Severe Food Allergies
Food Allergy Guidelines:
Education, communication and cooperation are the keys to managing food allergies at school. By working as a team with the nurse, health aide, school staff, parents, and your physician, it is ACS goal to ensure that your child has a Care Plan that can successfully manage each child’s food allergies in a safe school environment.
Some none allergens are Nuts, Sunflower, Sesame and Poppy seeds, wheat, eggs, and many other food items. Strict avoidance of the allergen(s) is the ONLY way to prevent a life threatening allergic reaction. Due to the nature of peanut/nut products, it is more challenging to prevent contamination of surfaces in the classroom, cafeteria, bathrooms and other areas in the building.
**If the product states "may contain traces of nuts" or "manufactured in a facility which processes nut products", then those products would not be allowed in the classrooms as well. As an added safety measure, in the cafeteria students will be asked to sit at a designated table if their lunch contains any peanut/nut products. After eating, they will be given a moist towelette to remove any food particles from face and hands before leaving the cafeteria.There are many new products available as "peanut butter alternatives", we would ask you to make sure the ingredients in these products are safe for our classrooms and for our students with life threatening allergies.
For example, Sun butter products, which are made with sunflower seeds cause a concern for our students with allergies to them. The product contains no nuts, but still may not be appropriate for your child's classroom. If your child brings in a peanut butter alternative for snack or lunch, you must label the outside of the bag to make our staff aware of the contents. If it looks like peanut butter, we must treat it as peanut butter. If you have any questions about ingredients, please call the Health Office and we can assist you.
Video to Teach Non-Food Allergic Families about Food Allergies
This 6 minute slideshow with audio is created to increase food allergy awareness in all parents in the school community. It highlights basic facts about food allergies and the constant need for prevention and preparedness. The presentation is designed to help foster an understanding and supportive community.
The awareness module for parents has options at completion, to learn more about prevention, preparedness, label reading, and how to give an EpiPen.
- The main site's link is:http://www.allergyhome.org/schools/
http://www.allergyhome.org is a great site to learn more about allergies, asthma, eczema and others
Forms:
*Care Plan Form