"Manufactured in a facility that processes tree nut products."

Well we're back from Easter Weekend at the in-laws. We left Friday afternoon, getting Mr. K out of school early to beat the impending storms over Wolf Creek Pass. The first, craziest event of the weekend took place Friday evening. We'd had dinner and Grandma Kathy broke out dessert- Dreyer's Fudge Tracks ice cream. Bowls were served all around and Mr. K, being the always-conscious severe-peanut-allergy-having kid that he is, asked if it was safe for him. I went straight the allergy warning and read "This ingredient is manufactured in a facility that processes tree nut products." Now he does have a severe allergy, but he has to be a kid as well, so if Steph and I are there with an Epi-pen we don't stop him from those kinds of 2nd-hand-possibly-maybe-tainted things.

So Mr. K ate a couple bites of ice cream. He said it didn't taste right and thought he tasted peanuts, so Steph double-checked the label. She read the same thing I did, re-assured him, and he ate a few more bites. Then he stopped, set down his ice cream, and within 5 minutes was having gut-wrenching stomach pains. 45-60 min later he bolted for the bathroom and lost everything in his stomach in spectacular fashion.

Steph, thinking something seemed off by this point, quadruple checked the label and notices, in little 10-pt font on the side of the carton, a notation that the ice cream contains "Real Chunks of Peanut Butter Cups!" Um, shit? Peanut Butter Cups are also listed under the ingredients section, but the allergy warning is pretty vague. (Feel free to judge my parenting skillz here. I have many times in the last 4 days) So, since Mr. K has about the most severe peanut allergy you'll ever see, we packed up and went to the ER for a visit. By the time we got there (really by the time we left the house) it was over. According to the ER doc, Mr. K's GI tract experienced the allergic reaction in place of the rest of the body and saved him. He had some tummy troubles the next couple days, but for the most part his body knew just what to do with peanuts.

So we learned some things...
1st, 3 adults can look at a container and completely miss peanuts. That's scary.
2nd, allergy warnings can be useful, but aren't always as specific as they could be and don't substitute for reading every ingredient.
3rd, Mr. K's body will be completely and totally trusted when it tells him to stop eating something, and if he says it doesn't taste right we're all going to listen.
4th, puking can serve a life-saving purpose. If Mr. K's body can do that every time he ingests a peanut product it will probably save his life multiple times.