JS{ Peanuts turn up in all kinds of things: one of the big food
JS{ producers just recalled something or other (I forget what, perhaps
JS{ some cereal?) because one lot had traces of peanut in it when it
JS{ shouldn't.  There is a potential for fatal reactions.  The new news
JS{ is that peanuts seem to provoke cross-sensitivity more widely than
JS{ previously suspected.  I read about a recent study in which they
JS{ were investigating allergies to true nuts (the kind that grown on
JS{ trees) and they used peanuts as a control.  They discovered that the
JS{ "control" wasn't really a control because of the cross-sensitivity.
One of the studies showed that peanuts also sentize kids to some things 
that they are not sensitive to. Our pediatrician has a BIG sign in the 
office waiting room: NO PEANUT PRODUCTS WITHOUT DOCTORS ADVICE!
They are serious enough about it that they prepared a brochure on it, 
hand it to EVERY patient and annotate the chart that it was given. That 
is serious.
JS{ RF>  What type of link is there between inner-city asthma and
JS{ cockroaches?
JS{ I've only heard a bit about this, but apparently there are
JS{ inner-city neighborhoods where perhaps 30% of the people have
JS{ asthma.  Cockroach feces are being investigated as the culprit.
JS{ Originally there was a lot of speculation about "urban pollution"
JS{ but cockroaches are a known allergen and are more widespread than
JS{ any single form of man-made pollution.
JS{ I've lived in New York City and can tell you that cockroaches are
JS{ everywhere, even in the kitchens of the rich and famous.  They are
JS{ extremely durable.
If there was a full scale thermonuclear war, and the average world wide 
radiation dose was 1000 rad, the only surviving living "being" would be 
the cockroach.
As for your living in NYC, did you hear the story about the giant 
african beetles that escaped from the Museum of Natural History and 
cross bred with the common cockroach creating a super bug that was five 
inches long? 
JS{ Now that I think about it, I wonder if this might be related to the
JS{ perceived prevalence of asthma among Jews, who up until a generation
JS{ or two ago were concentrated in urban centers.  It's probably too
JS{ late to examine that in detail.
Hispanics in NYC have an incredible rate of asthma in the same areas 
formerly populated by us Jews.
JS{ And I lived in a NICE neighborhood in Queens.
I am from Brighton Beach. My wife is from Bensonhurst. Where are you from 
in Queens?
I am in Nassau County, now.
 * RM 1.31  * Eval Day 25 * RoboMail -- The ultimate QWK compatible message 
man
ger.
--- Platinum Xpress/Wildcat! v1.3
---------------