Nut Allergies

[luckystrike]

 

My wife's brother ate 4 or 5 hazelnuts on Saturday, and immediately felt his throat close over.  Within half an hour, he was having a seizure.  Thankfully we had taken him to casualty and he was dealt with very well.

 

He is 31 years old, and has never had any problems with nuts before.  The Doctor has now told him that he has developed a nut allergy, and will have to carry a card and an 'epi-pen' with him at all times from now on.

 

I'm now very concerned about my wife.  She is two years younger, and when growing up, she frequently developed similar illnesses to her brother.

 

Is it likely that she will develop it?  Can anything be done to prevent it?

 

[willow74]

Its very nice that you are so concerned. I too have a nut allergy but keep it under control by watching what i eat. Allergies do run in families, and nut allergy affect people with allergies in the family. Nut allergy is now quite common as medical conditions go. Most food packets have advisory notes on them warning if the item was made in a factory that use nut ingredients. I would advise your wife to certainly be aware from now on but don't let it dictate her life.

[cardboard]

Although Im sure everyone on the answerbank would love to help, I really think this is a question for a professional GP. Its not worth taking on a chance on unqualified advice, no matter how well meaning it might be

[cardboard]

Unless she does develop a peanut allergy, in which case imagine the fun she can have playing russian roullette with a bag of revels

[sweetheart]

An allergy test before hand comes to mind. Then you can take it from there... But yes, your GP's your best bet! Good luck.