All About Peanut Allergy
Not a Nut!
Often people think that peanuts are nuts, but in fact they come from the legume family. Other legumes include peas, beans and lentils. Because peanuts don’t belong to the tree nut family, it is quite possible for someone to be allergic to peanuts and not tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews and hazelnuts), and vice versa.
Risks With Nuts
Those who are allergic to peanuts are often advised not to eat tree nuts because of the risk of cross-contamination during the manufacturing process, with peanuts and nuts on the same equipment. If you have a peanut allergy, talk to your allergist about whether you should also be avoiding tree nuts.
While the peanut and the tree nut are not relatives, studies show that one-third to half of people with peanut allery also have a nut allergy.
Peanut-Free Schools
People often hear of schools being peanut-free, or having peanut “bans”. The reason there is concern over having peanuts or peanut products (such as peanut butter) in the school is because of the high rate of this allergy among children. Also, because reactions to peanuts are often severe (in the form of anaphylaxis) and peanuts and peanut butter can be oily or sticky and prone to residue being left on chairs, door knobs, etc., many parents, teachers and principals feel it is safer not to allow the product into the school.
Generally these rules are not designed to guarantee a peanut-free environment, but simply to reduce the risk that students in the school who have peanut allergy will come into contact with the allergen, potentially causing a life-threatening reaction.
Policies will vary depending on the allergies that students in any particular school or classroom have.
More on Schools and Allergies
Next Page: Why is Peanut Allergy on the Rise?
suprsport68
This comment pertains to peanuts and tree nuts. When I eat them raw not roasted, boiled, etc) I react in my throat and face. But yet I can eat a payday bar and not react. I react to almond milk, too. I have had blood and skin testing, which were no help. They said I wasn’t allergic to anything. Yet when I ingest these things my throat closes, my face itches and turns red with blisters (not hives, blisters), my eyes water. They did give me an Epi-pen at least. But I am trying to figure this out to help myself. I had originally thought it was regular milk doing it but then I happened to eat some peanuts, pecans, and almonds and I reacted each time. So then I thought I bet the almond milk I have been using is causing a problem and not milk. So I drank some milk. Nothing happened. Then I drank some almond milk, reaction. So I guess my real question behind this lengthy comment is does roasting or cooking the nuts change the chemistry of the nuts since I don’t react to the payday candy bar??