When a Food Allergy causes Severe Symptoms

An immune systems reaction defines any common food allergy among children and adults. The reaction to any food can be mild, moderate, severe, or life threatening. A food allergy that is severe can lead to anaphylactic shock that can result in death from heart failure and obstruction of the upper or lower airway. This can happen within minutes or hours after eating an offending substance with this food allergy.

A reaction to peanuts is the most common food allergy among both adults and children. Currently, there is no treatment to prevent or cure a food allergy to peanuts. This condition is different from an intolerance to foods. An intolerance may produce upset stomach, cramping, and diarrhea, but it does not involve the immune system. A true food allergy to peanuts is becoming more common in children, affecting about 1% of all children in total. The number of people who suffer from this food allergy doubled in the five years between 1997 and 2002.

A peanut food allergy is the most common kind of fatal reaction from ingesting a substance, and 54% of fatal food allergy reactions that were reported in the United States from 2001 2006 resulted from the ingestion of peanuts. Just this year in 2008, some of the deaths from this food allergy included an 8 year old who came in contact with peanuts in his home, a 66 year old woman who died of a severe food allergy to peanuts, a 30 year old man who died after eating a peanut butter sandwich in jail, and a 30 year old man who died after eating a cookie that had peanut butter in it at a party.

In July of 2007, in the efforts to help those who suffer from this food allergy, a scientist in North Carolina had developed a process to make allergen free peanuts. Initial testing showed a 100% inactivation of the peanut allergens, and human serums that were taken from people with this food allergy showed no reaction at all when exposed to these peanuts. Food companies are interested in licensing the process, and hopefully in the near future, people who suffer from this common food allergy will be able to eat allergen free peanuts without the fear of a severe reaction.

Any type of food allergy can be mild or severe, and it just depends on the person. While some reactions depend on the amount of the offending substance consumed, some intake amounts have little to do with the severity of the resulting reaction. Difficulty breathing, swelling, dizziness, and sweating are some of the most common symptoms of a food allergy.