Eating out can trigger dangerous food allergies

Most people associate allergies with little more than annoying sniffles, sneezes and wheezes. But for sufferers of some food allergies, reactions can be far more serious - even fatal.

And, experts say, the most frustrating aspect of food-allergy deaths is that many of them could have been prevented.

Watch out for nuts

While many common food allergies are caused by shellfish and other fish, as well as milk, soy, wheat and eggs, the most life-threatening allergies are triggered by nuts, says Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network founder Anne Munoz-Furlong.

"In every study on food-allergy deaths we've looked at, peanuts and tree nuts accounted for over 90 percent of allergic-reaction fatalities," she says.

Dining out can be a problem

Munoz-Furlong says food-allergy sufferers face the greatest risks when they eat out and aren't told truthfully whether nuts were used in the preparation of their meal.

"In the research we looked at, time and again allergy sufferers would ask about the food they were about to eat and identified themselves as being very allergic, but they were not given the right information," she says.

Some food-allergy sufferers can have severe reactions to even trace amounts of peanuts, Munoz-Furlong says.

In one case in a food establishment, a boy who ordered an ice cream sundae sent it back because he was allergic to the peanuts on it. The kitchen simply picked off the peanuts, applied more whipped cream and sent the sundae back to him. He subsequently had a severe reaction, Munoz-Furlong says.

Lack of awareness can be fatal

It's those kinds of shortcuts and a lack of awareness that can cost people their lives.

In another case, Munoz-Furlong says, a woman at a wedding reception in upstate New York asked the waiter whether there were peanuts in the cookies he was serving. The waiter said no. But because the cookies had been made with a spatula used to make another dish containing peanuts, the woman had a severe reaction and died.

"If the waiter or waitress had taken just a few more minutes, thought about the question and answered it properly, that person might be here today," Munoz-Furlong says.

Don't take the waiter's word

Allergy sufferers also must be sure to clearly communicate their needs to food establishments.

"We did see a trend with the majority of fatalities being among individuals ages 10 to 19, and we believe it's because this group of people is still learning how to eat out away from home," Munoz-Furlong says.