Forgot top add this but it probably deems it's own post...
I will ask that no-one eats nuts immediately around her (please) as she can have a reaction to the oils transferred in the air! And I don't fancy spending the night in A&E or Intensive Care! 
Not trying to be daft or offensive here, but one thing ive never understood, is how come there is anyone alive with a peanut allergy?
We are led to beleive the sligtest bit of peanut / oil can be fatal to someone with an allergy...
So how come they havent died, surely you eat a bag of nuts, noone is sure whats happening, call an ambulance...you go into anaphalactic shock and die, therefore no more allergy.
why doesnt the 1st attack (that we are led to beleive is so bad) kill?
Good question! Not really sure how they decide that it's anaphalaxis on the first occasion! There are enough people who aren't still alive because their medical response wasn't quick enough!
TBH, we generally get a little bit of warning from most of the things she's allergic to but nuts aren't good... Reaction is almost instant!
Luckily we do have Adrenalin needles with us all the time but I can assure you that having to inject your loved one to save her life is terrifying! Especially as there is nothing else you can do once it's done!
I can assure you, having seen it many times, that it's not a fun situation to observe, let alone experience, and it's something I plan to avoid!
Fully agree and understand and really dont envy your position, it just seems there are too many people about, that should have died.
When we introduced our kids to peanuts, they were watched very carefully for any possible reaction, but I can't imagine many people do that.
maybe 1st attacks are mild and get progressively worse :-?
Just to give a little info .. an anaphylactic reaction (also called shock but that is "press speak") is actually a body's immune system over-reacting to what it "sees" as an "enemy" .. and producing "antigens" ... now the first time you are exposed and have the reaction you have no antigens in your system .. so the body has to learn how to make them, thus the first exposure is usualy relatively mild. The next time you are exposed to the trigger.. the body already knows how to produce the antigen so does it very quickly, and the reaction will be more severe. The body also "remembers" that this has occured and will store antigens in case they are required ... so the next exposure gets hit by both the stored antigens and a surge of newly made ones ..... and it goes on .. each exposure causing an even greater response from the body.
Why do reactions happen at all ?? well the antigens are "supposed" to be produced to kill off germs/bacteria/viruses and in doing so they themselves get killed, and they "should" only attack the specific germ/bacteria/virus for which they are designed.
With an extreme allergic reaction the antigens are produced against an inert substance eg peanut oil ... so the antigens can't actually kill anything, so the body thinks its losing so produces more .. in a vicious circle. The antigens go a bit daft and start attacking anything including the body itself, and so the anaphylactic reaction starts.
Each and every exposure can make the next reaction much worse as the bodies sensitivity to the trigger increases, the reaction time decreases, and the level of antigens produced increases....
HTH
Author
Topic: East Anglia - Food and cooking (Read 6188 times)