Allergic? Beware of nutty kissers
2006-03-07 10:17
Miami - People with peanut allergies
should be careful about kissing partners who have eaten peanuts
or peanut butter, according to a study released on Monday.
The study, which looked at how much peanut allergen was in
saliva following a meal, advised people with peanut allergies
to make sure their partners brush their teeth and then wait a
number of hours before kissing, especially if the kissing is
going to be passionate.
The possibility of a peanut-allergy sufferer having a fatal
reaction to a kiss was the subject of speculation after the
death last November of 15-year-old Christina Desforges of
Quebec, who was allergic to peanuts.
At the time officials said the teenager did not eat peanuts
but had an allergic reaction to kissing her boyfriend, who had
eaten peanut butter. A Quebec coroner said last week that the
teen did not die as a result of an allergic reaction to the
kiss, according to published reports.
The new study, presented at the American Academy of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's annual meeting in Miami Beach,
involved 10 people and found that the peanut allergen was
detectable in a majority of subjects after eating but left the
saliva after several hours.
Dr Jennifer Maloney of Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New
York, a member of the study team, said a significant number of
people with food allergies have significant reactions from
kissing, especially "passionate kissing".
Teeth cleaning or rinsing after eating did not immediately
result in undetectable allergen levels, the study found.
"Patients won't be safe if they think they can just have
their partner brush their teeth or chew gum after they've eaten
the food," Maloney told a news conference.