False Fears Are Making Allergies Worse
Jar of Peanut Butter - One of the Scariest Offenders
A story was reported on Monday in “The New York Times” that doctors have been misdiagnosing food allergies. By relying on a simple blood test to discover allergic antibodies to foods, in order to avoid the more uncomfortable procedure of skin testing, orthe more risky process of a food challenge, children have been found to be allergic to more foods than they really are. New studies show that these tests have been delivering accurate information in less than half the cases.
Food allergies have clearly been on the rise in recent years. I’m well aware of what a serious issue allergies have become, just from the precautions in place in our elementary school. There is the “peanut free” classroom, the peanut free lunch table, and the necessity of the school nurse at class parties where there are allergic children. I also know from my sister’s experience with my niece how scary the prospect of an allergy can be.
However, by applying bad science to this problem, scientists have been potentially making the problem much worse, and have created nutrition issues for the children who have been on extremely restricted diets thanks to the poor information resulting from these tests. Further, pediatricians have been advising parents to avoid potentially risky allergy foods until a child is older to ward off an allergic reaction. Now a 2008 study of 10,000 British kids shows that those exposed early to peanuts were less likely to have allergies than those who waited.
Many parents I’ve spoken with wonder why there has been such a rise in allergies in recent years. Is it something in our environment? Is it something we mothers ate when we were pregnant? Or, is it once again, that we’ve spent a lifetime following the poor advice of scientists, upsetting the natural functioning of our bodies?
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How scary is a jar of peanut butter? If its not the allergy or the misdiagnosis of an allergy, it could be the Salmonella.
So true – why can’t they leave a good thing alone?