Are nut allergies genetic?

[preshi]

And can you suddenly get them?

My Dad is allergic to walnuts. As far as I know I'm not until just right now. I just ate a cookie with walnuts and it feels like my mouth is burning! Obviously I'm not going to eat anymore but i've never had that reaction to them before.

Can this happen? I dont know what else it could be... i read all the ingredients and there is nothing else in there i can see that would have this effect! weird.

 

[eeyore74]

I don't know about genetics - I'm highly allergic to nuts, but no one else in the family is. However, my father had some other food allergies.

You can develop allergies at any time. So yes, they can come on suddenly.

You could always wait a day or two and then try a piece of cookie and see if anything happens. Have benadryl on hand.

 

[bananiem]

Yes, I believe they can be inherited. Also, I've heard that an allergy won't necessarily show up with the first exposure. Hope your mouth stops burning soon!

 

[SeaShelley]

Preshi, be very careful. My walnut/pinenut allergy did not surface until I was pregnant with my son. I don't particulary care for nuts (except peanuts, which aren't really nuts right?), so it's not a big deal to live without them. However, I have unintentionally ingested some since (4 times to be exact) in cookies and other desserts, and the reaction is quicker and more intense each time. In my case my tongue gets very tingly, my lips burn and start to swell and my throat starts to contract (close). I have to carry liquid Benadryl with me.

Pay close attention to the ingredient list on packaged foods. I recently brought a WW frozen meal (Basil Chicken) to work with me and while it was cooking, happened to notice under the ingredient list in bright red lettering the words: CONTAINS WALNUTS! It never occured to me that it would have nuts!

Good luck!

 

[lil mermaid]

You can definitely have a genetic predisposition to food allergies.

You can also develop them at any time in your life, and it sure sounds like you had an allergic reaction to something in the cookie!

 

[suzannen]

Genetics can definitely play a part in allergies and yes, they can show up suddenly. I never had a single reaction until the age 33 when I suddenly broke out in hives after eating shrimp and cocktail sauce (turned out to be the horseradish, not the shrimp). I was tested last year for specific nut allergies after developing a rash. I was not allergic to nuts, but my allegist told me that nut allergies, unlike other allergies, usually show up early in life as opposed to developing them later like other allergies, but that if you suspect one, get tested soon. Since they can show up in unsuspected foods, they will give you and EpiPen, just in case.

 

[preshi]

Thank you guys. My mom just told me she has the same problem which I never knew about until now... anyways my throat hurs now so i think i will talk to my dr about a possible allergy. It's never happened to me before but i guess you just never know.

 

[klombar]

Everyone in my family is a little nuts so I say it is genetic!

Just kidding. This is something not to be taken lightly. My nephew is allergic to nuts. I never realized how many things come with or are made out of nuts.

 

[DonnaS]

Preshi,
To give you some immediate relief, take a benadryl or something with an anti-histamine in it. When I first developed my allergy to kiwi, I was in Munich and ended up taking a Tylenol PM and it helped considerably (it's the anti-histamines that make you sleepy in it).

 

[lisajl]

My DS Sean is highly allergic to nuts. No one else is the family has this allergy. We all have some sort of allergies, but not this one.

I would definately talk to a doctor and possibly get an Epi pen.
My son has one at his preschool and we have one with us at all times.

I forgot to take in WDW, we just had to read ingredients very carefully.

Lisajl