Nut Allergies - Signs
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010
by Dr. Carla Goddard
Nut allergies include cashews, almonds, pecans or walnuts as examples. A peanut allergy is different as peanuts are legumes. Peanut allergies are the leading cause of death due to foods ingested. To determine exactly what nut that you are allergic to can only be determined by testing. Many people who have a tree nut allergy are also allergic to peanut legumes. Almost 2% of the entire population have a nut allergy. The symptoms of nut allergies are very much like other food allergy symptoms. Peanut allergies can be violent and instant causing anaphylactic shock which is life threatening. As with many food allergies the symptoms are similar starting with digestive problems.
Atopic Dermatitis affects one out of ten infants and is caused mostly to allergies and is a sign of an allergy to tree nuts and peanut allergies. In infants the legumes do not need be ingested in order to cause a reaction. This is often known as eczema. It is not only infants that can be affected. Although, many infants outgrow the allergy, it is possible for an adult to develop atopic dermatitis from an tree nut and peanut allergy. In an infant this will appear as a rash with small white 'pimples' that are red in center on the infant's cheeks, neck and scalp. It is not a diaper rash. If any of the infected center pimples will ooze fluid and spread over a wider area. In older children it will appear in places such as the inner forearms and the inner elbows. Some may get the 'pimples' on their eyelids and soles of the feet. The difficulty is that this is atopic dermatitis is a symptom of a number of different allergens from bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.
A tree nut or peanut allergy may cause hives. When the hives do not go away it is called chronic urticaria which is commonly caused by an allergy. Unlike the 'pimples' of atopic dermatitis , hives do not have any fluid contained within the centers.
Allergic asthma is another symptom that can occur as a result of allergic reaction to a tree nut or peanuts. Allergic asthma is characterized with airway obstruction and inflammation which is reversible with medication. Unfortunately, the symptoms of allergic and non-allergic asthma are the same. It can be coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or chest tightness.
The most serious symptom of tree nut or peanut allergies is anaphylaxis. This is when the blood vessels widen so much that a person's blood pressure plummets. To start with a person may become flushed, develop a rash, swelling of lips, sweating, paleness leading into abdominal cramps, rapid pulse, fainting, confusion, or convulsions. Anaphylaxis is a life threatening allergic reaction that if not treated quickly (minutes) it can lead to death. In some the symptoms at first do not seem as urgent as they can include itching in the mouth or throat, hoarseness, or feeling the need to urinate.
If you suspect you or your child is having any signs of anaphylaxis dial 911.
This Article has been viewed 967 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.