Healthy Food Choices for Peanut Allergies

Peanut allergies are among the most common food allergy in children, and most children do not grow out of this allergy. Learn more about peanut allergies in this health and nutrition video.

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Consult a doctor if anaphylaxis occurs
Observe children to monitor relapse
Diagnose with oral food challenge
Read labels carefully for peanut allergies

About this Author

David Hill is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also works as the vice-president of Cape Fear Pediatrics, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. David attended Rice University and Texas Medical School of Houston. He writes a monthly column for the Wilmington Parent, as well as, grant regular interviews with television channel WWAY regarding health topics. Sharing his extensive knowledge in a way that is accessible, and maintains healthy lifestyles is what Dr. Hill strives to achieve.

DR. DAVID HILL: Today, we're going to talk about peanut allergy. Peanut allergies are among the most common food allergies affecting a half percent to one percent of children. Most significantly, they're one allergy that does not tend to get better with time. It may even get worse. So children who are allergic to peanuts tend to grow up into adults who are also allergic to peanuts. A peanut allergy, like any allergy occurs when the body's immune system fails to recognize proteins from the peanut as being harmless and develops a reaction against them. Usually within a minute to an hour of contacting peanuts in the diet, the body will develop hives, shortness of breath, cough, wheeze, runny nose, itching, or even anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe and life threatening reaction and with shortness of breath, wheezing, sense of chest pressure, sense of impending doom, hives and even fainting may occur. Anaphylaxis is best treated with an injection of a medicine called epinephrine. There are convenient epinephrine pens that children and their families can carry with them in case a reaction occurs in public. The key thing to know about anaphylaxis is once you get through the original reaction, you can have a rebound effect, one to two hours later. So a child who has an anaphylactic reaction should always be observed in a medical setting for the next few hours to make sure it does not recur. Diagnosing peanut allergies can be done with skin prick testing, blood testing or a little bit more risky, an oral food challenge. The oral food challenge is the gold standard in diagnosing a food allergy but it should be conducted in a medically supervised setting where any reactions can be tended to should they occur. They key, if you have a peanut allergy, is to read labels on foods very carefully. Peanuts are used in all sorts of foods and even cosmetics where you might not expect to find them. Since 2006, the United States has required very clear labeling on products that might have peanuts or might even be processed on equipment where peanuts are also processed. However, foods from 2006 might not be so clearly labeled so become a very good label reader and don't be afraid to ask your server in a restaurant whether peanuts or peanut oil are used in anything you might be eating. To review, peanut allergy is among the most common and among the most dangerous. It's unique and that most kids do not outgrow it. If you have a peanut allergy, you should always have an epinephrine pen available in case of emergency. Read labels very, very carefully because peanuts can be in a lot of places where you don't expect them. That is peanut allergy.

Healthy Food Choices for Peanut Allergies Video

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