Peanut allergies are among the most common and the most severe of food allergies. For people who have a serious peanut allergy or peanut butter allergy, ingesting even a very small amount of peanut can trigger a reaction.
What Are Peanut Allergies?
In addition to being severe, it also seems that peanut allergies are becoming more common. Some experts believe that increased caution about peanut exposure may be a cause. Previously, mothers were encouraged to avoid peanut intake during pregnancy and not allow children to consume peanut products until after three years of age. More recent research seems to contradict that advice, indicating that earlier exposure helps children better tolerate peanuts. You should talk with your doctor to get their input on this subject.
What are the Symptoms of Peanut Allergies?
Peanut allergy symptoms vary from person to person. This includes both the signs of peanut allergy that they display and the severity of those signs. Peanut allergy symptoms can include:
- Hoarseness, wheezing, tightness in the throat or trouble breathing – A peanut allergy reaction can cause constriction of the throat and airways.
- Sneezing or coughing – Unexplained sneezing or coughing may be a sign of peanut exposure in those who are allergic.
- Tingling or itching in the mouth – This unusual sensation can be a sign of peanut allergy reaction.
- Hives – Hives are red bumps on the skin that may itch, burn or sting.
- Swelling around the eyes – People with a peanut allergy may experience puffiness around the eyes if exposed to peanuts.
- Itchy or watery eyes – Unexplained watering of the eyes and an itchy sensation are symptoms of peanut allergy.
- Dizziness or fainting – Some people who are allergic to peanuts experience lightheadedness when exposed to them.
- Low blood pressure – The drop in blood pressure that can occur in a peanut allergy reaction is one of the most serious symptoms.
- Stomachache – Stomach pain or cramping can be a sign of a peanut allergy reaction.
- Diarrhea – Loose stools are a common symptom of peanut allergy.
- Vomiting – Peanut allergy can quickly result in vomiting.
- Anxiety about worsening symptoms – Many people find the fear of a reaction to be one of the worst effects of peanut allergy.
If a serious reaction known as anaphylaxis occurs, it can be life-threatening due to swelling of the throat, constriction of the airways and a rapid drop in blood pressure as the body goes into shock.
What are the Triggers and Causes of Peanut Allergies?
What causes peanut allergy? It is actually a case of mistaken identity. The immune system wrongly believes that the protein in peanuts is a harmful invader and goes into overdrive to fight it. In the process, the immune response can actually harm the body. Most people learn from a minor reaction at a young age that they are allergic to peanuts. If you think your child may be allergic to peanuts, you should talk with your pediatrician.
Peanuts and peanut proteins can be found in a wide range of foods including:
- Cookies
- Ice cream
- Asian and African cuisine
- Candy
- Snack foods
- Sauces (often as a thickening agent)
What Treatments are Available for Peanut Allergies?
There currently is no peanut allergy cure. People who have them must be very careful to avoid coming into contact with them. This can be challenging, since peanuts are widely used in cooking and food preparation, including ways you might not expect, such as for thickening soups and sauces.
Producers of food sold in the U.S. are required to note on the packaging whether the food contains peanuts or tree nuts. However, it is difficult to know if freshly prepared food, such as at a restaurant, contains peanuts. Even cross-contamination from a food preparation surface or utensil can pose a hazard to someone with a severe peanut allergy.
People with peanut allergies are typically advised to be prepared to provide their own peanut allergy treatment using a medication called epinephrine. Commonly administered with a device known as an EpiPen®, the drug is injected into the bloodstream and should be used immediately if a person starts having trouble breathing or if they experience allergic reaction symptoms in two separate areas of the body, such as hives and vomiting. Used promptly, epinephrine can stop a serious allergic reaction. However, the person should still seek immediate medical attention. You should talk with a Baptist Health allergistif you feel you have a peanut allergy.
What Makes Peanut Allergies So Severe?
Scientists don’t know exactly why peanut allergies are so severe or why peanut butter allergy reaction time is so fast. One contributing factor may be that peanut proteins, which are what cause a peanut allergy reaction, aren’t readily destroyed in the gut. This means they make it into the bloodstream where they can trigger a reaction. And, as noted above, peanuts are an ingredient in many kinds of food, and therefore are present in many food preparation environments, so it is hard for people who are allergic to peanuts to avoid exposure.
How common is peanut allergy? According to peanut allergy statistics presented at an American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, approximately 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have peanut allergy.
In order to avoid a peanut allergy reaction, you should:
- Carefully read the ingredients on all packaged foods
- Talk with your restaurant server about your peanut allergy and only consume food if you can be assured it doesn’t contain peanuts and hasn’t come into contact with any peanut protein
- Eat before attending parties where the ingredients in shared dishes are unknown
If you think you or your child might be allergic to peanuts, or if you have other questions or concerns about allergies, schedule an appointmentto talk with a Baptist Health Allergist.
FAQs
What Makes Peanut Allergies So Severe? Scientists don't know exactly why peanut allergies are so severe or why peanut butter allergy reaction time is so fast. One contributing factor may be that peanut proteins, which are what cause a peanut allergy reaction, aren't readily destroyed in the gut.
Why was there a spike in peanut allergies? ›
Delaying Peanut Introduction Led To Peanut Allergy Spike
At that time, food allergy prevalence was very low. Until the 1990s, doctors also recommended introducing allergy-causing foods like peanut early, in baby's first year of life. But in the late 1990s and early 2000s, doctors changed their approach.
What race is mostly allergic to peanuts? ›
Things get a little more mixed up, however, if you look at particular allergies. African-Americans are more allergic to peanuts than Caucasians. Caucasians are more allergic to animal dander and medication than non-Caucasians. Native Americans join them with their high chance of medication allergies.
What percentage of people have severe peanut allergy? ›
Conclusions: Peanut and/or TN allergy affects approximately 1.1% of the general population, or about 3 million Americans, representing a significant health concern.
Are peanut allergies more severe than milk allergies? ›
Most people know or know of, someone who has a nut allergy. They also understand that nut allergies can present very serious — even life-threatening — symptoms. What many don't know is that milk allergy can produce symptoms that are as severe as, if not more severe than, those of nut allergies.
When did peanut allergies become so common? ›
In the 1990s, pediatricians, allergists and other medical professionals began noticing a significant rise in peanut allergies. The reasons for this allergy epidemic are still unknown, but key hypotheses integrate biological, genetic and environmental factors.
Why are peanut allergies worse than other allergies? ›
The gauntlet of the gut
Some simply have a robust structure, but peanut allergens actively inhibit some of the digestive enzymes of the gut. This helps them safely reach the small intestine, where the allergens then need to cross the gut lining to have contact with the immune system.
What is the rarest allergy? ›
Aquagenic Urticaria (Water Allergy)
Aquagenic urticaria, or water allergy, is an extremely rare condition. It causes individuals to develop itchy and painful hives when their skin comes into contact with water.
Do peanut allergies come from inbreeding? ›
One study found that individuals were 14 times more likely to suffer from a peanut allergy if a close relative was also afflicted. Another study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health identified the HLA-DR and -DQ gene region as being linked to peanut allergies within their test group.
Can you outgrow a peanut allergy? ›
For example, a peanut is a legume (belonging to the same family as soybeans, peas and lentils), not a tree nut. And while it was previously believed that an allergy to peanuts was lifelong, research has shown up to 20 percent of individuals with a peanut allergy eventually outgrow it.
Palforzia (peanut allergen powder) is an oral immunotherapy product approved in patients 4-17 years of age for the mitigation of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, that may occur with accidental exposure to peanut, but its benefits are restricted to peanut allergy.
Which country has the highest nut allergy? ›
The highest rates are seen in westernized countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, where the prevalence is approximately 1 to 2 percent [1-10].
What is a Class 3 peanut allergy? ›
Level 3 is the least reactive. In this group, 85 percent can tolerate half a peanut, and 73 percent could eat about 1.5 peanuts without reacting.
Can I eat walnuts if I'm allergic to peanuts? ›
But the proteins in peanuts are similar in structure to those in tree nuts. For this reason, people who are allergic to peanuts can also be allergic to tree nuts, such as almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, pecans, and cashews.
Can you be allergic to peanuts but not anaphylactic? ›
Some reactions can be very mild and involve only one system of the body, like hives on the skin. Other reactions can be more severe and involve more than one part of the body. Peanut allergy can cause a severe reaction called anaphylaxis, even if a previous reaction was mild.
What spices should you avoid if you are allergic to nuts? ›
Specific spices that should be avoided if you have a tree nut allergy include cumin and spice blends. You should refrain from consuming cumin because it often uses nuts as a filler, and spice blends because they often contain cumin.
Why are there more allergies now than in the past? ›
One theory about the rise of allergies is that over the last 200 years, our diets have gotten dramatically different in terms of what we eat, the types of food we eat, so more processed foods, less fresh fruit and vegetables, different foods. ...
What are breakthroughs in peanut allergy? ›
A study suggests that the asthma treatment omalizumab can reduce the risk of dangerous allergic reactions to peanuts and other foods. For people with food allergies, accidentally eating the wrong thing could prove deadly.
Why have food allergies been on the rise? ›
Why are food allergies (and other allergic conditions) on the rise? The rise of food allergies is likely multifactorial in nature and cannot be explained by genetics alone. Our modern, industrialized environment has likely increased our susceptibility.
What happened in peanut allergy? ›
If the person drinks or eats a product that contains peanuts, the body thinks these proteins are harmful invaders. The immune system responds by working very hard to fight off the invader. This causes an allergic reaction. Peanuts aren't actually a true nut; they're a legume (in the same family as peas and lentils).
