Reaction Registry
Browse for Reaction To:
Peanut
____________________________________
Age: 13
Allergen: Peanut
Symptoms: Swollen tongue, lips and throat.
Where: Home
What’s the Story?
My grandparent's gave me a bag of unmarked bulk chocolate candies and told me that they were okay for me to eat. I found out very soon that these were not the same candies of a leading retail brand, but an imitator that had different ingredients, including peanuts.
How could this have been prevented?
At the time I should have consulted with my parents. My grandparents do their absolute best to keep me safe but are not aware of all the potential food allergy risks with different products.
____________________________________
Age: 7
Allergen: Peanut
Symptoms: Itchy eyes, runny nose
Where: Church
What’s the Story?
I once did a choir performance at my church where there were also food booths present for a bake sale. During the performance, I remember that my nose kept running and my eyes were really itchy. When the performance was finally finished, I alerted my mom to my symptoms and that I smelt peanut butter. She assured me that there were no peanut products around. However, later on she bought me a cookie with a face on it that was made with peanut-free candy coated chocolates. Turns out that that the candy coated chocolates were not peanut-free. Later on I found I was having difficulty breathing so my parents ended up taking me to the hospital.
This whole situation could have been prevented if I did not eat the cookie. I should have been more specific when asking about its ingredients. I am really lucky because this reaction was not too severe and it occurred over a long period of time. I wish I had dealt with the symptoms sooner. In the future, I will remember to trust my gut—if I sense that an allergen is in my surrounding environment, I will try to manage it in a more effective way.
____________________________________
Age: 15
Allergen: Peanut
Symptoms: Swollen throat
Where: In a Public Place
What’s the Story?
I love to eat jelly beans so sometimes I buy them from a dispensing machine. This machine didn’t have any ingredients listed on it, but since it didn’t appear to have the peanut butter flavoured jellybeans inside, I thought I should be fine. Right? Well...not really!
I took one from the dispensing machine and ate it. The first thing I noticed was that it didn't really have much of a taste. The other thing I noticed was that I started to have shortness of breath. It cleared up within a few minutes without me having to take anything, but it was still pretty scary.
How could this have been prevented?
I told my Mom and she told me not to eat them anymore. Actually, I probably shouldn't have eaten them in the first place. I should have thrown it out right then and there, but I guess I wanted to see what they tasted like....
My recommendation: if you have a peanut/tree nut allergy like I do, stay away from any candy in dispensing machines that’s not labeled or says may contain peanuts!
____________________________________
Would you like to Share a Reaction Registry story?
