Airborne Food Allergies?

[Trialanderror]

I only learned about the existence of food allergies after my son started daycare and now school. One thing I do not understand to date: do allergic reactions occur when the affected child or adult gets in just the vicinity of the offending food or do they actually have to eat it to put themselves in danger?
I am just at a loss when preparing my son`s lunch bag: no nuts, no egg-derived food, no cinnamon allowed because there is one child in class who is allergic to all of the above. How could particles of egg, mixed into a pancake, travel through the air and cause an allergic reaction I wonder? I guess it is serious, otherwise there wouldn`t be those rules, but I just don`t get it. Can someone shed some light on this please?

[NO_CORN_please]

I have a severe food allergy to corn.  I've had it since birth, I'm now 46. I've survived with diligent and careful dietary and lifestyle practices.

For me, when corn is popped, it becomes an airborne allergen.  As soon as I breath the air, I have an asthma attack.  Airborne allergens like this are more dangerous than ingested allergens because they instantly enters the blood stream through the lungs.  

Popcorn has become so common in American lives, I am unable to go to certain shopping malls, movie theaters, and more recently, I am unable to work in some offices.

The work place is my biggest challenge.  Workers skip lunch breaks, then make microwave popcorn in the afternoon to substitute for a meal.

Each company addresses my allergy differently. Most ban popcorn my the floor or building I work in. Which seems to be the best solution because the air filtration systems in typical offices cannot circulate air fast enough to keep the corn allergens (and popcorn smell) from wafting through the entire work area.  

[tiredbuthappy]

i actually have heard of cases where children can have an anaphylactic reaction from simply being in the same room as the allergen. This is actually pretty rare, but obviously a risk that many schools are not willing to take.

[Trialanderror]

Thank you, I`m really learning a lot here. When kids talk about allergies of their classmates, it often comes across as if the allergic child would get an anaphylactic shock reaction just by spotting a peanut through binoculars. But the toy and door knob transmission is close enough to this scenario. I realize how serious it is! The egg allergies in my son`s class turned out to be some false alarm by the way.

[tiredbuthappy]

also, the concern with young children is that food bits can remain on their hands. Then they go and play, and can expose the other child even if the other child ate at a separate table.

I get very nervous when I have a child with allergies. When we went to the commons area to eat, i watched as kids with sticky hands touched the garbage can, door knobs, sinks, etc...

The oils from nuts can cause an airborne reaction. However, I suspect that the school would allow baked goods such as pancakes that have eggs in it. Otherwise, how could you even send bread?? Chances are, they don't want you sending hard boiled eggs or anything like that.

[1nana]

Pretty crazy, huh Trial?

Although rare, airborne food allergies are for real!

[Trialanderror]

I just read through all the other posts and it seems that even the smell of an allergen can cause reactions. So never mind, I didn`t know that!