Peanuts: allergic and other untoward reactions

Serious sequalae to the ingestion of several foods such as egg, fish and milk--and the lack of profound reactions to chocolate--have been well documented. However, no comparable study exists in regard to peanut, which has long been known to be a patent antigen. This article explores the role of peanut with respect to its hazards as an antigen and as a foreign body in the upper respiratory tract, and documents a number of fatal and near-fatal reactions.