re: #269 wheat-dogghazi

You know, I never had heard of peanut allergies until I was about 40 and a teacher. We had a student who was so sensitive he could go in anaphylactic shock from just the smell of peanut butter.

How come I never heard of peanut allergies when I was a kid? Is this a new thing, or was it just under my radar for 40 years?

Allergies have increased, and probably not just through detection. There’s lots of theories, but the main one is that kids are growing up in overly-hygienic environments. When you’re not fighting off real infections and parasites, your immune system can get overactive— which is what an allergy is, an overwrought immune response.