even give a second thought about the ingredients, a student takes a bite of a snack, and innocuous bites could even be fatal.

In April of 2004, tragedy struck Peninsula High School. The incident occurred off campus, at a church retreat when Senior Laura Keiko Benson ate a Rice Krispy treat, not aware that it contained traces of peanut butter. She passed away due to a severe allergic reaction and failure to receive an EpiPen in time.

On campus, approximately 125 students have some level of a peanut allergy, whether it is mild or life-threatening.

“Teenagers are the highest risk group [for allergic reactions],” mother of an anaphylactic child and advocate for deadly food allergies Yael Kozar said. “They take things for granted and they leave their medications at home all the time.”

However, for students with anaphylactic allergies, even inhaling peanut-product contaminated air can shut down two or more systems of the body.

Every other day, someone in the United States dies from an allergic reaction whether it is anaphylactic or not. The causes can range from accidentally eating something containing traces of tree nuts or failure of receiving an EpiPen injection in time.

KD Kozar, 11, suffers from anaphylactic allergies and was forced to transfer to Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District because her previous school district did not have proper health regulations. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were served every other week; peanut restrictions were not put in place. In contrast, PVPUSD schools are required to be informed of a student’s allergy and make sure that every student is safe.

“I go through Health Update forms one by one looking at each student’s condition(s),” said school nurse Wendy Keller.  “I notify each teacher and counselor for the specific student so that they know if they need to mandate restrictions within the classroom.”

With at least 20 EpiPens on campus, students at PVPUSD schools are lucky to be in a “peanut smart” environment.

“The teacher needs to inform the class, confidentially, that someone in the class has an allergy, and they need to refrain from eating peanuts or peanut butter during class,” Keller said. “This still gives students freedom to eat peanut products, but it keeps those with allergies safe.”

For kids like KD, severe allergies put their lives in danger 24/7. She constantly needs to be aware of her surroundings and ingredients in her food.

“No one in my house eats nuts because even a kiss or a touching toothbrush can send her into anaphylaxis,” said Kozar. “Once you have seen something that can send your daughter to an ER fighting for her life, you are pretty traumatized.”

Because of inadequate school regulations at some school districts, students like KD have to take drastic measures, like switching schools, to keep their lives out of danger. Palos Verdes schools provide a proper environment for students with allergies, to minimize safety issues. With health regulations in place, the district takes away the chance of any life-or-death consequences due to allergic reactions and puts the student in a reliable environment.

“If you have ever been in anaphylactic shock, there is a lot of anxiety and a level of appreciation for life that is hard to explain,” said Kozar. “Support your friends [with allergies], because you could save a life by just understanding.”