# Peanut Allergy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698 "2009-10-30T04:18:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/21 "2009-10-30T17:26:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > **picunurse** most Pen rashes are not allergies. If they are not urticarial then they deserve no allergy sticker and no future avoidance. Sorry, I should have said “hives.” I was trying to limit the jargon, to be understandable to more people. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/22 "2009-10-30T17:47:24Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > One other thing, is that allergies, any allergy, can become life-threatening. That’s why having a rash after a dose of penicillin means no more penicillin. A slight reaction, even several slight reactions can suddenly become anaphylaxis. The same is true concerning the threshold dose that may cause problems. The hives and itchies is how my mom was informed I was now allergic to penicillin … and when I subsequently told a doctor I was allergic, thankfully I was in the hospital at the time because he blithly ignored my statement [I was 5 when I got the itchies … my mom told me the doctor told her … I do not remember directly getting a rash or hives. I guess that is why the doctor ignored me] so I _enjoyed_ learning first hand what anaphylaxis was. I can’t really recommend it for a fun time, but it is good for getting ones hospital bill covered in full :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/23 "2009-10-30T18:57:03Z")
We had my son tested for peanuts when he was just over two. He immediately flared up, and I snapped a [pic with my camera phone.](http://goodcomics.com/end/peanut_allergy.jpg) A minute after this pic, it was two or three times the size you see there, and ferociously red. He was screaming his damn fool head off, until the Dr. hit him with a ton of cortisone. Now, imagine that happening in his throat. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/24 "2009-10-30T19:20:56Z")
I don’t think it has anything to do with whether or not the child was exposed to peanuts at any point. My hypothesis, which is not informed by anything other than my own speculation, is that the over-use, in recent years, of antibacterial soaps has deprived our immune systems of the ability to strengthen itself by being exposed to many different varieties of allergens and microbes and whatnot. Over time, the human immune system has essentially weakened. Peanuts have always been an allergen, although until recently it has been a pretty minor one and didn’t affect too many people. But now that we have such weakened immune systems, it has proliferated. We’ve essentially made ourselves more susceptible to an allergic reaction from it by overdoing our efforts to protect ourselves from sickness. The immune system needs to fight against something, and peanuts are so ubiquitous that the once minor allergen has become the thing that our bodies now try to defend themselves against. Eventually, maybe in a couple generations, our systems will adapt and will no longer suffer allergic reactions to it. OK, it’s just a theory. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/25 "2009-10-30T20:09:55Z")
**corkboard** , do you believe that Israelis use much less antibacterial soap than do Jews in Britain? So much so that they have 1/10th the peanut allergy? Mind you some of what you say has merit. Look up the “hygiene hypothesis.” ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/26 "2009-10-30T20:47:37Z")
> [@Fat\_Chance](#): > > I think I’ll hand out bottles of spring water…just to be safe… Ohhhhhhhh, I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. Some mom will be suing you because there’s all sorts of nasty stuff in the plastic of the bottle that could leach into the spring water, etc., etc.! Not to mention the fact that the water probably doesn’t even come from a spring – pictures of pristine mountain springs on the label notwithstanding. Yeah, nothing’s safe. Just turn your light out and hide when the trick or treaters come by. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/27 "2009-10-30T21:19:18Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > there are claims that the rise in peanut allergies is influenced by the decline in intensive breast feeding. That hardly makes sense - breastfeeding is back in a big way but it’s the young children now who are crawling with peanut allergies. If it were bottle feeding it would have shown up decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/28 "2009-10-30T21:23:06Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > **corkboard** , do you believe that Israelis use much less antibacterial soap than do Jews in Britain? So much so that they have 1/10th the peanut allergy? > > Mind you some of what you say has merit. Look up the “hygiene hypothesis.” I wouldn’t have any idea. And I’m no scientist, but it would seem to me that the conclusion presented in your link boils down to early exposure. Wouldn’t it be disproven in the case of a mother who ate peanut butter snacks daily during her pregnancy and regularly gave her child peanut butter as a snack during infancy, and that child developed an allergy? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/29 "2009-10-30T21:30:47Z")
> [@StinkyBurrito](#): > > I understand that these allergies are real and serious. But what I want to know is where were all these kids in 1985 when I was eating a PB&J sandwich everyday in the cafeteria? Well, back in 1971 one of my classmates was severely allergic to milk. She was taken away by ambulance from the cafeteria on at least one occasion I remember. Me, I was (obviously) in school back then, and even then I had significant allergies myself. So yes, they existed. We were (no matter how young) required to avoid allergens ourselves. This would really suck if, for example, a teacher INSISTED that the food you were allergic to was perfectly healthy and you MUST eat it! (That’s how my allergic-to-dairy classmate wound up in the hospital - someone tried to force feed her milk) > [@](#): > > Did they just die? Sometimes. > [@](#): > > Did they just not go to my school? In some cases, quite likely - back when I was in elementary school districts were allowed to solve “problems” like that by simply refusing to have the child in public school. > [@](#): > > Did fewer people actually have alergies back then and if so why do more people have them now (is this information tracked - have there been studies - does it corelate to the rise in autism)? Yes, allergies were less common in the past. No, it doesn’t correlate with autism, it correlates with a reduction in internal parasites. Every culture where internal parasites are largely eliminated sees a rise in allergies. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/30 "2009-10-30T21:37:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > **corkboard** , do you believe that Israelis use much less antibacterial soap than do Jews in Britain? So much so that they have 1/10th the peanut allergy? But that doesn’t cover the entire question; in the Middle East, _sesame_ allergies are more prevalent than in Britain or the US. In various areas of the world, whatever people eat more of seems to become a more common allergy. In the US, it’s peanuts; in Europe, there are more hazelnut allergies; in India, more legumes like chickpeas and lentils. (My kid is allergic to all of those things, which is kind of a pain.) The bottom line is, no one really knows why. There’s tons of speculation and little hard evidence. My daughter was nursed intensively until 10 months and never met any antibacterial soap; but we do have a few allergies or autoimmune problems in the family. Younger sister has no allergies at all, but wasn’t nursed quite as long. Myself, I tend to wonder if the rise in autoimmune problems comes from all the chemicals we’ve dumped into the environment for the past many years with no real knowledge of the consequences. _shrug_ I could be wrong. But do all us parents a favor: don’t blame us for our kids’ allergies, or assume we’re overprotective paranoid helicopter moms. Allergies are real and serious, and no one knows exactly why they occur. Blaming me for washing my child too much (which I didn’t) is both silly and arrogant. It makes people feel better to call me a Bad Mother because it makes them feel that since they are Good Parents, their children will be healthy and not get these problems–a kind of superstition, really. Once upon a time, autism and homosexuality were blamed on bad mothering. Now we blame allergies on bad mothering. Someday, we will realize how ignorant we were. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/31 "2009-10-30T21:53:26Z")
> [@](#): > > than my own speculation, is that the over-use, in recent years, of antibacterial soaps has deprived our immune systems of the ability to strengthen itself by being exposed to many different varieties of allergens and microbes and whatnot. My own speculation is that you have no idea what you are talking about and promoting this nonsense on public forums can only be harmful. Do you honestly think a little antibacterial soap means you are no longer breathing in germs, touching them everywhere you go, eating them, covered in them from head to toe, etc? > [@](#): > > Over time, the human immune system has essentially weakened. The rise of homeopathic pseudoscience has essentially weakened the human intellect. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/32 "2009-10-30T21:58:58Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > 0.8% of kids have a peanut allergy ([Cite](http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/quickFacts.htm)). To a small percentage of those kids (not sure what the exact percentage is), it doesn’t take much exposure to induce anaphylaxis, which is a _bona fide_ medical emergency and can kill if left untreated. So much as a brief whiff of peanuts or peanut butter can cause a pretty dramatic reaction in some rare individuals. I thought a peanut allergies was one of those medical conditions where it was all-or-nothing; you’re either not allergic, or you’re deathly allergic, with no gray area. I’ve never heard of anyone that was just “a bit allergic to peanuts” the same way they have mild allergies to … oh, barley or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/33 "2009-10-30T22:11:53Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I thought a peanut allergies was one of those medical conditions where it was all-or-nothing; you’re either not allergic, or you’re deathly allergic, with no gray area. I’ve never heard of anyone that was just “a bit allergic to peanuts” the same way they have mild allergies to … oh, barley or something like that. My husband has a death-allergy to almonds. When he was tested, they tested for all nuts, individually. His next highest reaction was to peanuts. He has no reaction to eating them. The doctor told him that he may, one day, have a peanut reaction and that it could be a rash, or a fullblown anaphylaxis. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/34 "2009-10-30T22:47:11Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I thought a peanut allergies was one of those medical conditions where it was all-or-nothing; you’re either not allergic, or you’re deathly allergic, with no gray area. I’ve never heard of anyone that was just “a bit allergic to peanuts” the same way they have mild allergies to … oh, barley or something like that. At present, my peanut allergy is mild. I stopped eating them when I started having mild reactions (my peanut allergy, by the way, appeared in my late 30’s, not as a child). Of course, the _next_ time might be much worse… My barley, allergy, however, is much more severe than my peanut one right now. Go figger - I always seem to be the odd one out with these things. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/35 "2009-10-30T23:19:17Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I thought a peanut allergies was one of those medical conditions where it was all-or-nothing; you’re either not allergic, or you’re deathly allergic, with no gray area. I’ve never heard of anyone that was just “a bit allergic to peanuts” the same way they have mild allergies to … oh, barley or something like that. Nope. There’s a scale of reactivity. Some people are mildly allergic, others more severely. My kid throws everything up when she meets a peanut (or, she did–it’s been 3 years, thankfully)–this is considered to be a good reaction. But peanut allergies are like beestings or shellfish–you never know when it’s going to turn into a serious anaphylactic reaction. Every exposure means more serious risk. So while my kid does not go into anaphylaxis and has never needed that EpiPen, we don’t know when she will. She might, so we always have the EpiPen, in case. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/36 "2009-10-31T00:07:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Has there ever been any single documented case in all of medical history of anyone ever having an allergic reaction to peanuts from a mere smell, or from eating a food processed in the same factory as peanuts? Look at it this way. All smells are particulate. There is no reason not to expect any of the allergenic components not to be included in the airborne odor particles. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/37 "2009-10-31T00:40:31Z")
> [@](#): > > 0.8% of kids have a peanut allergy (Cite). So why is it specificly peanuts and not say legumes in general that kids are alleric to? It may be genetic. Some kids with my genetic syndrome are allergic to peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/38 "2009-10-31T00:52:34Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > But do all us parents a favor: don’t blame us for our kids’ allergies, or assume we’re overprotective paranoid helicopter moms. Allergies are real and serious, and no one knows exactly why they occur. Blaming me for washing my child too much (which I didn’t) is both silly and arrogant. It makes people feel better to call me a Bad Mother because it makes them feel that since they are Good Parents, their children will be healthy and not get these problems–a kind of superstition, really. > > Once upon a time, autism and homosexuality were blamed on bad mothering. Now we blame allergies on bad mothering. Someday, we will realize how ignorant we were. Meh, I don’t make judgment calls like that … I was raised back in the 60s. I got into my share of mud and gunk, got more than my share of childhood diseases [chicken pox parties, measles parties … the more the merrier!] and this was before antibacterial everything, and I have allergies. My dad had allergies, my grandfather had allergies. If I had a kid, they would probably have allergies 😃 I am not sure what causes allergies, but I am tending to think something will be discovered at some time in the future that will prove it is some silly gene fragment being turned on by something environmental. Totally at random, and sometimes it gets passed on to the kids and sometimes not. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/39 "2009-10-31T02:20:15Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > That hardly makes sense - breastfeeding is back in a big way but it’s the young children now who are crawling with peanut allergies. If it were bottle feeding it would have shown up decades ago. Actually, he may be closer than you think. There is a link (not proven causal, but supported by evidence) between kids fed _soy_ formula and peanut allergies. Peanut allergies are definitely more common that when I was in school, and they can be dangerous. That being said, individually wrapped treats should be safe- the 1% of kids who have to worry about them better have parent who screen the candy. **BorgHunter** _Necco wafers_? I’d rather eat broccoli. Them things are nasty, and any house handing them out is asking for a “trick”.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698/40 "2009-10-31T12:55:50Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Look at it this way. All smells are particulate. There is no reason not to expect any of the allergenic components not to be included in the airborne odor particles. False, otherwise you would not be able to smell hydrogen sulfide. Also potentially misleading, as smells are often (but not always) the volatile portions of the chemicals or substance involved. The “fixed carbon” portions of the substance may very well contain the allergenic factors that the “volatile matter” portion does not. I don’t speak for peanuts in specific but it’s false to make a universal claim without some proof. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergy/515698.md?page=3)