A lunch, a cupcake birthday party or even a few peanut butter cracker crumbs is all it take for schoolchildren to notice their classmate is vulnerable. Shockingly, other children prey on these vulnerabilities using their allergy as a deadly weapon. For 2.9 million kids in the U.S. fighting with food allergies, even the idea of going near the restricted food is frightening.

According to a survey published recently in the Annals of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology, out of the 2.9 million kids with food allergies, 30% are bullied repeatedly because of their food restrictions. Though in most cases, the victim was abused verbally but the survey results reveal that about 40% of them were either touched or threatened with an allergen. Researchers asked 353 parents and caregivers of children with allergies.

Who are the bullies?

12 million Americans are living with food allergies. About 3 million of them are children. 30% of them are bullied but it’s not just the classmates taunting vulnerable kids. The survey reveals about 20% of children with food allergies are not harassed and teased not by their classmates but by their teachers and other staff members.

Dr. Robert Wood, the director of pediatric allergy at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, says he has received reports of food allergy bullying from his patients and their parents frequently. The concept of bullying and intimidating weaker peers is not that extreme but with the passage of time, it has increased in severity.

In another survey by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the results showed that in a majority of cases in which children are bullied because of their allergies, parents have no idea what their child is going through at school. Kids who are being bullied because of their food allergies tend to start feeling unsafe and threatened. They are most likely not to talk to their parents about the abuse but a trained eye will recognize the signs. Bullied kids become depressed, anxious and try to avoid going to school.

15 states have passed guidelines for bullying. Texas guidelines say that there has to be zero tolerance for bullying related to food allergies. Arizona laws suggest that cafeteria monitors ought to be trained to intervene as soon as they see a child bullying another with food allergies.

Experts suggest anti-bullying programs in schools need to create awareness about food allergies and how to prevent bullying that is related to food allergies. They should also teach students how to deal with students who have food allergies.