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.
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.
The developed world has become so antiseptic that kids don't build up natural immunity, and their bodies overreact when exposed to allergens.
The developed world has become so antiseptic that kids don't build up natural immunity, and their bodies overreact when exposed to allergens.
I think he's got it!