"-L. :" > wrote in message
om...
> ospam (DJS0302) wrote in message
> >...
>> >What's more, I'd like to know where all the people with these deadly
>> >allergies were in the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and early '90s. I never
>> >heard of allergies like these until recent years, although I knew
>> >plenty of people allergic to dust, pollen, pet dander, wool, etc., and
>> >I don't think anyone died from those.
>> >
>> >--
>> >Wayne in Phoenix
>>
>>
>>
>> From 1st grade to my last year of college I did not hear of one person in
>> school having a peanut allergy. What's funny is when someone says
>> they're
>> allergic to all nuts. How can that be? Peanuts aren't even true nuts,
>> they're
>> peas. If someone is truly allergic to peanuts shouldn't they also be
>> allergic
>> to other legumes like peas or beans?
>
> The allergen in peanuts is peanut agglutinin. Some people cross-react
> with other agglutinins (such as from soybeans), others don't.
> Agglutinins are pretty nasty proteins.
>
> As for why we see these allergies now and not before - it's merely
> because the allergen has been identified. People probably died from
> them before, but the causative agent was unknown.
By the same token, I'd never known anyone with a milk allergy until my
daughter was born. Considering we lived in an isolated community, I'm lucky
that I decided to breastfeed because I'm sure had I bottle-fed she would
have died before they figured out what was wrong. When she was 10 mo. old
we were posted elsewhere and the doctor we got for her didn't believe she
had a milk 'allergy' until she had a reaction to spilled milk while in the
pediatric unit of the local hospital. Turns out this president of the
province's Medical Society had never heard of a milk allergy though he was
familiar with lactose intolerance.
Gabby