How to be a Nutty Buddy
Jack Brown ‘23
Staff Editor
Imagine...it’s a post-COVID world. You’re in Spies Gardens and just got a care-package of homemade cookies. You offer one to the bright-eyed 1L to whom you’ve spent the last fifteen minutes trying to explain how to thrive in law school. Entranced by your stories of nights spent outlining, they nod their head and scarf the perfect cookie down. Suddenly, their face turns beet-red and they fall to the ground. Dumbfounded, you hear them weakly force out two words, “Nut allergy.” You realize the cookies were made with almond milk, an important fact for future Torts casebooks that will immortalize your mistake for generations of cold-calls to come.
The Law Weekly is proudly nut, gluten, and shellfish free.
Is there anything you can do to stop this nightmare from coming true? Hi, I’m Jack Brown ’23 and you might call me an expert on nut allergies (both peanuts and tree nuts!). I’ve had reactions at family dinners, on the first day of school, and of course, on a plane at cruising altitude. While allergies are scary, there are easy steps that you all can take to be a real “nutty buddy” and keep the legume-adverse people in your lives safe!
What causes a nut allergy?
We don’t know! While there are many theories about what has caused the massive spike in the proportion of the population with food intolerances (0.4% of children in 1997 had nut allergies compared to 2.5% in 2016), none have emerged as the definitive answer. What we do know is that it is not entirely genetic; for example, no one in my family has an allergy.
Having a food allergy is classified as an immune system disorder. This is because our bodies produce antibodies which target proteins that are otherwise harmless. When these antibodies detect the proteins, histamines are produced, which in turn cause inflammation throughout the body. Some proteins are only in one distinct food (peanuts) while others are shared between a broad group of foods (tree nuts and shellfish).
In severe reactions, this inflammation can cause the reaction most people are most familiar with and most afraid of: anaphylactic shock. While this reaction is fairly uncommon, with most allergies causing milder symptoms, when it does happen, it can be very traumatizing for both the person going through it and nearby spectators.
What leads to a reaction?
By far the most common cause of an allergic reaction is eating whatever food your immune system has decided to not vibe with. Restaurants that don’t know what goes into their food, mislabeled candies, and the classic killer pesto (made with pine nuts if you didn’t know!) are just some of the ways someone’s allergy can get triggered.
Stopping these reactions mostly falls to the people with the allergy. If we’ve made it this far, we’ll know what questions to ask. Now if you’re dealing with kids, or K-JDs, you might need to take some of the responsibility in double-checking the labels, but hopefully you’re never in that position without more training.
On the other hand, cross-contamination is a very real threat. A microwave which had just been used to reheat a piece of pecan pie and someone putting a knife into a jar of jelly after using it to smear peanut butter on a piece of bread are just two of the ways I have had a routine meal turn into a fun adventure to the ER.
Stopping this from happening does not require you to completely ban peanuts from your household. My family has always loved tons of dishes that I cannot have and I’m still here. Keep track of what utensils come into contact with allergens, clean countertops regularly, listen to whoever has an allergy, and you’ll be golden.
The other main indirect way to trigger a reaction is less known. For up to four hours after you eat peanuts or tree nuts, trace amounts of the food can be found in your saliva. If in this period you kiss someone who has a particularly severe allergy, things will escalate quickly.
Anything else I should know?
If you ever do find yourself in a situation where someone is having a reaction, please do not panic. While it is a scary situation, staying calm will put you in the best position to help out. Most people with an allergy know how their bodies react and will be able to tell you exactly what they need. Some might just need some Benadryl and to lay down for a while, others might need you to chauffer them to the emergency room.
That being said, if it’s a kid having a reaction, call 911 immediately, unless their parents/guardians are right there and tell you differently. And if the reaction of an adult is particularly severe, also call 911. You’re going to have to make a judgement call because of how different each situation can be, but again stay calm and most of the time the solution is simpler than any Property hypo.
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jwb4bb@virginia.edu