According to some scientists and allergists, there's something to be said for the five-second rule.
If a piece of food is dropped on the floor it isn't technically contaminated if it's picked up within five seconds; also the exposure could boost a child's immune system.
Although the "five-second rule" is largely regarded as a pop culture reference when someone's Dorito lands on the ground, there has been some scholarly research reserved for the theory.
"It's called the 'hygiene hypothesis.' Basically, if a kid drops a lollipop on the ground, don't automatically wash it off; just give it back to the kid," said Dr. Robert McGovern, a Springfield-based allergist. "The theory is based on the fact that we're too clean a society and a few infections would do us some good."
McGovern said no one is quite sure why food allergies among children increased by 18 percent between 1997 and 2007. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates 3 million American children have food allergies, with nuts at the top of the list. The leap has caused many more school districts to put restrictions in place around nuts of all kinds.
Most recently, Amherst school officials announced the district would go completely nut-free Oct. 15. That decision has since been delayed until Oct. 28 to allow time to respond to feedback from families.
Hampshire Regional School District has put in place a system-wide ban on nuts and nut products. It had been a more limited restriction until more children were enrolled with severe nut allergies.
"I don't think schools have much choice in terms of the legal ramifications," linked to sickening a student - or worse - by exposing those with deadly allergies to trigger foods, McGovern said.
A 19-year-old college freshman from Plymouth died in March after he ate half a cookie that contained peanut oil. In late July, a 13-year-old in California died after she had a bite of dessert that contained peanut butter, despite receiving three shots of epinephrine, the only known treatment to mitigate anaphylaxis, the life-threatening reaction to allergens.
Symptoms include difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat or tongue, rapid pulse, nausea and vomiting.
Dr. John O'Reilly, a Baystate Health pediatrician, said current scientific research supports exposing children to certain antigens at a younger age to began building immunity.
“The pendulum, at least on the science level, has swung from total avoidance of peanuts to lessen an allergy to finding some safe way to expose children younger,” O’Reilly said.
That conversation remains on the prevention side while schools must manage the risk once a allergy has been established. O’Reilly said those decisions are often driven by parents and administrators who may have had experience with anaphylaxis.
In Holyoke, for instance, Schools Superintendent Sergio Paez said in his first few months as Holyoke superintendent, the issue has never been raised.
“Holyoke has not even considered that. We have bigger issues,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Springfield public schools said those schools do not serve any peanut products but there are no restrictions preventing students from bringing such foods from home.
Martha Barrett, superintendent of the Frontier Regional and Union 38 School districts in Franklin County, has an allergy management policy that allows each school to enact and annually review its own policy based on its student population.
Frontier Regional (grades 7 through 12) established a nut ban at least eight years ago, when Barrett was principal there; Conway grammar school also is nut-free, while Deerfield grammar school has peanut-free tables, she said.
Barrett said she expected much more push-back from students and parents when the ban went into place several years ago at Frontier.
“The thing that impressed me is that our students looked out for each other. They’d say: no you can’t bring a PB&J to this school. And now it’s become a habit, although we have to remind new students and new parents every year,” Barrett said. “But we have kids with airborne, ingestion and contact allergies, and if we can prevent something terrible happening to one of them, why wouldn’t we?”