Hmpf.... Am feeling sick. 
Accidently ate something with nuts in it last night, which I'm extremely allergic to (all sorts of nuts, sesame, coconut and pine-tree seeds). I ate a peanutbutter sandwich which contained traces of nuts (shouldn't be in it!). I don't need much of it to get really sick in no time. No, am not allergic to peanuts. Strictly speaking, peanuts are legumes, not nuts. They grow underground, whereas nuts grow on trees.
Why I'm telling this? Because a lot of people aren't familiar with this allergy and don't understand the risk of it which often results in inattention. I often got sick because of this inattention.
Going out for dinner or even having a sandwich somewhere is a high risk potential for me esp since using nuts in dishes became more and more popular the last few years. And I never eat chocolate, highest risk potential!
What the reaction is when I eat nuts? My mouth, lips and throat swell up and itch, my stomach hurts, I feel nauseous and throw up (if I'm lucky). The life threathning reaction is the swelling of my throat making it hard to breath, dropping blood pressue and I can get in an anaphylactic shock and pass out.
Anaphylaxis can happen just seconds after being exposed to a triggering substance. At age 2 I almost died because I had severe problems with breathing. Luckily I never had a shock, but the risk is always there. It's funny that so many people are proud of not having a gag reflex (you know why 
) while I am so happy with it 'cause it saves my life!
The 'good' thing about last night is that the amount of nuts was small and I was able to throw up and get it out of my body as soon as possible. Still felt very sick, but no need to use my self-injectable epinephrine and go to the hospital.
Getting sick from nuts happens a few times a year to me. A lot of factories where they make food they also make things with nuts in it. When they don't clean the machines properly or don't pay attention during the process there can get traces of nuts in things that shouldn't contain nuts (cross contamination). Nowadays a lot of brands write it down when it may contain these traces, but not all. You are never sure. More and more brands write it on their food to avoid accusations, which leaves less and less things for me to eat....
Please pay attention when you are making something for somebody who is allergic to nuts! They are not axaggerating!
Ok, needed to get this of my chest.....
More info on this subject:
Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakenly believes that something you ate is harmful to your body. In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system produces IgE antibodies to that food. Those antibodies then cause mast cells (which are allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which is histamine (pronounced: his-tuh-meen). The histamine then acts on a person's eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin or gastrointestinal tract and causes the symptoms of the allergic reaction.
Some people may be so sensitive to nuts and peanuts that they get an allergic reaction just from inhaling small particles of that food. If you are one of these people, just being around nuts and peanuts can cause you to have an allergic reaction, even if you don't touch them or know they are there (I have this, even walking in a forrest during fall can cause me feeling sick!). This is the reason why many airlines have stopped serving peanuts to their passengers.
About 7 million people in the United States have food allergies and, of these, 3 million are allergic to nuts and peanuts. Nut and peanut allergies can be so severe that every year up to 200 people die from eating nuts or peanuts in the United States.
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)
Accidently ate something with nuts in it last night, which I'm extremely allergic to (all sorts of nuts, sesame, coconut and pine-tree seeds). I ate a peanutbutter sandwich which contained traces of nuts (shouldn't be in it!). I don't need much of it to get really sick in no time. No, am not allergic to peanuts. Strictly speaking, peanuts are legumes, not nuts. They grow underground, whereas nuts grow on trees.
Why I'm telling this? Because a lot of people aren't familiar with this allergy and don't understand the risk of it which often results in inattention. I often got sick because of this inattention.
Going out for dinner or even having a sandwich somewhere is a high risk potential for me esp since using nuts in dishes became more and more popular the last few years. And I never eat chocolate, highest risk potential!
What the reaction is when I eat nuts? My mouth, lips and throat swell up and itch, my stomach hurts, I feel nauseous and throw up (if I'm lucky). The life threathning reaction is the swelling of my throat making it hard to breath, dropping blood pressue and I can get in an anaphylactic shock and pass out.
Anaphylaxis can happen just seconds after being exposed to a triggering substance. At age 2 I almost died because I had severe problems with breathing. Luckily I never had a shock, but the risk is always there. It's funny that so many people are proud of not having a gag reflex (you know why ) while I am so happy with it 'cause it saves my life!
The 'good' thing about last night is that the amount of nuts was small and I was able to throw up and get it out of my body as soon as possible. Still felt very sick, but no need to use my self-injectable epinephrine and go to the hospital.
Getting sick from nuts happens a few times a year to me. A lot of factories where they make food they also make things with nuts in it. When they don't clean the machines properly or don't pay attention during the process there can get traces of nuts in things that shouldn't contain nuts (cross contamination). Nowadays a lot of brands write it down when it may contain these traces, but not all. You are never sure. More and more brands write it on their food to avoid accusations, which leaves less and less things for me to eat....
Please pay attention when you are making something for somebody who is allergic to nuts! They are not axaggerating!
Ok, needed to get this of my chest.....
More info on this subject:
Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakenly believes that something you ate is harmful to your body. In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system produces IgE antibodies to that food. Those antibodies then cause mast cells (which are allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which is histamine (pronounced: his-tuh-meen). The histamine then acts on a person's eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin or gastrointestinal tract and causes the symptoms of the allergic reaction.
Some people may be so sensitive to nuts and peanuts that they get an allergic reaction just from inhaling small particles of that food. If you are one of these people, just being around nuts and peanuts can cause you to have an allergic reaction, even if you don't touch them or know they are there (I have this, even walking in a forrest during fall can cause me feeling sick!). This is the reason why many airlines have stopped serving peanuts to their passengers.
About 7 million people in the United States have food allergies and, of these, 3 million are allergic to nuts and peanuts. Nut and peanut allergies can be so severe that every year up to 200 people die from eating nuts or peanuts in the United States.
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)