You Ant Be Serious!?

I bought ant traps today after I found 20 little ants enjoying a slice of watermelon on our kitchen counter last night. I figured that the warning to keep them away from the kids was due to boric acid. Turns out that these traps 'may' contain peanuts so the boric acid is the least of our concerns. I learned today that many pest control traps use peanut butter as bait ... who knew that people with a peanut allergy needed to be wary of ant traps?

I am not super alarmed from the research I have done but I think it might be best to use boric acid in my beloved Sunbutter instead of the peanut butter ant traps.

My target is the ants ... not my daughter.

Don't Pass The Mustard

I read a piece this morning on mustard allergy. Even after the countless hours of research I have done, I was surprised to learn that a 2003 study found mustard allergy to be the fourth most prevalent allergy in children behind egg, peanut, and milk.

The article also presented an example of how overwhelming food allergy can be for parents. Here is a quote from the mother of a young girl who has anaphylaxis to peanuts and mustard:

[Emily would typically start preschool in the fall, but she will be held back a year. "I'm really considering looking into possibly home schooling unless there's something that I can really be assured she can be safe -- maybe a special place where the school is free of peanuts," Evans said. "Free of mustard is a stretch, a little bit.]

I remember having the same initial reaction. Over time you realize that despite your best efforts it is just not possible to completely avoid an allergen. It is important to practice avoidance but it is also important to be prepared in the event of an emergency.

Home schooling is a matter of personal preference. Though our peanut allergic daughter will go through the school system, I do have to admit that I am already very nervous for her first day of preschool this fall. I also hold out hope that BC passes anaphylaxis legislation prior to her first day of kindergarten in 2010.

Peanut Poetry

I received an email from Allergic Living magazine this week. They are having a poetry contest that is taking entries up until next Thursday. I find blogging to be a great outlet for me and I suspect that others might enjoy poetry. Feel free to post a verse or two as a comment on NoPeanutsPlease as well. Good luck!