Common Nut Allergy Symptoms

Food allergies are among the most common and severe allergic conditions affecting people today. And of those foods, nuts are the ones that can cause the most serious allergy symptoms. The biggest difficulty with nuts is they find themselves as ingredients to many meals that you wouldn't even imagine. A prime example is chili which can be prepared with ground peanuts to add extra thickening and flavor. It's important to know all of the ingredients in any food you eat if you have a nut allergy.

Just like in other food allergies, when somebody has an allergic reaction to a type of tree nut (peanut, almond, pecan, or others) their body's immune system will react and begin to fight what it perceives to be a foreign invader. Depending on the severity of your allergy these reactions can be mild or quite severe. The immune system creates antibodies to these specific nuts which upon triggering will release chemicals inside your body that can affect your respiratory system, intestinal tract, skin, and even cardiovascular system.

The symptoms that come from this reaction can range from mild to severe. A milder symptom might show signs of wheezing, coughing, stuffy nose, hives, nausea, or vomiting. When they are not severe they tend to affect only one part of the body. However, the more severe symptoms can affect many parts of your body. Some of these include chest pain, shortness of breath, swelling of your air passages, and severe cramping. When this happens a person with severe nut allergies could go into anaphylactic shock and have multiple major organs affected. This would require immediate medical attention.

Be Cautious Of All Foods If You Have Nut Allergies

Research has shown that peanut allergies are the most common cause of food allergy deaths. Another recent study has shown that there is a large increase in nut allergy cases, especially in children. Many times a child will become exposed to nuts without any prior reaction to them. If this happens it can be difficult determining exactly what is the cause of the various symptoms. It really takes a doctor or allergist to perform a test to be 100% sure. The good news with food allergies in children is they are likely to outgrow them. They don't always outgrow all of them but the chances for this happening are good.

If you or a loved one has a nut allergy you need to be aware of all the ingredients in the foods you eat. In many cases it only takes a small amount of peanut, almond, or cashew protein to cause some type of allergic reaction. And since there is no known cure for these allergies, avoidance of them is the only safe bet.