Allergy Information And Tips

Peanut Allergy Can Be Life Threatening

April 7th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Estimated to affect 1.5 million Americans, peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies that accounts for up to 80% of fatal or near-fatal allergic reactions each year.

Peanut allergy is one form of food allergy, and as such, the causes, symptoms and treatment are similar to food allergies. Please read “Common Food Allergies & How to Deal with Them”.
The difference is in the type of food allergens (type of food that causes allergic reactions).

Symptoms of Peanut Allergy

Symptoms appear in a few minutes to a couple of hours after ingestion and include:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Nausea
Hives
Wheezing
Abdominal cramps
Swellings of lips, throat and face
Anaphylaxis (an immune system response that causes breathing difficulties and often lead to death if untreated)

Peanut Allergy Causes

Sources of peanut allergen are:

Peanuts
Peanut butter
Ice cream
Desserts
Cereals and muesli
Peanut oil
Cookies
Satay sauces (a type of spicy sauce containing peanut bits) and gravies
Asian dishes (peanut is a common ingredient)
Granola and energy bars
Chocolate (with peanuts or nuts in it)
Cocktail nuts (mixed nuts)
Nougat
Marzipan
Candy bars with nuts (Snickers, Mars, Hersheys)

People who have peanut allergies are also usually allergic to tree nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pine nuts, etc.

Be sure to read labels of all foods to find out the ingredients and look out for peanuts or nuts. Be aware if the labels describe the processing methods using products with peanuts or nuts. Some may contain traces of peanuts or nuts not evident at first sight. If unsure, it’s safest to avoid.

Peanut Allergy & Peanut Intolerance

Just as there are food allergy and food intolerance, there are peanut allergy and peanut intolerance.
For peanut allergy, just trace amounts of peanuts can set off the body’s immune system and cause symptoms to appear in a few minutes to a couple of hours.
In peanut intolerance, the body can tolerate small amounts of peanuts and might cause mild symptoms like heartburn and indigestion. It’s a digestion response and NOT an immune system response.

Treatment

As there’s no cure for peanut allergy, the best treatment is strict avoidance of peanuts and other tree nuts. Unfortunately, it is not common for people to outgrow their peanut allergy.
Medication to control symptoms includes anti-histamines but for more serious symptoms like anaphylaxis, epinephrine injection must be administered. This injection comes in the form of a pen that can carried. After receiving the epinephrine shot, the patient should go to the hospital for observation. This is to ensure the condition is under control.

How to Deal with Peanut Allergy

For parents of children with peanut allergy, it is imperative to take certain precautions and preparations to make life easier:

Avoid fried foods that use peanut oils.
Educate the child on how to read labels of foods and on what is safe and what to avoid.
Make lists of safe and unsafe foods and have the child carry them.
Make home-prepared foods that do not contain peanuts or nuts. Include sandwiches.
Always have safe foods as snacks in the child’s bag or backpack. This ensures the child has something to munch on and not grab anything from the store when hunger strikes suddenly.