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Serious adverse reactions to adrenaline are becoming more likely
EDITOR,--Pamela W Ewan's findings with regard to peanut and nut allergy1 agree with my personal experience of the problem: such allergy occurs in otherwise atopic subjects, it is acquired early (possibly in utero in some cases), and after the first adverse reaction sufferers are almost invariably aware of the problem--although in some this is at a subconscious level, and they become averse to all nuts without remembering the reason.
I doubt, however, Ewan's implication that the problem is becoming much more common. It is difficult to obtain meaningful figures of prevalence in the past, but I have estimated a probable prevalence of hypersensitivity to any nut of between 1% and 5% in the population from which my patients have been drawn over some 30 years, and without much variation. Previously, those affected knew that they could not eat nuts, avoided them assiduously, were generally free of symptoms, and did not
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- Clinical study of peanut and nut allergy in 62 consecutive patients: new features and associations
- Pamela W Ewan
BMJ 1996 312: 1074-1078.[Abstract] [Full Text]
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