Article: Peanut allergies have tripled (some say doubled) over the last decade. One study in Minnesota with this finding may not have even captured everyone with a peanut allergy, because it only included people whose allergy was confirmed in a lab, not everyone who self-reports peanut allergies. Kids with peanut allergies have to be extremely careful to avoid exposure to peanuts because exposure could result in an emergency situation. Why this increase in allergies? Scientists aren't sure.
- One of the most common answers is that our immune system is overactive (also explaining the higher rates in autoimmune diseases today). We have so sanitized and cleaned our environment, that the diseases our body is used to fighting--cholera, tuberculosis, influenza--simply don't happen anymore. Instead our bodies have started to turn on themselves and hurt our immune systems, or cause us to have allergies. Actually many doctors are now saying kids need more time with germs and dirt to make their bodies healthier!
- Another explanation is that we have overexposure to certain foods, causing us to have allergies. For instance, by eating too much soy (or foods containing soy), we become allergic to soy.
- Another explanation is that some kids may have had indirect exposure to peanuts through the womb or their mother's breast milk, and then when they eat peanuts for the first time as a child, their body mistakenly treats it as a dangerous threat, and causes the person to be allergic.
- If you're allergic to peanuts and are exposed, what are your likely reactions? (Hives, vomiting, swelling of the face/lips/throat, severe stomach pain, asthma, anaphylactic shock)
- What else are kids allergic to besides peanuts? (Peanut allergies are the first most common allergy in children, followed by milk/dairy and then shellfish.)
- Why do some doctors think kids are too clean and germ-free? Why is this a bad thing perhaps?
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