A vote of confidence for Canadian Health, one reader's opposition to banning peanuts from lunchrooms and a Canadian resource for managing anaphylaxis in schools

Promoting health to the public

As a public health physician who is constantly trying to promote health and present materials to members of the public with different literacy levels and cultural backgrounds, I am really impressed. I will be sharing Canadian Health magazine with the health promoters in our public health department. I will certainly be subscribing! Keep up the good work.

Dr. Robin C. Williams
Medical Officer of Health
Niagara Region Public
Health Department

No to peanut-free schools

Re: “Class Reaction” (Fall 2006, p. 40). I do not support "peanut-free" schools. If an allergic person attends a public school, he has to adapt to that setting regardless of allergies or other medical conditions. The rest of the school should not have to suffer consequences because of a single student. If that one allergic student is highly allergic to something,  he has to adapt to the norm. If his allergy is severe enough, the student should be home-schooled. If social life is a concern, then friends should visit him at home, where the environment can be controlled.

You could counter that a peanut-free school is no different from a wheelchair-accessible school. But ramps and elevators do not impact on others, whereas a peanut-free environment limits the nutritious foods students can bring to school. Some students have serious allergies to milk, soy, tree nuts, eggs and fish. Should we ban all these, too?

An allergic student could be compared to someone who works in customer service and has to adapt to the public setting. If that person is in a bad mood, the customers should not have to accommodate her. The representative needs to make the situation work without causing others inconvenience.

Jennifer Williamson
Surrey, B.C.

Anaphylactic allergies

Re: “Class Reaction” (Fall 2006, p. 40). A number of Canadian groups offer expertise and advocacy on this important subject, including the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Anaphylaxis Canada, the Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation, the Association québécoise des allergies alimentaires and the Allergy Asthma Information Association.

Together, these five groups have produced a landmark document called Anaphylaxis in Schools & Other Settings, which can be bought at the nominal cost of $15 from the author organizations. The website www.allergysafecommunities.ca is based on the guidelines and is accessible for free. These guidelines are an important resource for families and schools dealing with anaphylaxis.

I was disappointed to see that neither the cooperative work of these organizations nor the document they created were mentioned in Janet French’s article. The website and document include practical material for parents and schools, including downloadable emergency-plan forms for individual students. This should be the first stop for Canadian Health readers, not the American site given in the article.

Cheryl Martin
Ottawa Anaphylaxis Support Group
Ottawa

Clarifications

Re: “Reproductive Health” (Fall 2006, p. 28). The recommended daily upper limit for folic acid is 1 gram. Since flour is now fortified with folic acid, pasta, bread and cereal products are also excellent dietary sources.

Re: “Have a Heart!” (Fall 2006, p. 36). In assessing if an individual is at risk from abdominal fat, Health Canada recommends using not waist-to-hip ratio but waist circumference plus body mass index (for BMIs of 18.5 to 34.9). A man is at risk if his waist circumference measures more than 40 inches (102 cm); a woman is at risk if her waist circumference is more than 35 inches (88 cm).