The deadly peanut allergy

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2003/01/27/transplant030127.html

Doctors report rare case of nut allergy transfer in liver recipient
Last Updated: Monday, January 27, 2003 | 7:32 PM ET
CBC News
A man developed a life-threatening nut allergy within a month of receiving a liver transplant, Australian doctors say…. The organ donor was a 15-year-old boy who died of an allergic reaction to peanuts.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_18.html

Do you know of any desensitization treatment for my son (turning 5 years old in December) who has a fatal allergy to nuts (peanuts and all types of nuts)?..Life-threatening allergies to tree nuts and peanuts must be considered lifelong conditions

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/27/science/27qna.html

Reasons that have been suggested for an actual increase in cases include changes in diet and changes in manufacturing techniques for processed foods, which could expose and sensitize more and more people. [Maybe it is the change in the immunization schedule for young children, the increased number of immunizations, and producing the bacteria/viruses for those immunizations by feeding the bugs peanut meal....-bfg]

Because it is life-threatening, peanut allergy is the first target of a new Food Allergy Research Consortium, which will receive about $17 million from the allergy institute. [Interesting that we will study how to fix the allergy with more immunizations instead of finding out why the fatal peanut allergy suddenly appeared in the world. - bfg]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21471171/

Vonder Meulen and her husband, Paul, who have two other children, had known since Emily was a toddler that she had an allergy to peanuts, and Emily was constantly vigilant about staying away from them.

But, her mother said, no one in the family had ever imagined that it could be fatal.
Since losing their daughter, the Vonder Meulens have created a memorial fund and a Web site, www.foodallergyangel.com, to raise awareness of the dangers of food allergies in the hope that they can spare other parents the loss they live with every day.

It is, said TODAY medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman, a growing problem in the United States and in other developed nations. An estimated 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies, with 6.9 million allergic to seafood and 3.3 million allergic to peanuts or tree nuts. Eight foods — milk, eggs, nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish — account for 90 percent of food allergies.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025571.500-peanut-allergy-dining-with-death.html

Peanut allergy: dining with death
21 June 2006 by Anna Gosline
Magazine issue 2557

IT BEGAN with a shortness of breath. Twenty minutes later my ears were so inflamed I could barely hear. Angry red hives covered my neck and chest, which didn’t go too well with my black dinner dress. You see, I was at a college ball the first time a peanut tried to kill me.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/18/peanut.allergies/index.html

Peanut allergy can be deadly
Even trace amounts can trigger severe reaction
BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) — Peanuts are as American as baseball — Americans ate nearly 1.7 billion pounds of them last year, according to the Georgia Peanut Council.
But for those with peanut allergies, even 1/1,000 of a peanut can cause a severe reaction….
Food allergic reactions cause an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits and kill 150 to 200 people a year….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_allergy

Deaths from peanut allergy
Fifty-four percent of fatal food allergic reactions reported in the United States from 2001-2006 were from peanuts. [11]

Reports of death from peanut allergy in 2008 include:

Andrew Michael Smith (age 8) died February 2008 after he accidentally came into contact with peanut allergens at home. [12]
Carol Kiener, (age 66) died March 2008 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to peanuts.[13]
Paul Anthony Thurston (age 30) died April 2008 after being served a peanut butter & jelly sandwich in jail.[14]
Daniel Sargent (age 30) died July 2008 after eating a cookie that had peanut butter in it at a party.[15]
Brian Hom II (age 18) died July 2008 after eating a dessert containing traces of peanuts while at a resort in Cabo San Lucas.[16]
Dexter Skinner (age 16) died July 2008 after eating a chocolate bar.[17]
Mark Nicholson (age 28) died November 2008 after eating a chilli burger that was suspected of having an ingredient derived from peanuts.[18]

The 2005 death of Christina Desforges, which was initially reported as a result of exposure to peanuts, spurred many parents to speak out about the dangers of peanut butter and jam sandwiches at schools or peanut shells on the floors of restaurants.[19] However, according to a coroner’s statement in March 2006, Ms. Desforges did not die of anaphylactic shock caused by a kiss from her boyfriend after he ate a peanut butter snack, but in fact died as a result of asthma-linked respiratory failure, which was triggered by tobacco smoke at a party. [Hmmmm... did she get the asthma attack immediately after the kiss? Was the boy smoking, too? I've flossed my teeth hours later and found food particles... did they floss his teeth and test his saliva? - bfg] Research by Jennifer Maloney suggests that peanut allergens normally leave the saliva after about an hour.[20]

http://www.culturekitchen.com/node/9386

So when I asked about the long terms of triclosan, the drug used on almost all anti-bacterial cosmeceuticals, including toothpaste; the guy looked at me and said : "We don't need to know".

"What do you mean you don't need to know?"

He told me that the company was not asked to provide data on what the long-term effects could be. They were only asked to fulfill the minimum amount of testing required by the FDA for approval. That was the law, as so they complied. I remember asking the guy : "So, if it has any long-term effects on the natural bacterial flora of human skin or mouth, it's none of your business". To which he gave me an uncomfortable nod. I was ferklempt. I couldn't believe the potential long-term consequences on the immune system were not being studied. I asked him, "Don't you want to know". And to my astonishment he answered : "I shouldn't, for liability reasons".

...Injury and death from physician-monitored prescription drug use is expected. The death or neurological damage of children from a vaccine is expected as normal.