It might be my imagination or a complete obliviousness on my part when I was young - which wouldn't be surprising - but there seems to be a lot more instances of peanut allergies in kids these days. Now, perhaps it's more that there is more known about diagnosing peanut allergies than before but we just seem to be coming across at least 1 could per year at school.

When I looked up a few statistics about peanut allergy, the source I read from the Westmead Children's Hospital said that around 3% of children have a positive reaction to the peanut allergy test. The report goes on to say that Australia has a relatively high prevalence of peanut allergy.

The 3% means that 3 kids in every 100 will have a reaction if they come in contact with peanuts. I guess this sounds about right at our small school.

The allergic reaction to peanuts is actually a due to lgE allergy antibodies against peanut proteins.

The most common symptoms to someone suffering an allergic reaction to eating peanuts range from a mild case which presents as hives around the mouth where the peanut has touched the skin. Abdominal pain or vomiting is another common reaction.

The more serious reactions include coughing, wheezing, difficulty in breathing and hoarseness of voice due to a reaction in the airway. Collapse and loss of consciousness can occur in serious cases. On the rare occasion, death has occurred from the severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.