The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has stated that about five percent of children in the United States are affected by food allergy symptoms. There’s generally no cure for such a disease, except for bone marrow transplant or other similar treatments. In most cases, sufferers are forced to live with the condition for the rest of their lives. One common concern is whether allergy can increase the risk of death. However, a recent study has suggested that the risk of dying due to allergic reactions is actually lower that from being murdered.
People who suffer from allergies and their loved ones may experience some anxiety about whether anaphylaxis or life-threatening allergic reactions could occur. They believe that such ordeals could increase the chance of death. Unfortunately, there’s never been any valid or conclusive data on anaphylactic deaths. Researchers from the Department of Medicine at Imperial collected raw data from thirteen worldwide studies. They calculated that for people with food allergy symptoms, the chance of death from anaphylactic shocks in a year is just 18.1 in one million. The risk is lower on adults and higher on children at about 3.25 in a million. In the United States alone, for all ages the risk of murder is about 61 in a million and 40 in a million for children and teenagers.
Worrying continuously about potentially life-threatening reactions often take a serious toll on sufferers’ quality of life. Almost everyone has heard frightening stories of those who suddenly died from severe allergic reactions. Although they may sound frightening, such an event is usually quite rare, so it’s important to put such a risk in perspective. Experts repeatedly noted that loved ones and friends should reassure people living with recurring allergic symptoms. Food allergies don’t necessarily make the risk of accidental death is much more pronounced. Even so, this doesn’t mean that we can belittle issues caused by food allergies.
It’s important to address issues related to quality of life and anxiety on people with food allergies. It’s better than focusing solely on risks pf death. Despite the significantly low death risks, emergency room admissions for kids with allergic reactions are on the rise; about five-fold in just twenty years. Allergic reactions may involve eczema, rash and swelling. While this situation is obviously threatening, there’s no clear cause for the developing trend.