Related concepts:

Nut allergy, Life-threatening food allergies

Introduction to peanut allergies:

A child eats every few hours to take in the fuel that he needs for energy, growth, and bodily repair. Usually, eating is both fun and helpful. However, sometimes it is deadly.

What is a peanut allergy?

Some individuals have reactions to particular foods. These reactions can range from mild intolerance to fatal allergies. Most children have mild to moderate reactions (rash, wheezing, tingling, diarrhea, etc.) to the offending food before the allergy becomes severe. In a few children, the first time they eat the particular food, they become sensitized and the second time they eat even a miniscule amount of that food, an explosive reaction occurs.

Who gets peanut allergies?

Most children who develop life-threatening food allergies either have asthma or a family history of asthma, eczema, or hay fever. Life-threatening food allergies are not rare. Fortunately, as deadly and as common as they are, very few children actually die from them.

Note: Peanut allergies and nut allergies are different allergies. Peanuts do not grow on trees and are not true nuts.

What are the symptoms of a peanut allergy?

Life-threatening food allergies can kill children in two ways. The first is called laryngospasm. As the food is swallowed, it produces immediate swelling that spreads to the vocal cords. If the vocal cords swell shut, the child is unable to breathe and dies with terrifying rapidity. The second mechanism is called anaphylactic shock. The child swallows and digests the food and, as long as two hours later, goes into shock and dies.

Common foods that cause anaphylaxis include nuts, peanuts, shellfish, fish, eggs, celery, legumes, and cheeses that contain mold.

Are peanut allergies contagious?

No.

How long does a peanut allergy last?

Children with life-threatening food allergies do not tend to grow out of them. Without treatment, they should be considered lifelong conditions.

How is a peanut allergy diagnosed?

Anyone with a suspected nut or peanut allergy, or with a suspected life-threatening food allergy, should be evaluated by an allergist. Possible tests include a diagnostic blood test, called a RAST test, which measures antibodies to specific allergens. Skin testing might provide useful information, but must be done carefully as it is riskier than RAST testing in severely allergic individuals.

How is a peanut allergy treated?

The core of treatment is absolute and complete lifelong avoidance of the offending food in any form.

Most intake of nut products by people with known nut allergies occurs when the nuts are present as a hidden ingredient, perhaps in a cake, cup cake, or even chili. One young man ordered a chocolate chip cookie with no nuts at a nationally known cookie store. On his first bite, he recognized it as a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. This wasn't soon enough -- moments later a full-scale resuscitation was underway. He left the cookie store on a ventilator.