Anaphylaxis [symposium presentations]

When I give an introductory lecture on anaphylaxis to medical students, I usually start with the story of a child in our neighbourhood who had a peanut allergy. While he was at a friend’s home he was served ice cream. He read the ingredients on the carton, and saw that peanuts weren’t mentioned. However, on his ¢rst mouthful he realized from the rapid onset of symptoms that peanuts must have been included. He was rushed to the emergency room, but there apparently was a delay before he received epinephrine (adrenaline) and he died. It turned out that while peanuts in fact were not listed on the carton, they were in the candy bar that was mentioned in the ice cream’s ingredients.