Allergy to peanut and tree nuts is the most common food allergy
in adults and children. However, since most children start
eating other foods first, allergies to other foods such as egg
and cows' milk protein typically present before nut allergies.
While children often grow out of other allergies, only around
20% of children with nut allergies resolve. This means that 4
out of 5 children with nut allergies will continue to have these
allergies as an adult. In some people, the allergy may become
less severe with age, but in 20%, it can become worse with time.
Peanut allergy is becoming ever more commonplace, with recent
studies showing that the rate of peanut allergy has doubled over
a 5 year period both here in Europe and in the United States.
Peanut allergy is estimated now to affect 1 in 50 young infants,
and tree nut allergy also seems more common. The reason for this
increase is not fully understood, but is in line with the
general increase in all forms of allergy including asthma,
eczema and hayfever. Th