Routes of Exposure
While the most obvious and dangerous route for an allergic individual is unintentional ingestion, some reactions are possible through external exposure. Airborne particles in a farm- or factory-scale shelling or crushing environment, or from cooking, can produce respiratory effects in exposed allergic individuals. The belief that touch, smell, or simple proximity to peanut products can trigger anaphylaxis has resulted in controversial bans on all peanut products from some entire medical and school facilities. Empirical testing has discredited some reports of this type and shown others to be exaggerated. Others remain in controversy. Residue on surfaces has been known to cause minor skin rashes, though not anaphylaxis. In The Peanut Allergy Answer Book, Harvard pediatrician Michael Young characterizes this secondary contact risk to allergic individuals as rare and limited to minor symptoms. Some reactions have been noted to be psychogenic in nature, the result of conditioning and belief rather than a true chemical reaction. Blinded, placebo-controlled studies by Sicherer et al. were unable to produce any reactions using the odor of peanut butter or its mere proximity.
Read more about this topic: Peanut Allergy
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