Nuts causing hysterics

People are overreacting to potential nut allergies. [Link]

A Harvard professor of medical sociology has agreeably warned that increasing hysteria over nut allergies in kids bears the hallmarks of mass psychogenic illness (MPI) - described as "a social network phenomenon involving otherwise healthy people in a cascade of anxiety".

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Nicholas A Christakis cites the extreme example of when a potentially fatal peanut was "spotted on the floor of a school bus, whereupon the bus was evacuated and cleaned (I am tempted to say decontaminated), even though it was full of 10-year-olds who, unlike two-year-olds, could actually be told not to eat food off the floor".

He also explains the case of one of his own kid's school, which indulges in the traditional ritual of selling wrapping paper and candy to raise funds. He says: "This year parents in our school were told that they could no longer pick up their purchases from their children’s classrooms. Instead they had to pick up their orders from a loading dock at specified times, to avoid a danger to the children."

He continues: "The danger? Some of the orders contained sealed tins of festive nuts. Out of an overabundance of caution the school decided not to allow any of the items on the premises."

The facts are these, Christakis insists: "About 3.3 million Americans are allergic to nuts, and even more - 6.9 million - are allergic to seafood. However, all told, serious allergic reactions to foods cause just 2,000 hospitalisations a year (out of more than 30 million hospitalisations nationwide). And only 150 people (children and adults) die each year from all food allergies combined."

Sarah is allergic to some nuts, so she doesn't eat them. They're not Kryptonite, they're nuts.

This hysteria may be making things worse:

In reality, Christakis explains, MPI may actually exacerbate nut allergy problems, "resulting in children who, lacking exposure to nuts, are actually sensitised to them". The epidemic is fed, meanwhile by "efforts to reduce exposure to nuts [which] actually fan the flames, since they signal to parents that nuts are a clear and present danger" - which in turn "encourages more parents to worry, which fuels the epidemic".

If you're allergic, don't eat them.

Duh.