Background: Food allergies may affect up to 6% of school-aged children.
Objective: To conduct a telephone survey to characterize food-allergic reac
tions in children (defined as those aged 3-19 years in this study) with kno
wn food allergies in schools and preschools and to determine mechanisms tha
t are in place to prevent and treat those reactions.
Design: The parents of food-allergic children were contacted by telephone a
nd asked about their child's history of food-allergic reactions in school.
The schools the children attended were contacted, and the person responsibl
e for the treatment of allergic reactions completed a telephone survey.
Results: Of 132 children in the study, 58% reported food-allergic reactions
in the past 2 years. Eighteen percent experienced 1 or more reactions in s
chool. The offending food was identified in 34 of 41 reactions, milk being
the causative food in II (32%);peanut in 10 (29%); egg in 6 (18%); tree nut
s in 2 (6%); and soy, wheat, celery, mango, or garlic in 1 (3%) each. In 24
reactions (59%), symptoms were limited to the skin; wheezing occurred in 1
3 (32%), vomiting and/or diarrhea in 4 (10%), and hypotension in 1 (2%). Al
so, 15 (36%) of the 41 reactions involved 2 or more organ systems, and 6 (1
5%) were treated with epinephrine. Fourteen percent of the children did not
have a physician's orders for treatment, and 16% did not have any medicati
ons available. Of the 80 participating schools, 31 (39%) reported at least
1 food-allergic reaction within the past 2 years and 54 (67%) made at least
1 accommodation for children with a food allergy, such as peanut-free tabl
es, a peanut ban from the classroom, or alternative meals.
Conclusions: It is common for food-allergic children to experience allergic
reactions in schools and preschools, with 18% of children having had at le
ast 1 school reaction within the past 2 years. Thirty-six percent of the re
actions involved 2 or more organ systems, and 32% involved wheezing. Every
effort should be made to pre vent, recognize, and appropriately treat food-
allergic reactions in schools.