Fatal food allergies add to back-to-school fears for local families

Mass shootings. Bullying. Paying for school supplies. The list of things families worry about before school starts can be long. But for hundreds of children in our valley, something as inoffensive as a peanut can instill just as much fear.

For some kids it’s eggs. Others it’s strawberries.

But for third grader Alissa Klein?

“I’m allergic to peanuts, a little bit to soy, and to peas,” she says.

And just how allergic is she?

“They’re very dangerous,” the eight year old from La Quinta says seriously. “Sometimes they can even kill me.”

So the thought of going back to school can be terrifying for the whole family.

“I think the biggest thing for me is just trusting the people I’m leaving her with,” explains Alissa’s mother, Johanna.

The Klein’s kitchen is scoured for allergens.

“When we get on a plane,” demonstrates Johanna Klein, ” and she stands to the side and I have to use these wetwipes to wipe everything down.”

Sunflower seed butter is a staple.

And Alissa reads labels to find that “100% nut free

But Johanna cautions, “I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that as long as it doesn’t have nuts in it that’s it’s fine for it to eat.”

Klein demonstrates the possibility of cross-contamination to the kids at Alissa’s school by asking them to cover their hands with glitter, then having them wash it off. Then she inspects their hands to show them how hard it is to really scrub it off. “Imagine that was peanut dust?” she then asks them.

But the fears that allergies bring don’t stop with health effects. Alissa has made videos to promote understanding, where she opens up about what it means to go to parties, or pass up a snack because of allergies.

“I just don’t like to spread the word too much because I just don’t want to get bullied,” she responds in one video.

8 year old Alissa Klein of La Quinta talks about why food allergies are so tough, and how she feels about them.

{“version”:”1.0″,”html”:”n&#lt;iframe width=” 459″ height=”344″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/jH8SIfmbjFI?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”&#gt;&#lt;/iframe&#gt;n”,”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH8SIfmbjFI”,”title”:”May 14, 2018″,”author_name”:”hannaallio”,”width”:459,”provider_name”:”YouTube”,”height”:344,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jH8SIfmbjFI/hqdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:480,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/user/hannaallio”,”thumbnail_height”:360,”provider_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/”,”type”:”video”}

“Whether it’s an allergy, or anything else, we talk about kindness, caring, respect and consideration for fellow students,” offers Allan Lehmann, Washington Charter School principal.

Washington Charter School has a nut free table for students.

“And what we try to do is partner them up with one or two other students so that they have an enjoyable experience,” Lehmann explains.

Of the nearly 69,000 kids enrolled in public schools in the Coachella Valley, 583 have reported nut allergies, and thousands more have reactions to items like milk or soy.

Food allergies, district by district:

Coachella Valley Unified School District (approximately 18,000 students)

Life Threatening Food Allergies – 74 Non-Life threatening Food Allergies – 370 Nut Allergies – 118

Desert Sands Unified School District (approximately 29,000 students)

Nut Allergies- 239

Palm Springs Unified School District (approximately 22,000 students)

Nut Allergies- 226 Life threatening allergies- 448

“In the last few years we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of special diets that we’re processing,” shares Dan Capello Desert Sands Unified School District Director of Student Nutrition. “It’s hugely important. Some of these diets are just things that might cause hives or a rash, but some of them could cause anaphylactic shock.”

At DSUSD, the district’s nutritionist populates the computer with a student’s unique number so that whatever allergens they have will pop up.

Capello demonstrates in the cafeteria at Washington Charter School, pointing, “This computer system will flag that.”

And in case of emergency, Lehmann explains that “Epipens are provided to all schools in California,” with at least one faculty member required by law to know how to use them.

Alissa Klein keeps three sets of Epipens at school along with a personal first aid kit. But the biggest tool she and everyone else at school may have, says her mom, is “raising awareness and helping people understand.”

Celebrity Chef Ming Tsai cr eated a powerful PSA called “Could you Eat” to find a cure for food alle rgies.

{“thumbnail_width”:480,”height”:270,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OZrinGpwctk/hqdefault.jpg”,”provider_name”:”YouTube”,”width”:480,”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZrinGpwctk”,”author_name”:”End Allergies Together”,”title”:””Could you EAT?” — PSA with Celebrity Chef Ming Tsai to Find a Cure for Food Allergies”,”type”:”video”,”provider_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/”,”thumbnail_height”:360,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55m-78AegR3fs48GJwnrDQ”,”html”:”n&#lt;iframe width=” 480″ height=”270″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/OZrinGpwctk?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”&#gt;&#lt;/iframe&#gt;n”,”version”:”1.0″}