Peanut Allergy: Symptoms, Causes and Management
Peanut is the one of the most common food type causing allergy in people. The symptoms can vary from mild signs to severe life-threatening anaphylaxis which requires immediate treatment. That’s why people are worried about peanut allergy. The cases of peanut allergy are increasing in children and many schools of United States have declared that they are peanut free, meaning that they don’t serve peanut based food. It is estimated that about 2.5% of United States children suffer from peanut allergy.
Symptoms of Peanut Allergy
These signs and symptoms usually occurs within minutes after exposure to peanuts. In some people even, small amounts can cause severe reaction.
More common:
- Running or congested nose
- Itching or tingling sensation in or around the mouth
- Skin itching, redness, swellings or raised itchy spots known as hives
- Nausea and other digestive complaints like diarrhea, abdominal cramps or vomiting
Less common:
Anaphylaxis – Anaphylaxis is the name given to the life threatening medical condition which specifically occurs in the allergic people, it is a whole body allergic reaction, which requires immediate action. The signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis include-
- Difficulty in breathing due to constriction of airways
- Choking sensation due to swelling around throat
- Faint and rapid pulse due to drop in the blood pressure
- Giddiness or loss of conscious
If the anaphylaxis is not treated in time the person can die due to suffocation.
Causes of Peanut Allergy
Peanut allergy occurs only in some people because their immune system considers proteins present in peanut as harmful and starts immune reaction against them. This immune reaction results in signs and symptoms.
Exposure to peanuts include-
- After eating – The most common way in which peanut allergy occurs in the people
- Direct skin contact – In some people suffering from peanut allergy even direct skin contact can trigger it.
- Inhalation – after inhaling the dust containing peanut floor or oil spray, can trigger the allergic reaction in some people.
- Cross exposure – During food production there are chances of unwanted exposure of peanut components in the food which has no peanut content in it and sometimes peanut allergic people can have allergic reaction after eating this type of food.
Risk factors for Peanut Allergy
The physicians don’t know the reason behind why only some people suffer from peanut allergy but there are some factors which put somebody to a greater risk
Family history: if one or more of your family members are suffering from any type of food allergy then there are chances that you can also have peanut allergy
Other allergies: if you are suffering from other food allergies or any other allergy like atopic dermatitis, then you are at increased risk of having peanut allergy
Age: food allergy shows up early in the life that is in the childhood so adults are less likely to develop food allergy.
Past allergy to peanuts: in some people peanut allergy develop as a child and later on it disappears as their digestive system matures but, in these people, it can recur again.
Diagnosis of Peanut Allergy
Your allergy doctor uses your past medical history, family history or can perform certain test to make out the diagnosis
History: your doctor will ask you certain questions about your symptoms and relation of these signs with the intake of food because there are chances that you can have allergy to other food items and will advise you to keep a food diary in which you can write your eating habits and the time and nature of these signs and symptoms
Elimination test: If it is suspected that you can be allergic to one or more of the food items then your doctor can advise eliminating the suspected food from the diet one at a time and them observing the signs and symptoms. This method cannot be done if you have serious allergic reaction to the food items
Skin Prick test(SPT): it is used to test that you are allergic to a substance or not by introducing a small amount of allergen in the skin. Here your doctor will keep a small amount of food on the skin and prick it with the needle so some amount of it gets introduced in the skin if you are allergic to peanut then a reaction will be there
Blood test: Your blood is used to check the response of your immune system towards particular food antigen by measuring the levels of allergy specific antibodies that is levels of IgE antibodies.
Management of Peanut Allergy
Currently there are no options available which can treat the peanut allergy completely and the main focus is on the prevention and management of symptoms but research is focusing oral immunotherapy as the promising treatment option in the future which involves introduction of increasing level of peanut allergen in the body which will help to desensitize the effect of peanut allergen on the immune system but for now we will look upon the ways by which you can manage your peanut allergy easily
Strict avoidance: Avoid peanuts and ingestion of the foods which can contain peanut as an ingredient so, it is always helpful to look for the warnings on the packaged food but food items which may contain peanuts or are prepared with the equipment shared with the peanuts, don’t bear such warnings. These foods can also cause allergy.
Epinephrine auto injector: Despite all restrictions measures some people accidentally ingest it and sometimes the severe acute allergic reaction can take place. So, it is advisable that all people suffering from peanut allergy should carry an epinephrine autoinjector all the time with them and learn to use it from their physicians. A person does not always require epinephrine shots because most of the times symptoms are mild.
Counselling: Peanut allergic people and their family members should be proper counselled about their signs and symptoms by a health professionals.
References
Peanut Allergy. Food Allergy Research and Education
Diagnosis. Food allergy. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/diagnosis.aspx
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
