It's about time..It took a death for people to care.

Allergic reactions to peanuts drawing attention

Annette Wells, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun


At a time when the fear of a pandemic flu outbreak has U.S. residents stockpiling Tamiflu, at least 3 million others worry about a different kind of killer … food allergies.

The lethality of certain food products, mostly peanuts, and the sensitivity of food allergies gained international attention following the Nov. 26 death of a Canadian teen.

The 15-year-old Quebec girl went into anaphylactic shock after she kissed a date who had apparently eaten a peanut butter sandwich.

She died a few days later in a hospital when Adrenalin, a drug used to control allergy symptoms, couldn't revive her.

"My son wears a fanny pack with two shots of epinephrine and a bottle of Benadryl. If anything goes wrong, he needs to use this shot within 30 seconds or he'll be dead," said Linda Coss, an Orange County mother of a 15-year-old boy who is allergic to tree nuts, eggs and dairy products.

Coss said she cried for 20 minutes after learning of the girl's death. Many in the food allergy community became concerned as well, she said.

Food allergies affect about 1 percent of the U.S. adult population and 6 percent of children, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network in Virginia. That's about 11 million people just one million shy of the population of Los Angeles County.

Allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly believes a harmless substance, in this case food, is toxic, said Luis Saca, chief of allergy and clinical immunology at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana.

In its haste to fight and protect the body, the immune system creates specific antibodies to that particular food product. So the next time a person eats, say, a peanut, those antibodies are released triggering a cascade of symptoms such as wheezing, hives and stomach problems.

Saca said there are about eight foods that account for 90 percent of all reactions milk, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, fish and shellfish.

Peanuts are the most deadly, causing an estimated 125 deaths in the U.S. each year. People with severe allergies to peanuts can't even be in a room where are they being eaten a reason some airlines have stopped serving them. There's a chance peanut oil could rub off eaters' hands and onto seats, handrails and luggage compartments.

Even some U.S. school districts are working with parents and staff to keep children with food allergies safe. Some campuses in San Bernardino County have initiated peanut-free zones.

"The health and welfare of students is of utmost concern to us," said Christine Ridley, health-services coordinator for San Bernardino County schools.

In 2002, to protect several of her students allergic to the protein-rich peanut, Dona Merced principal Laura Banta asked the Central School District in Rancho Cucamonga to forbid peanut products on her campus.

Although her request was followed by some criticism from parents who didn't think their children should have to suffer because of a few students' allergies, the district created a food-allergy response program.

Sharon Leyva, director of child nutrition for that district, said steps are taken whenever a parent alerts the district of a child's allergy.

"From custodial services all the way up to administration and transportation if the child rides the bus to school," she said.

Banta leads at least two special assemblies each year to talk about food safety and to urge students to wash their hands before and after eating. At least one of her students has a severe allergy to peanuts and must have anything around him or her free of peanut products.

"It's an unusual circumstance. And death from a food allergy is theoretically possible," said Allen Schwandt, chief of adult allergy services at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Schwandt said the best way to avoid a reaction is to stay away from that food. Reading food labels and asking restaurants about ingredients is key. And family members, friends, places of employment and schools should also be notified about a person's allergy.

Coss, who has written an informational book and cookbook on food allergies, learned about her son's condition when he was about 10 months old.

Early on, she warned him that the girls he dates better be ready to brush, floss and use mouthwash and to stay away from food containing peanut and dairy products.

"At the time, I thought I might be exaggerating. Apparently I wasn't," Coos said. "This is a lot more than just saying to your child, "Don't eat nuts. . . . With a young child, you have to be concerned about everything around them."