Kiss of death

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Girl allergic to peanuts dies after kiss

November 29, 2005

MONTREAL -- A 15-year-old girl with a peanut allergy died after kissing her boyfriend, who had just eaten a peanut butter snack, hospital officials said Monday.

Christina Desforges died in a Quebec hospital Wednesday after doctors were unable to treat her allergic reaction.

Desforges, who lived in Saguenay, about 155 miles north of Quebec City, was almost immediately given a shot of adrenaline, a standard tool for treating the anaphylactic shock brought on by a peanut allergy, officials said.

An autopsy was being performed.

The symptoms of peanut allergy can include hives, plunging blood pressure and swelling of the face and throat, which can block breathing. Peanut allergies have been rising in recent decades. The reason remains unclear, but one study found that baby creams or lotions with peanut oil may cause children to develop allergies later in life.

About 1.5 million Americans are severely allergic to even the smallest trace of peanuts, and peanut allergies account for 50 to 100 deaths in the United States each year.

Rhoda Kagan, peanut allergist at Montreal Children's Hospital, called Desforges' case ''very rare and worrisome.'' AP

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Mike:

Thanks for posting this and bringing it to everyone's attention. Our son, Lucantonius, is very allergic to a variety of nuts and this is a very scary and sobering, as well as tragic, story.

The surge in the rate of occurrence of these nut allergies is clearly tied to environmental issues but I suspect the causes are multiple and thus the problem lends itself not to any simple solution. If it did so, I suspect researchers may well have been on the right path already. But that's probably more an issue for those yet to be born. For kids like our little guy, it's a very grave problem.

Antonius