Re: [CH] Killed by "too hot chili"??
jim (jim@mail.wildpepper.com)
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:26:20 -0400
It does indeed tell you it was a food allergy if you 'read between the lines'
One of the online articles mentioned that he complained of severe
itching and that his girlfriend spent most of the night scratching his
back. Even the most basic of EMT's (of which I R 1) would recognize
that as anaphylaxis. The technical name is "uticaria" which we call
"hives". Food allergies can indeed have a delayed onset and typically
don't occur immediately upon touching the food except in extreme
cases. The histamine response is not necessarily immediate.
My point exactly is that we don't know that it was the chiles. It said a
'mixed chile sauce' so we don't know what else was included in it. The
press just seized upon the most sensational item and put it out there. If
you're eating something prepared by someone else, you might not know
you have an allergy to it until you try it. Chiles are in the Solanaccea (sp)
family (like Nightshade) and there are folks who have severe allergies to
that family. If it does indeed turn out to be the chiles, it wasn't the heat
that did it. Having an allergy to chiles, he would have been just as dead
eating a bell pepper but it wouldn't have been as sensational a
headline.
The headline could just have accurately as read "Man dies after
girlfriend scratches his back".
It's a shame for several reasons, not the least of which this is very easily
treated when identified early.
-Jim C
http://www.StepUpForCharity.org
Mild to Wild(R)