page_title: Peanut allergy
section_title: Routes of exposure
hierarchical_section_title: Peanut allergy / Cause / Routes of exposure
caption_attribution_description: Українська: Смажений арахіс в шкорлупі English: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
context_page_description: Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy to peanuts. It is different from tree nut allergies, with peanuts being legumes and not true nuts. Physical symptoms of allergic reaction can include itchiness, hives, swelling, eczema, sneezing, asthma attack, abdominal pain, drop in blood pressure, diarrhea, and cardiac arrest. Anaphylaxis may occur. Those with a history of asthma are more likely to be severely affected.
  It is due to a type I hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system in susceptible individuals. The allergy is recognized "as one of the most severe food allergies due to its prevalence, persistency, and potential severity of allergic reaction."
  Prevention may be partly achieved through early introduction of peanuts to the diets of pregnant women and babies. It is recommended that babies at high risk be given peanut products in areas where medical care is available as early as 4 months of age. The principal treatment for anaphylaxis is the injection of epinephrine.
  In the United States, peanut allergy is present in 0.6% of the population. Among children in the Western world, rates are between 1.5% and 3% and have increased over time.
context_section_description: While the most obvious route for an allergic exposure is unintentional ingestion, some reactions are possible through external exposure. Peanut allergies are much more common in infants who had oozing and crusted skin rashes as infants. Sensitive children may react via ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact to peanut allergens which have persistence in the environment, possibly lasting over months.
  Airborne particles in a farm- or factory-scale shelling or crushing environment, or from cooking, can produce respiratory effects in exposed allergic individuals. Empirical testing has discredited some reports of this type and shown some to be exaggerated. Residue on surfaces has been known to cause minor skin rashes, though not anaphylaxis. In The Peanut Allergy Answer Book, Harvard pediatrician Michael Young characterized this secondary contact risk to allergic individuals as rare and limited to minor symptoms. Some reactions have been noted to be psychosomatic in nature, the result of conditioning, and belief rather than a true chemical reaction. Blinded, placebo-controlled studies were unable to produce any reactions using the odor of peanut butter or its mere proximity.
caption: Peanuts
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