Posted on 11/29/2005 9:32:46 PM PST by neverdem
Newhouse News Service
Multiple-choice question: Why are more American kids allergic to foods, particularly peanuts?
A) Their immune systems are confused by increasingly clean homes.
B) Nervous parents wait too long to feed their children peanuts.
C) We roast peanuts rather than boil them.
D) Maybe one of the above, and/or something else.
Unfortunately, the answer is "D."
One study estimates American children's rate of allergy to peanuts and tree nuts (like walnuts and pecans) — about 1 percent of those under age 18 — has doubled in recent years. No one can say why.
But whatever biological mysteries are at work, U.S. children are more likely to be allergic to peanuts than kids in China, in Israel and in many underdeveloped nations, experts say.
"It's a moving target," said Dr. Robert Wood, a pediatric immunology professor at Johns Hopkins University. "The numbers may be different by the time the next study gets done."
Deaths from allergic reactions to food are not officially counted, but studies suggest 150-200 fatalities a year, experts say. Case studies of 32 food-allergy deaths during 1994-99 showed that most victims died of reactions to nuts, most had asthma, and 13 were under 18 years old.
Though rare, deaths from food allergies can occur with shocking caprice.
New law on allergies
On Jan. 1, a new federal law goes into effect requiring food manufacturers to use simple language — milk instead of "caseinates," egg instead of "albumin" — in food products' ingredients lists. The law will apply to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, wheat, soybeans and crustaceans (such as shrimp and crabs). Proteins in these foods cause about 90 percent of allergic reactions. Studies of peanut, tree-nut, fish and shellfish allergies suggest 11.4 million Americans, or about 4 percent of the population, have food allergies, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Ten years ago, scientists believed less than 1 percent of the population was affected.
In 2003, about 1,800 children under 18 were hospitalized due to food allergies, according to a federal estimate. That number had increased only slightly during the preceding decade, but researchers say many allergic episodes go uncounted when hospitals misclassify them.
"The data are not clear enough to say what the true rate of increase has been, but we would be very comfortable saying the rate of food allergy has truly increased," said Wood.
The only treatment for a severe allergic reaction is a shot of epinephrine, a hormone that relaxes the airways of someone struggling with a life-threatening allergic response.
On Jan. 1, a new federal law goes into effect requiring food manufacturers to use simple language — milk instead of "caseinates," egg instead of "albumin" — in food products' ingredients lists. The law will apply to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, wheat, soybeans and crustaceans (such as shrimp and crabs). Proteins in these foods cause about 90 percent of allergic reactions.
Meanwhile, some advocates are pushing for federal guidelines for schools to create emergency action plans for allergic students.
In well-prepared schools, administrators have assembled teachers, parents, a school nurse and others to discuss how to handle emergencies and how to make a school safe, said Anne Munoz-Furlong, founder of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, a group advocating more protections. "Nut-free" zones are becoming more common on school lunch tables.
Even highly sensitive peanut-allergic children are unlikely to experience a severe reaction from casual external contact with peanut butter, research has shown. Soap and water effectively remove the allergen from surfaces such as tabletops, while disposable wipes work well with hands.
But reactions do occur, most often when a child unknowingly eats something containing an allergen. Serious problems result when a school's files contain nothing from a child's doctor about a condition, what symptoms to look for and how and when to give medication.
"A child eats something, thinks it was safe, but they have a reaction," Munoz-Furlong said. "They're sent to the office, the office staff calls the parents. Or the child has asthma, and they give her an inhaler. The reaction gets completely out of control, and when you bring epinephrine into the picture, it's too late."
An allergic reaction occurs when the body mistakenly identifies something as an invader and activates a portion of the immune system. People with hay fever, for example, overreact to the inhalation of pollen. The same process occurs in food allergies, with protein acting as the trigger.
In someone allergic to peanuts, for example, the body senses a specific protein has attached to cells in the body. To "protect" the cells, it sends out special antibodies called immunoglobulin E, or IgE. When IgE reaches the cells, it causes them to release histamines and other chemicals that may cause itching, nausea or restricted breathing.
In trying to explain the increase in allergies, many scientists have embraced the "hygiene hypothesis." It holds that some people's immune systems have gone out of whack because America's increasing cleanliness has changed the behavior of IgE.
The central role of IgE is to help fight infections. But as America has become more sanitary, and as antibiotics have cut down on infections, IgE has less work to do, making it restless and prone to attack new things.
"The more [IgE] is left 'unbusy' because we're not being exposed to germs early in life, the more it could direct its attention toward allergies," said Wood.
Some data support this idea. Allergy rates are lower in many underdeveloped nations, perhaps because the immune systems of those who live there are constantly exercised.
But the hygiene hypothesis, which would apply to all kinds of allergies, doesn't explain everything.
"It's not clear that it's the whole story," said Dr. Marshall Plaut, chief of allergic mechanisms at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Doctors have successfully "desensitized" patients with allergies like hay fever by injecting them with small but increasing doses of pollen. Such "immunotherapy" often causes severe reactions when tried against food allergies — an effect scientists are trying to understand and avert.
Mindful of the hygiene hypothesis, researchers also are studying whether exposing children earlier in life to peanuts and other potential allergens may properly prepare their immune systems.
Peanut allergy rates in Israel are low compared with the United States, and some suspect that's because many Israeli children eat peanut snacks earlier and more often than American children do.
"It could be the hygiene hypothesis," Munoz-Furlong said. "It could be the way peanuts are processed. In China they boil them, and we roast them. Or, it could be how they introduce it; in this country, we wait until the third birthday. In Israel, it's typically before the first birthday."
I'd like to see a lot more studies go into the relationship between vaccinations and disorders such as autism. I'm not anti-vaccine but I do not support mandatory usage of it either.
No doubt in my mind that doctors are giving too many too close together which I think may compromise a childs health. This also may have cause the Gulf War Syndrome seen in Desert Storm. True it saves lives but also true is X number of kids will be spending lives in wheelchairs from them as well. Even a flu shot has that potential. Notice the show Matlock. Notice they don't show him walking in the later shows. He had Gullian -Barre syndrome. Transverse Myelitis is another possibility as well.
When my wife went quad 20 years ago one of the Neurologist first questions to her was about any recent vaccines.
BTW I take 10 shots a week for allergies :>}
Here are some of the studies from the past 3 years:
"Risk Factors for Autism: Perinatal Factors, Parental Psychiatric History, and Socioeconomic Status"
"The Incidence of Autism in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1976-1997"
"No Effect of MMR Withdrawal on the Incidence of Autism: A Total Population Study"
"MMR Vaccination and Pervasive Developmental Disorders: A Case-Control Study"
"Relationship Between MMR Vaccine and Autism"
"Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism"
"Retraction of an Interpretation"
"MMR Vaccine and Autism: An Update of the Scientific Evidence"
"MMR Vaccination and Autism: What Is the Evidence for a Causal Association?"
"Communicating Science to the Public: MMR Vaccine and Autism"
"Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism"
"Prevalence of Autism and Parentally Reported Triggers in a North East London Population"
"Autism and Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines. Lack of Consistent Evidence for an Association"
"Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and the Development of Autism"
"Study Fails to Show a Connection Between Thimerosal and Autism"
Plenty more studies here.
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Interesting. It seems consistent with the onset of the problem.
Yeah, but this is different: it's noticeably more prevalent now than even 10 or 20 years ago, when infant mortality is no different from today. Perhaps it's just better screening, but I think there's probably something else afoot.
For example, things like asthma and diabetes are more prevalent as well. I'm guessing they're related.
I wonder if there's a correlation between these increases, and the increased use of things like hormones and antibiotics in our food.
Well, I have severe allergies. I know one of the things about allergies is that some of them take a while to build up in your system. So you can maybe eat shrimp once, and not have a problem. However, if you eat it a few times then you develop a problem.
Many kids in Asian countries are breastfed up to, and in some cases, past 1 year. So maybe Chinese kids get a leg up, so to speak, on stronger immune systems because of breast milk. Soy milk past this age might not affect them at that point. Speculating here...
I also think that more kids are exposed to bad things when their moms are pregnant. There are a lot of crack babies these days. What has that done to young kids?
I don't think this really account for an increase in peanut allergies, but I would imagine it does result in an increase in ADHD and other similar things.
Immunizations are nothing more than exposure to weak strains of diseases. Without them we would be exposed to the real thing.
Peanut allergies are caused by too many lawyers and fearfilled public schools
Yep.
We just don't know what ELSE they might do. And believe me, they contain other ingredients besides weak strains of the disease.
AIDS is also an immune system dysfunction that has arisen since the days of mass innoculations. I'm not drawing any conclusions, just pointing out the coincidences.
Like I said I'm not completely against any of them. But then again it should not be a matter for governments to decide to make mandatory either. It's like Whooping Cough yes it can be fatal. I saw nine kids in one family have it living in primitive conditions. All survived.
Why, these kids today.......
Maybe it's because soy is poisionous before it's processed.
Over-protective parents have destroyed their childrens' health.
The fewer boxes and cans that fill my garbage can at home, the better. Most of my neighbors (only one has kids) have full garbage cans on garbage day, but I usually put my cans out every two weeks unless there's something particularly stinky in there. Most of these households are one or two folks. How the heck can they generate so much garbage especially when they're mostly men. (Yes, women tend to generate more garbage at home - go ahead flame away). My only conclusion is that they all buy a bunch of stuff in boxes and cans from the grocery.
You can easily get waivers for vaccinations for medical reasons or for religious reasons.
Speaking of whooping cough, there is an increase in it in the United States thanks to illegal immigration and people not getting vaccines.
My daughters would likely die if they got whooping cough. However, the DPT shot could also cause problems with kids with neurological problems which one of my daughters also had. We gave her a DPaT shot instead. Now most of the DPT are the DPaT shot and it has been shown to be much safer.
We also had a friend whose daughter died of complications from the DPT shot.
Parents really should become more aware of the risks vs benefits of shots and make educated decisions about vaccines.
I think kids are exposed to things more and earlier because so many kids are in daycare since the were babies.
Another avocado allergy! People look at me like I am nuts when I tell them I am allergic to avocado. Anytime I say I can't have it because of allergies I always get the same response, "Really?" Why would I lie?
Children should be exposed to eggs, peanuts etc early, mine were and have had adverse effects.
Keep dogs and cats in the house, exposure early is the best bet for not developing allergies.(There are exceptions)
Don't vacuum and dust too much.
I got allergy shots from age 7-14 It worked, I was one of the lucky one's. They don't do that anymore as far as I know the treatment I received cured me todays don't.
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