Time Magazine, Nut Allergies

Time Magazine has been following the story of nut allergies over the last year. This week, they called Dr. Wood to respond to Dr. Christakis' nut hysteria article.

"...Wood cautions against excessive alarm. "It's an unfortunate situation," says Wood, "if a family with an inaccurate perception of the allergy leads a child to believe that a Snickers bar from 50 feet away is a lethal weapon."

Read more on the Time Magazine website here.

Comments

Unknown said…
After reading the TIME article, it seems that perhaps there is some confusion between a nut-free zone and a nut-free school. I have not encountered any parents of non-allergic children who are against the presence of an "allergy table" (a nut-free zone) in a school cafeteria. It is not uncommon, however, for there to be an outcry when a school bans peanuts/nuts altogether.
Jenny said…
I do appreciate the fact that there needs to be nuance with regard to any school food allergy policy.

Still, I fail to see how Dr. Christakis adds to this discussion with his derisive comments about parents of kids with food allergies. He seems to think that food allergic families should cope by closing our eyes and wishing that we didn't have to prevent our kids from contact with allergens and then, presto! The reaction risk is suddenly false and unfounded. Unfortunately for Dr. C. magical thinking doesn't work with regard to life-threatening food allergies.

Dr. Wood, on the other hand, had sensible comments to offer. I'm glad to hear his moderate views.

Popular Posts