In many cases, the mouth and throat swell, breathing becomes very difficult, and the person becomes disoriented. If not treated immediately with an injection of adrenaline, the allergic individual can die within minutes. The injectable medication may be able to buy the individual 15 minutes to get to the emergency room. I believe that they have every right to keep their child safe and free from harm. The parents of any child with a nut allergy realize that no environment is completely safe, and that educating their child, family, friends and teachers is essential and ongoing.
School administrators can only take steps to try to eliminate nuts in the school.
The cannot guarantee it. Peanut butter is a staple in our country and that is the sandwich of choice for many families. It is particularly deadly to anaphylactic children because it sticks to surfaces, to cutlery and to hands and faces. One child died because the jam sandwich she had eaten had been made with a knife used to make a peanut butter sandwich. Another died because her cheese sandwich was packed in a bag next to a peanut butter sandwich.