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Comment by dwightgunning | Hacker News Reader

I once shook hands with a new acquaintance who, unbeknownst to me, had just been snacking on a few peanuts at a bar: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7tvD65JmV45M4Mpw5

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A handshake? Well that's me educated today. I'd always presumed food allergies required you to eat the problem food.

I don't think I have ever, not once, seen a media piece on allergies point out that eating isn't always required. That seems like a major failing in the reporting of allergies over the years.

Peanut allergy is often linked to pollen allergy, and peanuts can be pollen "bombs". So no need to eat it to get a reaction

Same here. I was quite surprised by the anecdote in the article about the person going into anaphylactic shock after having milk spilled on her hand.

In fact the skin reaction is utilized for allergy testing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_allergy_test

Now those I knew of, but they mostly use a pin prick or scratch, and then measure the reaction and swelling in the skin. Which if anything, reinforces the misunderstanding the allergen needs to get into the system directly. Though I hadn't encountered the patch tests wikipedia mentions.

The article and mention of handshake leave me with an entirely different impression of how careful I might need to be if I started in food preparation etc.

I went to school with someone that was dating someone with nut allergies. She mentioned if she ate nuts at all during the day and kissed him at the end of the day he'd start having a reaction and swell up. She couldn't eat nuts for the day if she was going to see him.

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