Allergic reactions appear from many types of materials
present in everyday surroundings. But among the more
common causes of allergies are food products, with
eight of them causing over ninety percent of all food
allergies.
At the middle of the list is peanut allergy, which is
something quite troubling because some everyday dishes
have peanuts among their ingredients, along with other
household products containing peanut powders or
extracts.
Being allergic to peanuts often manifests early in
life, but while most allergies are outgrown as
children grow up and get used to the food proteins in
other allergen types, peanut allergies are often
carried until adulthood. You can also find reactions
to peanuts from mild up to having an anaphylactic
reaction, which can possibly be life-threatening.
Symptoms of Peanut Allergies
Within minutes, a manifestation of peanut allergies
will begin to appear, whether coming from stomach pain
along with vomiting or diarrhea, or skin rashes and
hives breaking out on the skin, you can really feel
when you’ve become exposed to hazardous material when
you have a peanut allergy.
It’s bad enough when you have to deal with those
things when you get exposed to peanuts, but it can
possibly be lethal when you factor in anaphylaxis, and
your air tract will close up, you’ll have difficulty
breathing and possible have to deal with shock and
dizziness.
Peanut Allergy Triggers
In an allergic reaction to peanuts, the body will
recognize peanuts as a threat, and signal the body to
produce histamines which will trigger the allergic
response in the body.
Three methods of exposure are possible when it comes
to peanut infection. The first would be direct contact
with the material in question, like eating food
containing peanuts for example. Even just touching
could possibly trigger an allergic reaction.
The second would be a cross-contact with peanuts
wherein a product without peanut content will
accidentally mix in peanut powder or proteins in it.
The third would be contact through airborne peanut
materials, like inhaling peanuts in a powder form.
Another common route would be from aerosols with
peanuts in it.
Things You Can Do When Peanut Allergies Occur
Your family doctor will be able to see if your
symptoms are allergy-related or through some other
cause. As much as possible, you’ll want to see your
doctor while the symptoms are still manifest on your
skin or body.
A skin prick test from your local allergist will
confirm if you really do have an allergy to peanuts,
and the test will isolate the area of your skin where
you come into contact with the peanut allergen. Blood
tests can also be done during this time to see how
your immune system reacts with peanut proteins.
Unfortunately, there is no one-size solution to solve
peanut allergies, apart from avoiding the material
entirely. If you have mild reactions to your peanut
allergy, there still might be some possibility that
your reaction can become severe at one time so you’ll
need to prepare for that eventuality.
Living with peanut allergies can be done however, and
you can discuss options with your doctor for your
particular case, and get whatever treatment and
screening tests are appropriate for your allergies.
You’d also be better off knowing exactly what to do
when a reaction occurs.