Nut allergy query (a watercooler debate)
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that is a good idea, i can't really find anything using google-fu but you'd have to look at what in the nuts causes the allergy in some people and whether or not nutritionally that chemical is what the squirrel needs and absorbs into its body.
take the humble snail for instance, it can subsist on plants that are considered poisonous to us, yet once the snail has been purged it is perfectly safe to eat by humans.
take the humble snail for instance, it can subsist on plants that are considered poisonous to us, yet once the snail has been purged it is perfectly safe to eat by humans.
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Since the allergic person is probably allergic to various proteins found in nuts, and squirrel digestion presumably digests these down to mostly single amino acids, there should be no problem. eating the stomach contents of a squirrel might have an effect, though.
There is a good chance of having an allergic reaction dependant on the seriousness of their allergy. I've recently undertaken a qualification to instruct on the dangers and management of Anaphylaxis and now include it in more depth in the outdoor first aid courses I run as a very real risk, particularly in a woodland setting. Those with severe Anaphylaxis can react in so many ways. One of the things many of us will show on walks / courses in a woodland setting is the marks left by small mammals chewing at hazel nuts etc and not consider the risk to allergy sufferers who can react through touch and not neccesarily ingestion.
Nut allergy is one of those things that always confuses me, as many 'nuts' are seeds (cashew, brazil, macadamia, pistachio etc), true nuts are hazels, chestnuts and acorns etc. I, personally, have never heard of anyone allergic to alder and hornbeam seeds, or acorns.
most described nut allergies are to peanut or groundnuts and there is some confusion as to the active ingredient as some success has been achieved with a tolerance program, tree nuts have different properties so someone allergic to peanuts can live quite happily on walnuts, hazel, etc...
unless you have force fed said squirrel with peanuts and have made tiny sausages out of the intestines I doubt if you would have a problem.
unless you have force fed said squirrel with peanuts and have made tiny sausages out of the intestines I doubt if you would have a problem.
These allergies tend to be a reaction to proteins within the food. If a squirrel eats a nut, it will digest it and the proteins will largely be broken down into smaller peptide chains and, ultimately, amino acids. I guess there could still be an allergic reaction if any of the whole protein was still in the gut, on the skin/mouth/etc.
Tho' asthmatic, I musn't be allergic to nuts as my wife sleeps next to me and I don't get any reaction.
Interestingly enough, you know this new treatment where they give nut allergy sufferers tiny amounts of nut regularly over a course of say a year and they become less allergic to it.
i reckon my wife has gone the same way, exposure to me over the years has dulled her nut allergy from serious face swelling and breathing difficulties to just some slight swelling and a tickly throat.
Be warned - it can work the other way.
Years ago I'd have to try quite hard to cause my wife irritation - now I only have to leave the milk out of the fridge and she gets a severe reaction including reddening of the face and and sudden volume and pitch rises in her vocal chords.
Exactly. My wife is extremely allergic to peanuts, but as it's the protein which causes the reaction, things containing or fried in pure refined peanut (groundnut) oil are not a problem. Similarly she can eat marzipan, as the protein changes when blended with the sugar, but would have a very bad reaction to normal almonds. Squirrels will not contain the nut proteins in there meat.
The effect of the tiniest trace of peanut protein on her is very really and scary. She carries 2 adrenalin epipens, and despite being very careful, has had three trips to A + E over the last 10 years, usually involving an over night stay.
