Allergies & Cures

Peanut allergies may start at a very young age and last for a lifetime. Even if a significant number of people manage to grow out of their peanut allergy, for the rest of the people suffering from this allergy, it can become a real problem. For instance, even a tiny contact with a peanut product or peanut itself may cause severe health problems for a person suffering from this allergy. One of the strangest thing about peanut allergy is that someone may be exposed to peanuts/peanut products for the first time without experiencing any allergy symptoms. But the second time he/she gets in contact with such products, he/she may a have a really strong allergic reaction. The main reason why this happens is the fact that the immune system needs time in order to develop the necessary antibodies that can fight the allergens – namely the proteins in peanuts or peanut products. Next time, the immune system will be perfectly capable of recognizing these allergenic proteins and attack them thus producing a severe allergic reaction.

It is stated that peanut allergy does not have a cure but the person who suffers from it may treat his/her allergy symptoms once they happen. If you are suffering from peanut allergy, you will have to avoid coming into contact with peanuts or peanut products. The peanut allergy manages to get so much attention when compared to other forms of allergies mainly because it implies an extreme allergic reaction namely the anaphylactic shock reaction, a reaction that may turn out to be fatal in just a couple of minutes. Once you experience an allergic reaction to peanuts or peanut products, you will have to treat it with epinephrine right away and as soon as your first signs occur. After you administer this medicine, you will have to keep on monitoring your reactions because the allergic attack can reappear and you will have to administer yourself another shot.

Here are the main symptoms that characterize a peanut allergy:  flushed face, sense of foreboding tightness in your chest, throat or even mouth, apprehension or fear, voice change, unsteadiness, running nose, stomach pains, difficulty breathing or swallowing, nausea, wheezing, diarrhea, rapid heartbeat, loss of consciousness, dizziness, coma, sudden fatigue and even death unless you have your allergy attack treated. Here are some basic tips for you to follow in order to avoid experiencing peanut allergy attacks:

• Start by reading the labels of all the foods you are accustomed to eat, especially if these foods are a combination of other foods and ingredients. Once you have certain doubts about a particular food, you should stop eating it in order to avoid possible risks.

• Next, you should try and learn as many names for peanut products and peanuts as possible beacuse they are likely to vary throughout the world. For instance, you should avoid eating foreign packed foods once you notice that not all their ingredients are labeled. If your child is suffering from peanut allergy, you must contact the person who is in charge of his/her meals at school and request this person to stop serving any foods that contain peanuts to your child.

• Also, you should make sure that all the restaurants you frequent may offer you a peanut product notification policy – it is paramount for you to feel safe while eating at your favorite restaurants.  Plus, if you have peanut butter in your home, you must be extremely careful when it comes to using utensils and sharing food in order to avoid cross contamination.Prevent yourself from kissing persons who may have eaten peanuts or peanut products and be extremely watchful when children are involved.

• Try and make people aware that you have an allergy to peanuts and peanut products in order for them not to feel slighted when you do not want to kiss them. For instance, you may start wearing an identification medical bracelet that signals your peanut allergy because this item might save your life when you less expect it.