Brazil nuts are a frequent cause of nut allergy. A case report in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology describes a 20-year-old female with documented Brazil nut allergy who developed "urticaria and dyspnea after unprotected intercourse with her boyfriend who had earlier consumed Brazil nuts. Skin prick testing with the boyfriend's semen after Brazil nut consumption confirmed significant reactivity whereas a sample before nut consumption was negative."Further follow-up was impossible because the couple separated.
Allergic reactions due to kisses have been widely reported in the medical literature but the authors believe this to be the first case of a sexually transmitted allergic reaction.
8 foods cause 90% of food allergies (TEMPS WFS) (click to enlarge the image). The likelihood of a negative oral food challenge is shown in relation to the respective values of skin prick test (SPT) and serum IgE (sIgE):
References
Dangerous Liaison: Sexually Transmitted Allergic Reaction to Brazil Nuts. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2007; Vol. 17(3): 189-191. Free full text (PDF).
The kiss of death: a severe allergic reaction to a shellfish induced by a good-night kiss. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003 Feb;78(2):221-2.
The hazards of kissing when you are food allergic. A survey on the occurrence of kiss-induced allergic reactions among 1139 patients with self-reported food hypersensitivity. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2003;13(3):149-54.
Dangerous Love - Life in the FastLane Medical Blog http://goo.gl/mxP7b
Image source: Unshelled Brazil Nut, Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.
Related reading
New fear for nut allergy sufferers: sexually-transmitted reaction http://goo.gl/IzRNH - Wrote about it 4 years ago: http://goo.gl/N1WDr
Brazil-nut overdose could be toxic, says Chicago Tribune. 6 nuts top the upper limit for selenium? Sounds doubtful
Comments from Twitter:
@pkedrosky: An almost perfect headline.
@ari_elul: This is not a joke?
@RogersMatthew: Havent read yet but VERY intrigued--!