Every day at lunch at 'Aina Haina Elementary School, parent volunteers peer into the bags of students' home lunches, looking for a potential killer — peanuts.

With five students severely allergic to the common peanut — so severely that even a particle could cause their windpipes to close in minutes — the school has taken extraordinary precautions, to the point of declaring itself a "peanut-free zone."

That means signs are posted, parents are informed, the cafeteria has gotten rid of all products with peanuts or peanut oil, the staff has been trained in emergency response and parents have formed a support group to protect the children affected.

Cafeteria manager Lisa Elliot gave away three giant cans of peanut butter to a neighboring high school and monitors everything coming into her pantry, reading labels carefully.

"Even if it's one child, it's prudent to prevent as much as you can," said 'Aina Haina principal Justin Mew, who first responded to the concerns of two parents with highly allergic children three years ago.

'Aina Haina isn't the only one.

With the number of children allergic to peanuts rising dramatically — and schools among the places where they are most vulnerable — several campuses are going to great lengths to be prepared.

Nationally, 6 percent of children age 3 and younger have general food allergies, with most of them allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts. And in the past five years, the percentage of young children allergic to peanuts has doubled to about 1 percent, according to the May 2004 edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Though the measures taken by local schools haven't been mandated by the state Department of Education, some principals and their School Community Councils are working to raise awareness that seconds count in responding to severe peanut-allergies. Many preschools are also going peanut-free, and the number of public elementary schools moving in that direction is growing.

Like 'Aina Haina, which went peanut-free this fall, Waiau and Waimalu Elementary schools have banned peanuts from campus, and Hickam Elementary has peanut-free zones throughout the school, including a section of the cafeteria.

'THEY CAN DIE'

At Waiau Elementary in Pearl City, an educational assistant spends every recess and lunch hour dogging the heels of a severely allergic boy, carrying an emergency vial of life-saving epinephrine in a quick-to-administer injection device called an EpiPen.

"We have one child in particular who has an extreme allergy," said Waiau principal Judith Elliott. "Within seconds, we could lose him."

Even schools that don't have students with such allergies are training staff to respond to the emergency if they ever need to.

At Pearl City Elementary, though no student has a peanut allergy at this time, principal Susan Hirokane has a plan in place and has trained her staff to use emergency procedures.

"We're ready," she said. "If an allergic child walked in tomorrow, we would know how to respond."

For those who have severe allergies, the condition is life-threatening because they can go into anaphylactic shock in minutes, meaning several body systems can be be affected.

"It's not just an average breakout of hives or a rash. ... Their windpipe closes. They can die," said Rachel Bernstein of the reaction of her 7-year-old daughter, who has a severe peanut-allergy. "That's why we carry epinephrine."

The medication must be injected as soon as possible, preferably within 10 or 15 minutes.

Bernstein was not aware that her daughter had the allergy until the day when she was about 2 years old and had a bite of her first peanut butter cookie.

"She started to scream, 'It's bitter ... ,' and that was a shock to me," Bernstein said. "She was crying and she threw up."

Allergy testing by a physician showed a peanut allergy, and the family has been carrying an injectable EpiPen ever since.

PEANUTS IN PRODUCTS

Peanuts are among the foods that most commonly cause allergies, behind milk and eggs, and ahead of shrimp, wheat, shellfish and soy, according to an article in the May 2004 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Hawai'i allergists see peanuts as one of the leading allergens for children.

Some blame the widespread use of peanuts, peanut products and peanut oils in hundreds of products from cookies, candies and baked goods to lip balm and some popular restaurant chili recipes.

"It's in so many food products it's just frightening," said Honolulu allergist Dr. Richard Ando.

Others say the dry-roasting process may be to blame.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology's same May 2004 article points to the U.S. practice of dry roasting as a culprit because the heat increases the allergy-inducing properties of peanut proteins.

Gene Kaneshiro, director of the School Food Services Branch for the state Department of Education, said there's no universal policy regarding peanut allergy in the schools, but his staff helps concerned schools identify foods with peanut products.

"There is no blanket prohibition statewide as far as school lunch is concerned," he said. "However, when there are students who are sensitive, our cafeteria staff is alerted by the school, and we've been helping them to identify any foods that have any peanuts" or types of nuts.

TOUGH ON CHILDREN

In most children, the allergy produces a minor reaction.

"A peanut allergy usually just causes kids to get a little swelling of the lips or they throw up or get a little bit of eczema," said allergist Dr. John McDonnell. "But in a small subset of those children, they can have their airways close off.

"We can do skin tests on these children and find out if they're allergic to peanuts or not, but we can't always predict the very severe ones."

The allergy can be hard on a child, parents say, and the youngsters suffer many disappointments in the interest of safety.

Seleste Chock's daughter Sasha, a 6-year-old first-grader at 'Aina Haina, had her first peanut reaction at 6 months when she touched a half-empty peanut can and had hives all over her face in five minutes. Sasha is hesitant to try new foods, and the family avoids eating in restaurants.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Chock said of her family's eating habits.

Halloween was tough when most of the candy handed out at a mall event they attended contained peanuts or peanut butter.

"But at the end of the night, she turned in her candy, and we went and got her a toy, which she was happy with," Chock said.

Bernstein's daughter knows the candy and other food products she must avoid, but it's especially hard when she has to skip friends' birthday parties because they can never be certain the food is safe.

In general, there's tremendous support, Bernstein said, and parents rarely send peanut products to school for lunches or snacks.

If it does happen, the item isn't confiscated; instead, a flag is put on the cafeteria table to alert workers to clean children's hands and wash the table so there aren't even minuscule traces.

"It has come to the point where all parents are aware," principal Mew said.

With watchful parents and school officials at 'Aina Haina, there never has been an incident in which a child needed a life-saving injection.

But last year at Waiau Elementary, a child did need the shot.

"As we're administering the EpiPen, we're simultaneously calling 911 and his parents," principal Elliott said.