Allergy
A high-school student allergic to nuts gasped and choked for breath on several occasions last semester as her Spanish teacher burned a nut-oil candle in class, despite protests from the student, her mother, and the school nurse, . Danielle Nguyen suffered an allergic reaction in which her lips and throat swelled dangerously, making it difficult for her to breathe and swallow. The Spanish teacher continued to light the nut-scented candle throughout the semester at Towns County High School in Hiawassee, Ga. Nguyen was treated by the school nurse, who warned the teacher that she needed to stop burning the candle. But Nguyen continued to suffer allergic reactions while in the class. School records show that she visited the nurse seven times when she should have been in that class, according to the Daily Mail. Her mother, Shannon Baldwin-Nguyen, reportedly confronted the teacher, who admitted that she had lighted the candle all semester but blew it out before Nguyen entered the classroom. "She knew it caused Danielle to have this reaction but she repeatedly burned the candle, day after day after day and knew it was harming Danielle," she told CBSAtlanta.com. Nguyen said she believes she failed her Spanish class because of the reactions and treatments that caused drowsiness in class. After the revelation, Baldwin-Nguyen filed a complaint about the teacher’s behavior to the state Professional Standards Commission, who passed it on to Towns County Schools Superintendent Melissa Williams, who said the district has taken precautions to protect children with allergies, including removing candles from classrooms. In a statement released to CBS Atlanta, Williams said: "Towns County Schools takes the safety of all its students very seriously. We do have students in all of schools with severe food allergies. We have taken steps to lessen their exposure to situations that might put them in danger by: having our school nurse meet with each school faculty before school began to educate our staff about the allergies and how to handle allergic reactions; noted outside each classroom where appropriate that students with food allergies are inside as a reminder for all students to consider their behavior; removed all products in school vending machines that might create a problem; put information for all parents on our website and removed all candles from classrooms." Scented candles and air fresheners release chemicals that
can cause breathing problems in some patient and even severe
allergic reactions. |
Student With Nut Allergy Bullied by Teacher