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As the parent of a child with a severe, life-threatening peanut allergy, these treatments could be a Godsend. It's hard to describe the life change that occurs

by Clanan 9y ago

As the parent of a child with a severe, life-threatening peanut allergy, these treatments could be a Godsend. It's hard to describe the life change that occurs when a normal food like peanuts suddenly becomes a disguised killer that could take my child away at any moment. The speed with which it strikes is stunning; according to our allergist, we have only minutes to administer EpiPens to avoid the runaway anaphylactic reaction. And we've done so. The tragic story that begins the article seems a testament to this - if a reaction isn't countered in time, it can't be. I miss Snickers.

nostromo 9y ago
While I appreciate your concern and caution, I feel like the medical community has worked the public into a bit of hysteria over peanut allergies. So few people die from peanut allergies each year it's hard to actually get good numbers on the phenomenon. And yet I have several friends who report having someone deathly allergic to peanuts in their family. It seems incongruent.
- panzagl 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure my daughter will not stop breathing if she eats a peanut. I'm also 100% certain her stomach will empty itself in a way that makes 'The Exorcist' look like a gross-out comedy in comparison. We've also seen her break out head to toe in hives. While neither is life threatening, they're also not pretty and are violent enough that her throat closing is not unimaginable.
- Clanan 9y ago
  It's certainly a confusing subject, especially now that more attention is being paid to it. We've had our share of acquaintances comment that their kids are also allergic because one time they ate something with a peanut and had an itch later that day. In our case there's immediate throat/tongue swelling so it's an obvious one. In all seriousness, the best bet for concerned people is to see the doc and get tested. Our kid's reaction to the prick test was ~10x the normal "allergy" reaction - the doc immediately stopped the test and gave him medicine. (As mentioned elsewhere, kids do grow out of the allergy so it's important to retest!) According to our allergist, the problem with peanut allergies in particular is that the reaction can vary dramatically for the same person. Ingesting it one time may cause nothing but hives, whereas another will result in throat constriction within minutes. Cue the news stories where people with seemingly minor allergies are suddenly in the hospital. For example, recently a girl in CA with a known allergy took a bite of a peanut butter brownie and then spit it out. Her parent, who was a doctor, waited 20 min to administer the EpiPen. She died. (Disclaimer: not a doctor, probably didn't remember everything right, etc.)
- pacaro 9y ago
  I understand your position. But (there's always a "but") I have a friend whose kid is severely allergic, their daycare didn't take it particularly seriously(!), for reasons similar to yours. So of course one day there is a PBJ near the kid, he has a crazy reaction, the staff call the parents "we're afraid to use the epipen" at which point the mom hangs up and calls 911 herself, invoke FMLA and has to hightail to the ER
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    "The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons." (Wikipedia via Google)
    - pacaro 9y ago
      Thanks! As a parent working in the US, the FMLA is a fact of life, but that isn't true for everyone on HN
SQL2219 9y ago
http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(14)01737-0/abstract http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(14)01737-0/abst...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

by Clanan 9y ago

nostromo 9y ago

While I appreciate your concern and caution, I feel like the medical community has worked the public into a bit of hysteria over peanut allergies. So few people die from peanut allergies each year it's hard to actually get good numbers on the phenomenon. And yet I have several friends who report having someone deathly allergic to peanuts in their family. It seems incongruent.

panzagl 9y ago
I'm pretty sure my daughter will not stop breathing if she eats a peanut. I'm also 100% certain her stomach will empty itself in a way that makes 'The Exorcist' look like a gross-out comedy in comparison. We've also seen her break out head to toe in hives. While neither is life threatening, they're also not pretty and are violent enough that her throat closing is not unimaginable.
Clanan 9y ago
It's certainly a confusing subject, especially now that more attention is being paid to it. We've had our share of acquaintances comment that their kids are also allergic because one time they ate something with a peanut and had an itch later that day. In our case there's immediate throat/tongue swelling so it's an obvious one. In all seriousness, the best bet for concerned people is to see the doc and get tested. Our kid's reaction to the prick test was ~10x the normal "allergy" reaction - the doc immediately stopped the test and gave him medicine. (As mentioned elsewhere, kids do grow out of the allergy so it's important to retest!) According to our allergist, the problem with peanut allergies in particular is that the reaction can vary dramatically for the same person. Ingesting it one time may cause nothing but hives, whereas another will result in throat constriction within minutes. Cue the news stories where people with seemingly minor allergies are suddenly in the hospital. For example, recently a girl in CA with a known allergy took a bite of a peanut butter brownie and then spit it out. Her parent, who was a doctor, waited 20 min to administer the EpiPen. She died. (Disclaimer: not a doctor, probably didn't remember everything right, etc.)
pacaro 9y ago
I understand your position. But (there's always a "but") I have a friend whose kid is severely allergic, their daycare didn't take it particularly seriously(!), for reasons similar to yours. So of course one day there is a PBJ near the kid, he has a crazy reaction, the staff call the parents "we're afraid to use the epipen" at which point the mom hangs up and calls 911 herself, invoke FMLA and has to hightail to the ER
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  "The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons." (Wikipedia via Google)
  - pacaro 9y ago
    Thanks! As a parent working in the US, the FMLA is a fact of life, but that isn't true for everyone on HN

SQL2219 9y ago

http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(14)01737-0/abstract http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(14)01737-0/abst...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]