WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- A kiss, Sam sang in "Casablanca," is just a kiss. But in some people, it can set off heavy breathing that's not just a sigh.
For people with severe food allergies even the most innocent peck from lips tipped with an irritant like peanuts can trigger itching, wheezing, rashes and other reactions that require emergency attention.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, said they have 20 reports of allergic reactions sparked by smooches laced with the remnants of nuts, seeds or peanuts. In one case, a man suffered a life-threatening attack after being kissed on the cheek by his mother, who'd just tasted a pot of pea soup cooking on the stove. He needed a shot of epinephrine to quell the reaction.
The study, appearing as a research letter in tomorrow's New England Journal of Medicine, found that as many as about 5 percent of nut and seed allergy attacks are triggered by kisses -- a small but sizable number.
Approximately one third of the four men and 16 women who reported the reactions were on dates at the time, suggesting a more serious hazard to courtship than weak knees and sweaty palms.
Necking offers even greater peril.
"The more you get, the worse the reaction is likely to be," said Dr. Robert Wood, a childhood allergy specialist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "There are people who can have severe reactions from absolutely minuscule" amounts of allergens.
The problem is generally, but not exclusively, limited to peanuts and nuts, Wood said, because most people outgrow allergies to other foods like milk and eggs by the time they enter their teens.
Fortunately, having a severe food allergy doesn't have to put the kibosh on romance.
"We advise [those have allergies] to make their date or their partner aware of their food allergy and ask them to avoid those foods if possible. If they have eaten the food, we would tell them to ask that they brush their teeth or rinse their mouth, or wipe off their lips or face" before puckering up, Wood said.
But even that's not a sure thing, the California researchers noted. Four of their patients suffered attacks even after their smoochers had brushed their teeth.
Roughly 100 people in this country die each year from allergic
reactions to foods, said Dr. Suzanne Teuber, a UC-Davis allergy specialist
and a co-author of the study. Peanuts and tree nuts are the top two
offenders, she added. Death usually results from severe swelling in the throat or vocal
cords, airway spasms, or from a dramatic drop in blood pressure.
Yet only about half the people who seek emergency room care for severe food allergies carry self-injectable epinephrine that can soothe the attacks, Teuber added.
"We urge anyone with a systemic allergic reaction [anything more than just itching in the mouth] to see an allergist for advice and education," she said.
What To Do
To find out more about food allergies, try the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
