Holiday Season Prompts Food Allergy Warning

The recent death of a Canadian teenager who died after kissing her boyfriend who had just eaten peanut butter is a reminder of how dangerous food allergies can be.

The number of people allergic to certain foods has jumped in recent years. All of the parties during the holiday season can be filled with hidden hazards, reported WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.

It's estimated 11 million Americans have food allergies and as many as 200 people die from them each year.

Dr. Martha White, an allergist at the Institute for Allergy and Asthma, said people with food allergies need to be proactive when it comes to avoiding foods that can be dangerous to them.

"If you are allergic to a food, you have to realize not everybody else is going to understand," White said. They might think, 'Oh, a little bit won't hurt,' when in fact it can."

Some of the common sources of food allergies include:

• peanuts
• tree nuts (such as walnuts and cashews)
• shellfish
• milk
• eggs
• soy
• wheat

Here are some tips for people who have food allergies:

• Avoid sharing serving utensils.
• Clean cooking surfaces so that potentially harmful foods aren't mixed together.
• Ask about ingredients before eating food you didn't make.
• Be prepared for emergencies by carrying injectable epinephrine or antihistamines, if applicable. Make sure the people with whom you spend the most time know how to use them.

"If you are aware of a food-allergic person, let them know what is in the dish you cooked and brought to the party so they'll know whether they can eat the food," White said.

White also offered other tips.

"If you've wiped your mouth on a napkin, throw it in the trash can rather than leaving it around," she said. "Some little child with an allergy may pick it up and use it on themselves and inadvertently get exposed to something they're allergic to."