Three million Americans are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and about 75 die each year from reactions that lead to anaphylactic shock. Some other foods can kill, but nuts seem to be a prime danger. And it is peanut butter, long a favorite with kids and the adults who pack their lunches, that has put schools in the middle. Schools that haven't had a dangerously allergic pupil can expect one soon. Skeptics suggest children are simply being taken to doctors and diagnosed more often.
Some children are so sensitive that they react to vapors from peanut shells.
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