Allergic food causes death

meeting. Globally, there are approximately 500-1,000 deaths from severe allergic reactions caused by food allergies every year. Even exposure to trace amounts of allergens in the microgram range may trigger laryngeal edema, anaphylactic shock, and ultimately death within minutes. There is no room for chance.

Last year, when I was working in the emergency department, I met a 16-year-old boy. His parents were very strict and knew that he was allergic to peanuts and never allowed him to eat food from outside. After school that day, he secretly bought a hand cake at the school gate. When the boss was spreading the sauce, he added a spoonful of peanuts. After taking two mouthfuls of crushed sweet sauce, he felt his throat tightening. He thought he had choked and drank half a bottle of mineral water. In the end, his face turned purple in less than ten minutes. When he was sent to the hospital, his laryngeal edema had blocked his airway and even the tracheal intubation could not be inserted. In the end, he was not rescued. He still had the anime peripherals he had just bought in his pocket. His parents cried until they collapsed outside the emergency room, saying that they had only thought that his allergies were just a rash, but they never thought it could kill someone.

This cognitive bias is actually very common. More than 60% of people with food allergies I have come into contact with think that "allergy means itching and red spots on the skin, just take some loratadine and it will be fine." They do not realize that severe allergic reactions progress incredibly fast - from numb lips to difficulty breathing in as little as 3 minutes. Many people have lost consciousness before the ambulance even arrives.

Currently, there are two completely different ideas in the industry regarding the prevention and control of food allergies. One group advocates "absolute zero contact". As long as a certain type of food allergy is confirmed through allergen testing, even if it is stained with residues on tableware, all food around you must be checked for allergens one by one. All ingredients must be checked in advance for take-out and eating out. Many people think this group is too overkill. I once met a girl who was allergic to eggs. When she went out to dinner with her friends, everyone thought she was "too pretentious" and said, "What can happen with just one bite of cake?" But she couldn't manage to eat even half a mouthful and went straight to the ICU that day. But conversely, the actual implementation of zero-contact is indeed very difficult. You can't check the store's kitchen every time you eat takeout. No one knows which seasoning contains trace amounts of allergenic ingredients.

The other group takes the "progressive desensitization" route, which means that under the full supervision of professional allergists, exposure is gradually increased from microgram-level allergen doses to slowly allowing the body to build immune tolerance. Now many domestic hospitals have launched related clinical projects. However, this method is not a panacea. It is not suitable for people with a history of severe allergies or many underlying diseases. There is also the risk of triggering severe reactions at any time during the desensitization process. There have been cases of sudden death of patients during desensitization treatment in foreign countries. The industry is still debating where the applicable boundary is.

There are also many people who have the misconception that "I was fine eating this before, so I will never be allergic." In fact, allergies themselves are caused by acquired disorders of the immune system. I have a nurse in the same department who used to eat mangoes until she was full. Last summer, she ate two mangoes every day for a week, which suddenly triggered her allergies. Now, let alone eating, she would gasp for a long time when she smelled the mangoes when she passed by the fruit stall, and the epinephrine pen she carried with her was tighter than anyone else's.

To be honest, the mechanism of allergies has not been fully studied yet, so you can never be sure that your immune system will have seizures one day. If you are really diagnosed with a severe food allergy, don't be embarrassed to tell the people around you. Just show your allergy history when you get together, and no one will really force you to eat that bite. ； Keep an epinephrine auto-injector with you. If something goes wrong, you can stick a needle in your thigh. It will be more effective than any emergency medicine. If you give it 1 minute earlier, the survival rate can be increased by more than 70%.

My former CDC friend said that the incidence of food allergies in China is increasing every year, but less than 30% of people know that allergies can kill people. Having said that, don't bet on the odds of "something will happen once in a while". Your life is yours. If you lose the bet, you won't even have the chance to regret it.