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The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network reports
4 percent of the U.S. population, or about 11 million people, suffer from a food allergy. Peanuts are the leading cause of severe allergic reactions, followed by shellfish, fish, tree nuts and eggs.
The network reports about 3 million Americans have peanut or tree nut allergies and 6.5 million Americans are allergic to fish or shellfish.
“People are more aware of food allergies, and they’re diagnosed earlier,” said Dr. Todd Mahr, a Gundersen Lutheran pediatrician and allergy/asthma specialist. “There are more allergies in general, but we really don’t know exactly why.”
Eight foods — peanuts, tree nuts such as walnuts and pecans, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy and wheat — account for 90 percent of all food allergic reactions, said Mahr, a member of the network’s medical advisory board.
“Peanut and shellfish allergies stay with people through adulthood, but 95 percent of children lose their sensitivity to cow’s milk, soy and wheat,” Mahr said. “It has to do with the maturation of the gut.
“Still, we once thought people never outgrew peanut allergies, but now we believe it can happen,” he said.
About 150 to 200 people die each year from food allergy-related reactions, according to the network. Food allergies are the leading cause of severe reactions, or anaphylaxis, outside the hospital setting, accounting for an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits and 2,000 hospitalizations each year.
“Food allergy is a diagnosis we don’t take lightly,” Mahr said. “There’s no question anaphylactic reactions can be deadly. We see the near misses.”
Dr. Doug Nelson, a Francis-can Skemp pediatrician and allergy/asthma specialist, said research has shown most people who have an allergic reaction ate food they thought was safe. People with food allergies and asthma seem to be more at risk for a severe allergic reaction, he said.
“I get referrals for peanut and nut allergies a lot, and you see younger kids with eczema,” Nelson said. “Shellfish and nuts are notorious for bad reactions.”
The huge number of EpiPens, injectable epinephrine to treat food allergies, at schools shows the increased number of children with food allergies, Nelson said.
Many people who claim they have a food allergy don’t, he said. They might have a food intolerance or the food is unsettling to their stomach, Nelson added.
Nelson said a food allergy is an immune system response to a food the body mistakenly believes is harmful. A food intolerance is a food-induced reaction that does not involve the immune system, he said.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227 or trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com.
