At the moment people rely on avoidance of the foods containing peanuts, and the carrying of adrenaline to treat a reaction. People are obviously hoping that new drugs will eventually offer them a greater degree of safety. But it would be wrong to raise their hopes at this early stage. Peanut allergy is considered to be the most dangerous of all the food allergies. While mildly allergic people may only suffer hives, the highly allergic rapidly go into potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
Nobody is sure why peanuts, a legume more related to soy than tree nuts, are so allergenic.
But peanuts contain more complex proteins, a cause of food allergies, than many other foods. Half of all allergy sufferers accidentally eat peanuts at least once every two years because peanut products are often found in apparently unrelated foodstuffs. Early exercise could aid stroke recovery 'Doctors missed my diabetes' Doctors given anthrax advice Medicine over the mobile network Diet supplement combats blindness Controversial doctor reinstated NHS recruitment crackdown Links to more Health stories are at the foot of the page.