16-Year-Old Dies From Allergic Reaction (1 Viewer)

[dany]

I work at a school and the kids know what they cant eat or drink but they get it anyway.

 

[MarkHastings]

Holadem, I don't think anyone is being smug here. I assume (based on my own reactions) that a lot of people are outraged that something like this happened. It is SOOOOOO sad that some kid could die, from eating a cookie, that it's pretty instinctive to be like "Damn! Why wasn't he more careful???"

It's a common reaction to something so devastating. That was my first gut reaction. I was like "If I were highly allergic to peanuts, I'd be MORE careful! Damn, what a dumb thing to do!", but then I realized that no matter how careful one is, shit happens.

I think most of the posters realize this is very sad and unfortunate. I don't think many are seeing this kid as a Darwin award candidate. It's just that it's common to think "He shouldn't have eaten it" to hide our own sense of fear.

I'm sure a psychologist can explain this better, but isn't there a name for when someone masks a fear by blaming the situation on stupidity? Like, if something bad happens, we think "Well, they shouldn't have been doing that" in order to make ourselves less fearful of the same thing happening to our own self? It's almost like we're reassuring ourselves that nothing bad will happen to us if we are always on the lookout and only bad things happen to people who aren't paying attention.

 

[James D S]

If I just ate something I'm allegeric to, you better believe I'm rushing to the bathroom and throwing the stuff up. Is that the wrong thing to do?

Which is all well and good until you find another psychologist who says, "No, it's just not being careful."

 

[MarkHastings]

No, not the person involved, but the reaction to that person involved. The way our brains justify the situation by trying to convince ourselves that the incident was caused by stupidity and not something as scary as what actually happened.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

if you have a peanut allergy, you always carry benadryl or epinephrine, and take it right away if you eat something that contains peanuts. it seems the kid took benadryl right away, but the allergy was probably severe.

same thing (sort of) happened to a good friend of mine almost two years ago. she was eating a dessert in a restaurant (she was told it contained no nuts, and would be safe), and it did contain something she was allergic to. she knew she should stop eating it right away and took benadryl, but it was too late, she slipped into a coma and died the next day.

where were all these peanut allergies 20 years ago? when i was growing up, i dont remember a single person being allergic to peanuts. now, tons of kids have peanut allergies.

CJ

 

[MarkHastings]

Am I on the ignore list??? I truly believe in the anti-bacterial claims.

 

[ThomasC]

:frowning:

 

[Christ Reynolds]

there's an ignore list?

i'm no doctor, but i've seen some on tv...i think that many of the recent allergies in kids are coming from what a pregnant woman is forbidden to eat. my girlfriend's friend is currently pregnant, and her doctor limits what she can eat to a ridiculous level. it would be easier to list the things she can eat. i'm sure it's for the better, but some of the stuff she can't eat is ridiculous.

a woman i know has 3 kids. she ate peanut butter during the oldest and youngest pregnancies, and didnt eat peanut butter during the middle one. guess which one has the peanut allergy?

here's a picture of my friend who died. my parents bought this house about 3 years ago to restore it, it's an old cape, built around 1740. i took a couple friends through it the first night we had it, and i lined them up in the mirror and took this picture because i liked the wallpaper and the mirror, gave off a nice eerie feel, and we all agreed when we saw the picture. i'm posting it because she really liked this picture, and i've never had a reason to post it anywhere.

CJ

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[Dome Vongvises]

I've taken an immunology class before, but I wish I was paying closer attention the day my professor explained why nut allergies are so prevalent. I must've been thinking about AIDS that day or something.


In that same immunology class I have there was a study done where children living in "dirty" environments were more likely to have stronger immune systems than children in "clean" environments. Unfortunately, it's hard to really quantify that given that those same "dirty" environments also belong to lower income families where good nutrition was not as good, taking a better immune system a step back.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i seem to have a very strong immune system, and my experiences are in line with the findings of that study. i can't begin to count how many times i skinned my knee or elbow, rubbed dirt in it (quite literally), and continued doing whatever it was i was doing. i only washed out the cut if my mother noticed it when i got home. never once did any of those cuts get infected in any way. i didnt even know what antibacterial soap was until i went away to college.

CJ

 

[Yee-Ming]

This immunology thingy probably has some basis: on an anecdotal basis, around here it's considered that our food stalls have been policed and regulated to death until they are, well, quite sanitary and hygenic in the way they prepare food. In contrast, in Malaysia things are, shall we say, a little less up-tight. Consequently, Singaporeans eating in Malaysia often get a little belly-ache, never vice-versa. And some Malaysian friends of mine who came here for college, settled down after graduation and have been here now for over 15 years do say that whilst they had no trouble with their local food when growing up, nowadays when they visit home they are just as wimpy as us Singaporeans stomach-wise. Make of that what you will.

 

[MarkHastings]

Yeah, it's definitely a bizarre mindset, but I have a good friend who is a total anti-bacterial freak with her new baby. I'm always yelling at her: "Please let the kid get DIRTY!!!".

She's the one who's always yelling at me for eating crappy food...she HATES when I drink those "Red Bull" type energy drinks, saying "they're all chemicals!!!", but my body is used to this kind of stuff....I can handle it.

That's why I am afraid of her anti-bacterial/organic approach with her kid. While that approach is wonderful, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to make sure that her kid will never come across something that doesn't have some sort of chemical preservative in it. I'd hate to see this kid grow up and find out that he gets violently ill from drinking an energy drink because his body can't handle the chemicals in it.

Sure, it's better to avoid these things, but come on, we live in a country that doesn't exactly revolve around the best foods for oneself. You can't avoid it without constantly being on top of it. Just like the kid in the story...he apparently had a condition where he had to be in CONSTANT awareness of what he was eating...What a horrible way to live!! :frowning: knowing that one slight slip up can result in death? That's insane!

Perhaps the anti-bacterial thing isn't the real reason, but there has to be some merit behind getting oneself used to a little germs.When I first saw that photo, I actually thought it was a new signature of yours...it looked like it was a screen shot of some horror film....it definitely does look really creepy.

Sorry to hear of that loss Christ, I've never lost anyone to an allergic reaction, but my brothers throat closes up whenever he eats raw peaches/apples and I remember how scary it was (when we were kids) when we'd have to run to the emergency room because he couldn't breathe. :frowning:

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Hey now! Don't lump organic foods in with these idiotic products that kill off your stomach's own natural bacteria -- bacteria that helps you to digest and process food.

My wife (a doctor who works with a lot of kids) handed me an interesting article theorizing that peanut allergies were also on the rise due to the way that peanut farming has changed over the years -- apparently in some countries, peanuts are planted after the primary crop has been harvested, in order to help soak up excess pesticides and herbicides from the ground.

She also had a study where adults with mild peanut allergies were fed an organic, unprocessed peanut butter and had no reaction -- the study theorized that perhaps the allergic reaction was to something from the processing of the nuts (the removal and replacement of the peanut oil, for instance).

Interesting stuff, but not on a large enough scale to be conclusive.

Anyways, anti-bacterial is bad-bad-bad. Organic is good-good-good. Bacteria is natural, pesticides are not. And my kid has eaten his fair share of dirt.

 

[MarkHastings]

I will agree that organic is good, but what's your stance on preservatives? I think a body needs to get used to some of these preservatives that are added to most food products.

Again, I'm not saying organic is bad, just that it doesn't seem wise to completely hide yourself from non-organic foods.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

I agree. Our own pattern at home is "mostly organic". We have an organic fruit and veggie bin delivered twice a month, but we supplement from local shops that don't have organic. Sometimes I eat the organic alternative to Kraft Dinner, and sometimes I just crave real Kraft Dinner (my 21 month old boy prefers the organic). Everything in moderation. Sometimes our breakfast is Barbara's Organic Breakfast O's, and sometimes it's Cap'n Crunch.

We found that we were being overcautious about sugar -- my son grabbed my cup and took a sip of Powerade one night, ran around in circles and then puked. There's too much refined sugar in everything these days, but we couldn't raise him in a way that wouldn't allow him to eat "normal" food.

We were always shocked about how bland the diets of our friends' kids were. Similarly, our friends were shocked that Theo ate so much "exotic" food without complaint. What's to complain about? It's tasty food! Kids learn what's yucky from their parents.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Your immune system works on a very simple principle (yet mind-numbingly complex to describe when actually getting down to the nitty gritty in speaking in science terms). Whatever you get exposed to, your body builds a defense against it. To go further into detail, your body recognizes EVERYTHING, even your own cells. Early in your life your body gets rid of those immune cells that recognize your own cells (and if you don't hello autoimmunity).

With the exception of surgery and sepsis (and maybe a few other situations I can't think of right now because of college football), the best way to fight sickness is to let it ride. Your body will take care of you.