About Allergies: Woman Withdraws From College Over Peanut Allergy

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Allergies Allergies Symptoms / Diagnosis Treatment Coping From Daniel More, MD, your Guide to Allergies A woman with a severe peanut allergy states that she is withdrawing from the University of Washington over concerns for her own health and safety. The university initially placed signs outside of the woman's classrooms declaring the rooms to be "peanut/nut-free". Recently, the school has removed these signs and has simply sent letters to other students politely asking them to cooperate with a nut-free policy within the classroom. The school states that the signs presented a false sense of security and did not guarantee that the rooms would truly be nut-free.The woman no longer feels safe as a result of the change, and therefore has decided to withdraw from the university. Banning Peanuts From School? Peanut allergy has become more common over the past many decades, and is the most common food allergy in school-aged children. Allergic reactions to peanuts can be severe, even potentially life threatening. Unfortunately, accidental exposure to peanuts is relatively common, particularly at school. For these reasons, parents of peanut-allergic children have advocated the idea of banning peanuts and peanut-containing foods in schools. Search Related Topics:  peanut allergy  food allergy  school allergies Can You Be Allergic to Food Odors? While it is considered to be very rare, allergic reactions from breathing in vapors from foods have been reported to a variety of different foods. These types of reactions only occur in the most sensitive of food-allergic people. The most commonly reported of these types of reactions have occurred as a result of seafood-allergic people inhaling odors from cooking fish and shellfish. Less common foods, that when cooked release odors that have caused allergic reactions include potatoes, eggs, milk and hot dogs. In addition, reports of allergic reactions to packages of peanuts being opened on airplanes has been reported - which has led to a debate on the safety of peanuts being served on airplanes. Search Related Topics:  food allergies  shellfish avoidance  peanut allergy All About Peanut Allergy Peanut allergy is the most common form of food allergy in school age children and adults. Milk and egg allergy are more common in infants and toddlers, but allergies to these foods are commonly outgrown by school age. Recent studies show that in North America and the United Kingdom, 1% of children have peanut allergy. Search Related Topics:  allergies  allergist  allergy testing Allergy Shots and Drops (Immunotherapy) Discussion of what allergy shots are, what they are used for and how they work are presented. Risks and benefits of allergy shots are also described. Related Searches Pollen Allergies Allergies Symptoms Allergies Children Food Allergies About Allergies Featured Articles Alternative Therapies in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergies Glossary of Terms Information on the Most Common Allergy Medications Allergy Basics Frequently Asked Questions Nose and Eye Allergies   More from About.com Run Your First 5K Even couch potatoes can be ready for a 5K with just a couple months of training. Read more...> Help! I'm Too Busy Time and stress management tips to help you feel as though you have more time. Read more...> This newsletter is written by: Daniel More, MD Allergies Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Allergies newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2012 About.com   Must Reads What are Allergies? Symptoms of Allergies Diagnosis of Allergies Treatment of Allergies Preventing Allergies   Follow me on: Advertisement