
Have you experienced allergy symptoms after eating tree nuts? If so, accessing tree nut allergy care from a North Texas allergist should be your top priority. But what if the cause of your allergies is actually exposure to peanuts? While it’s common to confuse tree nut and peanut allergies, there are many key distinctions that set these common food allergies apart.
How Is a Tree Nut Allergy Different From a Peanut Allergy?
Tree nuts and peanuts are both part of the top nine foods that are responsible for 85% of food allergies. Understanding their unique origins and people’s immune responses to these substances helps explain why they may require different management approaches.
Origin of the Allergen
Many people know that technically, peanuts are not actually nuts (as their name suggests), but rather legumes that grow underground. Peanuts are in the same family as beans, peas and soybeans. In contrast, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans and Brazil nuts all grow on trees. These nuts are among the most common triggers of tree nut allergies.
Prevalence of the Allergy
When dealing with food allergies, understand that peanut allergy is a common cause of symptoms, affecting approximately 2% of the population. An allergy to tree nuts is also one of the leading triggers of allergic reactions, and is estimated to affect between 0.5 to 1% of the U.S. population. While peanut allergies are slightly more common, tree nut allergies can develop at any age and cause severe reactions.
Food Allergy Testing Approach
Food allergy testing for both peanuts and tree nuts is similar, utilizing skin prick and/or blood testing to assist with diagnosis. In fact, these allergy tests are recommended for diagnosing food allergies of all types. However, diagnosing a tree nut allergy may involve testing for multiple types of nuts. Due to the distinct proteins in various tree nuts, a person could be allergic to just one nut or to several types.
Likelihood of Outgrowing the Allergy
The likelihood of outgrowing peanut or tree nut allergies varies among individuals, though both allergies may persist throughout a person’s life. However, effective treatment plans can prevent allergic reactions and even desensitize the immune system to the presence of the allergens.
Allergy Management
For patients with tree nut or peanut allergies, a personalized treatment plan is vital for long-term management and to maintain good health. Many of the tree nut and peanut allergy care approaches will be similar, and include avoiding products containing the problem food, carrying an epinephrine auto-injector in case of severe reaction or gaining treatment through immunotherapy programs such as OIT or Food SLIT when appropriate.
Innovative Treatment for Tree Nut and Peanut Allergies
For top-rated food allergy treatments, visit one of our allergy treatment centers in McKinney/Prosper or Southlake. We provide dependable testing and management solutions for tree nut and peanut allergies. Call (469) 375-1525 or request an appointment today.