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Boyfriend's kiss of death
29/11/2005 07:31 - (SA)
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 on Monday.
Christina Desforges died in a Quebec hospital on Wednesday after doctors were unable to treat her allergic reaction to the kiss the previous weekend.
Desforges, who lived in Saguenay, about 250km 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. Dr Nina Verreault, an allergist at the Chicoutimi Hospital in Saguenay, declined to comment on the case.
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.
'Highly unpredictable'
Peanut allergies afflict 1 to 1.5% of the population, said Rhoda Kagan, peanut allergist at Montreal Children's Hospital. In the United States, about 1.5 million people are severely allergic to even the smallest trace of peanuts and peanut allergies account for 50 to 100 deaths each year.
Desforges' case is "very rare and worrisome" she said. "Some people have an extremely low threshold," Kagan said, stressing cases of allergic reactions to peanut dust. "This varies greatly from person to person and is highly unpredictable."
Reactions will depend on personal medical history and on how much peanut substance was ingested. Allergy sufferers are often warned of threats from casual contact.
While a shot of adrenaline is recommended immediately following such an attack, hospitalisation is usually required to monitor progress as patients can have a recurring attack in 20% to 30% of cases, Kagan said.
- AP
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South Africa
