Peanuts no small danger

Columbus Dispatch ^ | 02 November 2003 | Tiffany Y . Latta

[bert]

The fittest survive. a kid with such an allergy is unfit and survival is doubtful..

[netmilsmom]

Isn't there some kind of shot to give these kids?

If my daughter could not have Pb&J for lunch, she would not eat.

[Lion Den Dan]

The fit survive=== you beat me to it. Why are there more peanut allergic kids than years ago? Because they are protected. Years ago, they died and did not pass on that genetic pre-disposition.

[goodnesswins]

What happens when they grow up? Having lived a "protected" life.....I've never heard of adults with peanut allergies...

[eddie willers]

Since I never heard of such a thing back when I was in Grade School, (50's) I must assume they all died horrible deaths before age 6.

[longtermmemmory]

When did penuts become such a danger?
(s)
Did jimmy carter know?

Where are the class actions against penut farmers.(/s)

[Maceman]

The fittest survive. a kid with such an allergy is unfit and survival is doubtful.

What an appalling attitude. I'm guessing you don't have any kids (at least I hope not).

I do not support peanut-free policies in schools -- because I am sick of tiny minorities of people believing they have a right to impose major life changes on the rest of us. But that doesn't mean that we can't have sympathy for the poor kids who suffer from this serious problem.

You would have to have a heart of stone to have such a cavalier attitude as you are displaying here.

This kind of attitude is an embarrassment to FR.

[toddst]

The fittest survive. a kid with such an allergy is unfit and survival is doubtful. .

I'll assume you just forgot your sarcasm tag. There are many children and adults with serious allergies that can be life-threatening. This includes animal dander. I have a daughter who must stay away from dogs and cats - can't go into a house where these pets have even been without starting to react. She is now a well educated, productive adult who gets along just fine as long as she avoids closed spaces where there have been dogs and cats.

My nephew is one of the peanut allergy suffers. He would suffocate quickly if he somehow ate peanut anything in any quantity. He also has reached adulthood and is a productive person.

The list is long of materials causing serious allergic reactions.

[tamu]

I once knew a guy who had such a reaction to peanuts. He carried a spring loaded syringe on him (in a plastic tube) at all times.

*Post your "Are you glad to see me or... joke here*

If he ever came in contact with the stuff, he had to inject himself in the thigh in less than a minute or else he would croak (or so he said, but I have no reason to doubt him).
You should have seen that guy try and get on an airplane before 9/11. I doubt he flies much any more.

[Constantine XIII]

%^(

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The plain M&M’s, she explained, could be contaminated if made at the candy factory in a vat that previously contained M &M’s with peanuts.

Give me a break! This is ludicrous! There is NO way that the trace amounts of peanuts from a vat surface, having been mixed and diluted in another vat full of chocolate could be enough to cause a reaction. You could coat the surface of the vat with strichnine or arsenic and not have enough molecules per volume to harm anyone.

Her statement is sheer idiocy. It almost borders on Munchausen-by-proxy. I guess doing all of that really makes mom feel like she's needed...

[F.J. Mitchell]

That COLD, bert.

[DumpsterDiver]

This snippet is from Cecil Adams' website.

According to the medical journals, a severe peanut allergy kills either by laryngospasm (instantaneous swelling and closing of the vocal cords) or by anaphylactic shock, which sets in minutes or hours after exposure and is usually associated with a catastrophic drop in blood pressure.

For hypersensitive individuals, a kiss on the cheek from someone who's been eating peanuts can cause a reaction. Parents of allergic kids often carry an epinephrine syringe so they can administer prompt treatment, and adults carry their own auto-injectable supply.

Is the danger real or just hype?

Probably both. The number of deaths in the U.S. due to food-related anaphylactic shock is small, at most 200 annually, 80 percent of which are due to peanuts or "tree nuts" (walnuts, pistachios, pecans, etc). One UK study estimates that the annual risk that a food-allergic child will die from a reaction is 1 in 800,000.

Food allergies aren't as common as people think. Surveys have found that as many as 30 percent of respondents believe they have a food allergy of some kind; the actual prevalence is 4 to 8 percent for kids and 1 to 2 percent for adults. Still, that's a lot of people.

An estimated 1.5 million Americans have peanut allergies, and emergency rooms treat about 30,000 cases of food-related anaphylactic shock each year.

Are peanut allergies becoming more common?

Many researchers think so, but the evidence isn't overwhelming. News reports last fall told of a fresh study showing that the prevalence of peanut allergies was increasing. But what the study actually said was that between two groups of about 1,200 children born roughly six years apart, the number of cases had risen from 6 to 13--"a strong but statistically nonsignificant trend."

Then again, enough studies have shown some sort of increase to make you think something must be going on. But what? Nobody knows.

One theory: The developed world has become so antiseptic that kids don't build up natural immunity, and their bodies overreact when exposed to allergens. Peanut allergies show up early in life; sufferers often also have eczema, asthma, hay fever, or other food allergies (particularly to other nuts).

Though research is inconclusive, if allergies run in your family and you get pregnant, you might want to shun peanuts to avoid giving a peanut allergy to your child--and don't feed him any peanuts before age three. If he's already got an allergy, teach him to cope as best he can; there's at least an 80 percent chance he'll have it all his life.

[toddst]

If he ever came in contact with the stuff (peanuts) he had to inject himself in the thigh in less than a minute or else he would croak. . .

This is common among many who are allergic to insect stings - most often wasps or yellow-jackets. Hypersensitivity develops after exposure (a prior sting, for example.) I have several friends and a daughter who carry these kits with them at all times.

[F.J. Mitchell]

That's even COLDER, Lion Den Dan.

[goodnesswins]

Thanks.

[freedumb2003]

One theory: The developed world has become so antiseptic that kids don't build up natural immunity

Aint that the truth! You see all these commercials for anti-germ cleaning sprays and the like -- it is a wonder we of the revious genration survived.

Heck, let the kids eat dirt, make mudpies, eat from the dog's dish -- all that stuff. The human body is made to be very adaptable -- if it has a chance to generate the antibodies it needs.

Today's parents are too overprotective. They are alsoa big reason that antibiotics will be almost of no value in a generation.

[tamu]

Since you are familiar with this, let me ask how one determines such a level of sensitivity. Do you bring your child to the doctor and then give the child a spectrum shot of say the active chemicals in bee/wasp/yellow jacket stings, but in very small amounts, to determine if the child has such a high level of reaction. It would scare me if I were a parent to not know this sort of thing.

[luckystarmom]

You didn't here much about it because there wasn't peanut butter everywhere like there is now. Also, there is the internet so people get a lot more news.

I have a daughter with a severe speech problem. I don't know of anyone like her that lives near me. I'm in an internet group where there are hundreds of parents with kids like mine from across the US, Canada, and the UK.