Posted on 11/30/2005 5:40:53 PM PST by jdm
Thinking she was having an asthma attack, Christina Desforges burst into a friend's room and woke him in a desperate search for medicine.
Friends called an ambulance as her breathing grew labored, but Desforges collapsed a moment after she stepped outside. She died four days later.
It quickly became clear the 15-year-old girl succumbed to a peanut allergy _ not from nuts she ate, but a peanut-butter sandwich her boyfriend had consumed before kissing her that day.
A friend of the couple said in a television interview that Desforges' boyfriend and other companions had no idea she was allergic to peanuts. An allergist said Wednesday that the teenager's friends and relatives should have been warned about her condition.
"Some people have an extremely low threshold," said Dr. Rhoda Kagan, an allergist at Montreal Children's Hospital. "This varies greatly from person to person and is highly unpredictable."
She called Desforges's case "very rare and worrisome."
One friend, Michael St. Gelais, said he was devastated by the case.
"I felt guilty at first because if I had realized earlier she was (allergic), we could probably have saved her," he said in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. "However, we did as much as we could and I don't think there was more we could have done."
Desforges, who lived in Saguenay, about 155 miles north of Quebec City, was almost immediately given a shot of adrenaline, a standard tool for treating anaphylactic shock brought on by an allergy to peanuts. But she died Nov. 23 at a Quebec hospital.
Symptoms of peanut allergies can include hives, plunging blood pressure and swelling of the face and throat, which can block breathing.
"There are several images stuck in my mind," St. Gelais said. "We went upstairs because she really was having more difficulty breathing. The minute we went outside, she collapsed."
A memorial was held Saturday and an autopsy was being performed Wednesday.
Desforges mother declined to talk to The Associated Press.
About 1.5 million Americans are severely allergic to even the smallest trace of peanuts, and peanut allergies account for 50 to 100 deaths in the United States each year.
Peanut allergies have been rising in recent decades. The reason remains unclear, but one study found that baby creams or lotions with peanut oil may cause children to develop allergies later in life.
Wow. Sorry about the girl and prayers to the parents, but frankly, those genes were too weak to be passed on.
one of my daughter's classmates in kindergarten had a bee sting allergy. he almost died from it and his mother was on every field trip, every outside outing, recess etc. i didn't blame her. i don't think i could ever relax after hearing the horrifying story of how his entire head swelled and she was going through stopsigns etc to get him to the hospital. my blood curdles just thinking of it. i am sorry you have to worry about your baby too.
i started bawling just reading your account of it.
Yes, kids and adults today have more allergies than they did in the past. There are several theories - the most prominant pointing to immunizations and over-clean household environments. People in less developed countries have fewer allergies.
Peanut allergies among young people has doubled just in the past couple years.
Are peanut allergies something that children grow out of? I almost never hear about adults with peanut allergies.
Have you tried looking in a natural food store? They sell hygiene products too. I remember seeing something called a deoderant stone.
Same here, although I still had food allergies. The nasal allergies did eventually go away.
Same here. Just happened one day. I was in my fortys then.
Just don't ask one to kiss your nuts and you should be fine.
However, there is good news. I no longer seem to get migranes in response to any of chocolate, corn, or tomatos. I still don't like turkey mole though.
i'm sorry... when i read this, all i can think of is the kiss scene in X-men.
I have some yard work for you if you are interested. More seriously, poison ivy allergies get worse with exposure.
You might want to check out some vegan chocolates, cheeses, pizzas etc.
I know, it gets a 'yuk' from some folks, but it may be good to someone who can't have any milk at all! :)
I just checked out her picture,
and oh my!
She's precious.... and she reminds me of Cindy Lou Who :)
What if your diesel truck is burning bio diesel from peanut oil? There's going to be a lot of dead pedestrians and drivers!
That is really funny. A lot of people say that. She had this little red waffle Christmas footie jammie thing last year. We put a little pony tail on top of her head, and with her little tummy sticking out, she looked just like Cindy Lou.
Where do you learn? On the package?
I don't know if she will outgrow it or not. Just have to see. I have a pic of her on my profile page. She's the one with the really big eyes.
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