Peanuts Can Kill! - If You Are Allergic to Them

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People all over the world love to eat peanuts. One of the most allergenic foods available today, peanuts are mostly used in the manufacturing of peanut butter but can be found in many other food products.

Anyone who is allergic to peanut butter should avoid food, which is labelled as having hydrolysed vegetable protein or groundnuts The allergic reaction can be fatal.

People who suffer from allergic reaction to peanuts should be aware that they have a lifelong problem with which even a very small amount of peanuts could kill them.

Some may experience an anaphylactic shock reaction, which starts and proceeds quite rapidly in the body. At the first sign of this reaction, epinephrine should be admitted. Otherwise, death may occur in a matter of minutes.

The most frequent and probable allergic reactions to peanuts include vomiting, diarrhoea, pallor, nausea, loss of conscious, tightness in the mouth, chest or throat, coma or even death. Difficulty in breathing, swallowing and choking can be experienced as well as coughing, fatigue, dizziness, rapid heartbeats, swollen and itchy lips, and eyes.

Unfortunately, many food product companies fail to properly label their products, causing allergic reactions to peanuts by people who suffer from this allergy. Wearing a bracelet that indicates that you are allergic to peanuts and carrying an epinephrine kit would ensure that treatment could be had immediately.

People who are sensitive to peanuts would be ill advised to have any form of nuts in their home. Walnuts, pecans and almonds are sometimes actually peanuts, which have been altered. Many schools ban any kind of nuts from their lunchrooms to avoid potential disaster. The reason for this is that it only takes a very small amount of peanuts to trigger a reaction. In fact, simply tasting a food product to see if it contains peanuts can be fatal.

Fatal allergic reactions to peanuts can occur simply by being kissed by someone who has eaten peanuts, reinforcing the fact that it only takes a very minute amount to do harm.

It is crucial to speak up right away if you feel a reaction so that you can be treated immediately! An injection of epinephrine should be administered as soon as a reaction is felt; sometimes a second injection is required.

It is important to note that oral antihistamines are not sufficient for treating allergic reactions to peanuts.

Once the person has received the epinephrine injection he should be brought to the hospital in order to insure his allergic reaction to peanuts has been brought under control.



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