School dinners and legume allergy

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shipmist
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:22 pm
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by shipmist on Fri Feb 08, 2013 1:17 pm

School dinners and legume allergy

Advise please:

My 4 and a half year old child's multiple allergies include peas and greenbeans and some legumes such as chickpeas and lentils (severely allergic to all of these). Of all his allergies (mainly nuts, sesame, raw egg and some legumes), it seems to be peas and greenbeans and sometimes chickpeas/ lentils that makes me cautious about him trying school dinners. His school is nut-free which is a great help, and the chefs will cater for children with allergies, but I am being held back mainly by the thought of my son sitting next to other children eating peas and greenbeans (or chickpeas / lentils which are often on the menu). Children are messy eaters at this age.

(There will be no sesame and raw egg on the menu, so this is not a huge worry).

What is the chance of him having an allergic reaction if eating a school dinner prepared for him carefully, but sitting next to everyone else eating these vegetables - messy eating 4 year olds?

Thank you.

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Dr Helen Brough
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:36 pm
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by Dr Helen Brough on Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:45 am

Re: School dinners and legume allergy

Dear Shipmist,

Most of the research on determining casual contact with allergens has been assessed for peanut.

If a child has just skin contact with peanut they are less likely to have a generalised allergic reaction (i.e. it will probably only affect the area where the allergen contacted their skin). However if the child then has peanut on his hand and puts this in his or her eye or eats it then a more generalised and severe reactions may occur. I usually take this on a case by case basis depending on how severe the allergic reaction was to the food: if the child had anaphylaxis (difficulty breathing, wheeze, going pale of lethargic) then obviously more caution would be required.

It would be important to speak to the school to find the best way to go about this. As always one must balance keeping the child safe with allowing them to lead a normal life and not feel excluded from certain activities or other children.

Best wishes,
Dr Helen Brough
Consultant in Paediatric Allergy
Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... brough.php

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