When Sophie Adler was a little over 1-year-old, she tasted
peanut butter for the first time. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Sophie went into anaphylactic shock within seconds of the spoonful
passing her lips, her throat swelling to the point that it made
breathing nearly impossible, and her skin breaking out in
hives.
When Sophie Adler was a little over 1-year-old, she tasted peanut butter for the first time. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Sophie went into anaphylactic shock within seconds of the spoonful passing her lips, her throat swelling to the point that it made breathing nearly impossible, and her skin breaking out in hives.
“I thought she was choking at first,” says her mother, Molly Newcomer of Portland, Ore., “Until it clicked that it was because of the peanut butter, because I was aware that this was definitely the first time she’d ever had it.”
Newcomer and her husband Mike Adler were vacationing on the Oregon coast with Sophie and her older brother, Jacob. They were in a fairly remote cabin, far from the kind of emergency medical service Sophie, highly allergic to peanuts and peanut-based products, would need to ride out the incident – possibly even to survive..
By a combination of luck and foresight, Newcomer had packed a child’s epinephrine shot with their medical supplies for the trip. “Jake had shown some (allergic) reactions to dogs, although his food allergies hadn’t shown up yet, and I’d asked our pediatrician about prescribing an epy (epinephrine) shot just in case. When Sophie was going into shock, Mike was trying to administer an antihistamine, and I said, ‘I’ve got an epy shot in the bag.’ Mike shouted, ‘Go get it!’ So we gave it to her, and her breathing almost immediately got better.”
Later, when Newcomer and Adler went to their pediatrician with questions about their childrens’ potential allergies, they told the doctor that they both had asthma and allergies themselves.
“The doctor kind of laughed at us,” says Newcomer. “He told us that it was almost inevitable that parents with that combination of traits would have kids with food allergies. Asthma, allergies and eczema are really likely to go together. Neither of us have eczema, while Jake’s got asthma and food allergies. Sophie has all three, asthma, allergies and eczema.”
Some 1 to 2 percent of adults and 5 to 8 percent of children in the United States have true food allergies, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAA&I). About 1.5 million Americans have peanut allergies; roughly one in four have a severe form of the allergy, like Sophie and, as Newcomer later discovered through testing, Jake as well.
Yet some 40 percent of Americans believe they have some sort of food allergy, according to several surveys. The amount of conflicting information available about allergies surely contributes to this confusion. “It’s difficult to get to the bottom of it,” says Newcomer, who has made a concerted effort to educate herself about her children’s allergies. She’s a member of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (www.foodallergy.org) and has made friends with parents of kids with allergies in Portland, with whom she discusses experiences, coping tips and the latest news about allergies.
Food intolerances are sometimes confused with allergies. True food allergies spark a reaction in a person’s immune system, which produces an antibody in response to the presence of the food in the system for the first time. Upon the second time the food is ingested, these antibodies can result in very severe, even life-threatening reactions. The reason for Sophie’s full-blown reaction to her first exposure to peanuts, Newcomer believes, was due to the fact that it really wasn’t her first exposure. During pregnancy and while breast-feeding, Newcomer consumed peanuts, passing on minute amounts to Sophie which sensitized the child to the substance and caused her to create the antibody that later sent her into anaphylactic shock after eating peanut butter.
Food intolerances, on the other hand, are rarely life-threatening (an exception is the relatively rare sensitivity to sulfites), but can produce unpleasant physical symptoms such as gas, diarrhea and headaches. Some intolerances, such as a sensitivity to spicy foods, may be overcome by repeated exposure to the food in question, while others, such as lactose intolerance may not be.
More than 90 percent of true food allergies are caused by eight foods – milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish.
Of these, “An allergy to peanuts is probably the most serious type of food allergy known to modern man, as it is often fatal,” says Dr. John Weisnagel, the former president of the Association of Allergists and Immunologists of Quebec. “Minute quantities of peanuts can trigger an allergic reaction.”
Because of the severity of allergic reactions to peanuts, many schools with even a single student with the allergy take measures to control peanut-based foods on campus. Locally, parents are more aware than ever of the dangers of peanut allergies. In Gilroy, for example, Gilroy Unified School District Head Nurse Eileen Obata says that “every school but two has a child with a peanut allergy.” Consequently, no peanut-based products are served on campuses by GUSD Food Services. Numbers for Hollister and Morgan Hill school districts were not immediately available.
While outright banning of allergy foods would seem to address the problem, that major step has its critics. Health specialists say that a ban on foods should be accompanied by education of parents and students about the allergy in question, to underscore the severity of the danger of an allergic child being exposed and to alleviate resentment of the child and his or her parents.
Newcomer agrees. “I know parents (of allergic children) who feel entitled to special treatment for their kids. But I can understand the complaints of parents of non-allergic children. They’re saying, ‘The only protein my kid will eat is peanut butter. What am I supposed to feed him?'”
Obata points out how impractical it would be to institute a blanket ban on a certain type of food. “We’re not in the business of checking lunchboxes,” she says. “Instead, what we do is send out letters to the parents asking them not to send peanut products with their kids to school.
“This is a really effective way to limit peanut-based foods in the schools, because most parents are really understanding about this issue.”
While she recognizes that schools may put bans in place to avoid being sued, Newcomer isn’t entirely comfortable with such measures. “I want Jake and Sophie to be normal kids,” she says.
“I don’t want them to be stigmatized for their allergies. I don’t want them to be constantly singled out as the kids with the allergies who are making everybody else have to follow these rules.”
Jake recently started attending a public elementary school in Portland. Although Newcomer and Adler didn’t make the request, the school banned peanut products. For Newcomer, it’s more important that she be active in safeguarding her kids’ health.
“When Jake was going to start school, I approached his teacher and the school nurse. They were more than willing to learn about the problem. Jake’s teacher has been really great – she took a week-long course on how to administer an epy injection before he started.
“The school keeps epinephrine on site in case of a reaction. We had to sign a bunch of papers giving them authority to take the necessary steps to help Jake if he has an allergic reaction, because these things happen so fast … there’s just no time to call the parents and check with them.”
Obata adds that educating students about the allergy is crucial. “We have education on a school-wide level and class level basis, especially with the younger kids. We have nurses go into the classes and teach the students about washing their hands after eating a snack. We talk to them about not sitting next to a child with the allergy while eating a peanut butter sandwich.”
Being the parent of a child with a severe allergy doesn’t just end with being as prepared as possible for a reaction or making sure teachers and fellow students are aware of the danger. There’s also the matter of making an allergic child feel like a regular kid.
“I supply (Jake’s teacher) with snacks Jake can eat for birthdays and other celebrations, so he won’t be sitting alone, not getting to be part of the fun.”
If you suspect you or your child may have a food allergy, consult with your doctor or your child’s pediatrician. Do not attempt to make a diagnosis yourself, or cut out certain foods from you or child’s diet without professional consultation. Children of parents who suffer from asthma, allergies and/or eczema are considered at a high risk of allergies and should be tested. Locally, Dr. Felicidad Lao-Domingo is a primary specialist in allergies serving both Gilroy and Hollister. Her offices are at Suite 1, 700 W. 6th St., Gilroy; Tel: (408) 847-1166.
Even deadlier than peanuts?
In recent years, another allergy that can be just as devastating as the peanut allergy has been recognized – an allergy to latex, or natural, harvested and processed rubber from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree.
As with the severest peanut allergies, the most sensitive sufferers of latex allergy can have a reaction to minute quantities of the substance, even in aerosol form. And while a severe allergic reaction is similar in its danger to that of peanut-allergy sufferers, less awareness of the condition and of the presence of latex in various products makes those with the latex allergy potentially more in danger of being exposed than peanut allergy sufferers.
Consult your doctor or pediatrician about latex allergies, particularly if you have a child who has demonstrated reactions to bananas.
Are peanut allergies on the rise?
With more measures being taken at schools and coverage in the media, there is a widespread belief that peanut allergies are on the rise. Yet while most researchers agree that the incidence of this allergy is increasing, they are not entirely in agreement as to why that is so, or to what degree. Here is a list of theories explaining the increase:
1. The general increase in allergic or atopic reactions in the population. Humanity is having more reactions to an ever-increasing number of allergens. The reasons for this are not clear, but two possible contributing factors are: The increase in potential allergens in modern life because of the endless array of processed foods and drinks that are constantly being added to our menu, and the fact that if two individuals who are allergic to certain products marry, their children will inherit “allergy genes” from both parents, thus increasing their potential to react to even more foods and other products.
2.The tendency of food manufacturers to use peanuts in a wider range of products.
3. The globalization of our food supply. Twenty years ago, restaurants serving exotic foods were few and far between, but today, we can pop into a restaurant at our local mall and eat typical Thai, Indian, Chinese and other cuisines. Many of these exotic dishes contain peanuts in some form. Peanut oil is a popular ingredient in oriental cooking.
4. An increase in the consumption of peanuts and “hidden” forms of peanuts. You may eat a peanut without even being aware of it, or peanut-free foods may be contaminated with minute traces of peanut if the foods you buy have been manufactured in a factory that also processes peanut-containing foods. This is the reason why most food manufacturers display a warning on even their peanut-free products stating, “May contain traces of peanuts” to cover themselves against litigation in case someone suffering from a severe peanut allergy has a reaction to the food.
5. The use of products derived from peanuts in non-food products, i.e. peanut oil that is used extensively in cosmetics (soaps, skin creams etc.).
6. Transfer of peanuts to infants via breast milk. Most people develop peanut allergies as a result of being exposed to peanuts over a long period, but some children will present have a full-blown allergic reaction the first time they eat peanuts. Some researchers believe this is due to these children being sensitized by tiny quantities of peanut while being breast-fed.
Source: AAA&I
