There are a growing number of children that are allergic to nuts and peanuts. This can be trouble. Children who are allergic to nuts can experince much more than just sneezing or runny noses. It can cause difficulty breathing and other serious health problems. Because nuts are in a lot of foods, it is important for the parents to pay careful attention to the ingredients. An allergic reaction to nuts can happen right away or take a few hours before it reacts.

Causes of Nut & Peanut Allergies:
With a food allergy, the body "misfires." Instead of treating the allergic food item like any other food, the body reacts to it as if it is harmful and in an attempt to protect the body, the immune system produces antibodies against that food. The antibodies cause mast cells to release chemicals into the bloodstream. An example of those chemicals is a histamine which causes symptoms in a person's eye, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms of Nut & Peanut Allergies:
Signs alerting you that your child may be having an allergic reaction to nuts or peanuts are:

• runny nose
• an itchy skin rash such as hives
• tingling in the tongue or lips
• tightness in the throat
• hoarse voice
• wheezing
• cough
• nausea
• vomiting
• stomach pain
• diarrhea

Preventions:
The best prevention is to simply avoid the nuts. Most people will not outgrow this allergy.

Treatment:
Treatment of a serious reaction (anaphylaxis) is given with a shot of epinephrine.

Wow I thought the only allergic reaction people had to peanuts was similar to an athesma attack where they can't breathe. This is good to know considering my family is big on peanuts, walnuts, pecans, etc.