The Deadly Danger of Valentines Day
The Beauty Brains are counting down to Feb 14th with new Science of St. Valentines Day posts. Only 2 days left!
Valentines Day may be more dangerous than you realize – especially if you kiss someone who’s eaten a food you’re allergic to!
NBC11.com reports that food allergies send over 30,000 people to the emergency room each year and a significant number of those cases are caused by loose lips.
Careless kissing
Dr. Suzanne Teuber of the University of California, conducted a study of 379 patients with food allergies and found that as many as 5% had an allergic reaction after kissing someone who eaten a food which they were allergic too. The risk is even greater on February 14th because more kissing occurs on Valentines Day than any other day of the year. (Ok, I just made that last part up but you have to admit, it’s sounds like a plausible statistic.) Seriously though, if you have severe food allergies you really do need to be careful about accidental cross-contact. Here’s what you should watch out for:
Top 8 food allergies
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc.)
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Eggs
- Milk
- Soy
- Wheat
And while we’re listing Valentines Day dangers, let’s not forget that some people are allergic to flowers too. Oh yeah, and I’m pretty sure that chocolate causes cavities. And you might get hit by a bus on the way to a romantic dinner. And…aw, forget it. I’m staying home by myself and locking the doors. Be careful out there!
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LLD Says:
I am very allergic to tree nuts and its amazing how many people just can’t seem to wrap their minds around it. I always ask if a food has tree nuts, but have found that some people will either tell me there isn’t since there isn’t “very much” or because they just want me to try it. Picky eaters who pretend to have food allergies put those of us with actual food allergies at risk. It just makes people think we don’t want to try their food so they lie about what is in it. Given the choice between a walnut brownie and a long needle in the thigh with a trip to the ER… I really don’t need to think about it too long.
Melisa Priem, author of 8 Degrees of Ingredients Says:
The Kiss of Death ~ It happens. All holidays are difficult for those suffering from food allergies, because most holidays revolve around food. But Valentine’s is probably the only holiday where you not only have to worry about what You are eating, but what everyone else is eating due to all the kissing. It is hard enough knowing that every single bag of Valentine’s chocolate at Target has a label that says the chocolate was cross-contaminated with some sort of nut.