NUTS!

Danny

I have never thought of it that way. I use a lot of "nut wood" and nut shells for that matter. To the best of my knowledge I don't know anyone with nut allergies. I am interested in knowing if their is any merit to this. I am thinking no simple because hickory is one of the most common woods here in the states.

Happy smoken.

David

You could ask your father-in-law to ask his allergist. They'd probably know.

I did a Google search for "Allergies and smoking with nut wood" and did not find any issues for people with allergies reacting to the smoked product. That said, there are just too many options for wood smoke.  I'd rather be safe than sorry.   

thanks for the info on nut allergies.

dannylang

Unfortunately allergies are on the increase, and nut allergies are very common.  Depending on the degree of sensitivity, this will determine how bad the reaction will be.  If you are mildly sensitive to nuts you might just have a rash or feel a bit itchy, or if you have a severe reaction you will have what is called an "anaphylaxis reaction" which can be life threatening and you should seek hospital treatment immediately.  If you have been diagnosed with anaphylaxis you should be prescribed anti histamines and an adrenaline (epinephrine to American cousins) Epi-Pen, which is a pre-filled syringe that you inject into your leg yourself, and this should be carried with you everywhere.

An ellergic reaction occurs the second time you come into contact with the product (nuts etc), not the first.  This is because the first time your body comes into contact with the product your immune system reacts and prepares to fight, the second time you come into contact with the product your body reacts and goes into overdrive trying to fight the immune response. 

Exposure  normally occurs is 3 different ways,  The first is direct contact, eating, drinking or even touching.  the second is cross contact where the product or traces of the product have come into contact with another product accidentally. The third is inhalation, and covers dust, spray (from oil), fine airborne particles, and smoke which are microscopic particles of the products that you are burning.

I know I have given you a very in depth and long winded answer, where I could have simply said "yes you could get an allergic reaction" but as i have personally witnessed anaphlaxis shock, where  the onset of symptoms is immediate, and can become life threatening within minutes I want everyone to know that it should be taken seriously.

There is a lot of information online regarding anaphlaxis, and I can point you towards a couple of excellent websites, but if you want me to post the different symptoms I am more than happy to do so.

Sorry for the Doom & Gloom!

With all the information that I have read is that it could.

The following extracts are individual views and reports, and not clinical trials.   I suppose it also depends on how bad the person reacts to the substance. below are the extracts from a couple of documents.  I have not cherry picked the information. so this is both sides of the arguement.  

Although a small amount of peanut protein can set off a severe reaction, it is rare that people get an allergic reaction just from breathing in small particles of nuts or peanuts, since the protein has to be ingested (swallowed) to cause a reaction. Most foods with peanuts in them don't allow enough of the protein to escape into the air to cause a reaction. And just the smell of foods containing peanuts won't produce a reaction because the scent does not contain the protein. In very rare cases when people do react to airborne particles, it's usually in an enclosed area (like a restaurant or bar) where lots of peanuts are being cracked from their shells. The person inhales and then swallows the protein, and this can lead to a reaction when the protein gets digested.

The particles in smoke are tiny bits of solids and liquids made of incompletely burned wood. When you breathe air with wood smoke in it, you inhale the fine particles deeply into your lungs. The particles contain toxic substances that can remain in your lungs for months, causing changes that lead to diseases and structural damage. Most wood smoke particles are 2.5 microns (µm) or less in size – smaller in diameter than a human hair 

However a clinical experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions, and the report can be found here http://burningissues.org/woodsmokefoodallergy.html 

It's very long winded, but yes they can.

Other interesting articles are below:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/532681-mesquite-tree-allergies/     Easy to read, and digest - no pun intended

http://allergies.about.com/od/fa1/f/barbequeallergy.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/allergy.htm

http://www.vtwoodsmoke.org/pdf/WoodsmokeWA04.pdf   (other illnesses caused by woodsmoke - non allergy)

Happy reading 

Good info, thanks

Gary

Just an update on the Allergy thing.  I was chatting to a Consultant Chest Physician last week and he confirmed that you can get a reaction though smoke particles.

Nice info, thanks for sharing. Didn't know anything about this kind of allergy before.