The emergence of mustard allergy as a potential life-threatening allergy today is best highlighted by the case of 3-year old Emily Evans-Corkery. The girl with the curly hair and light colored eyes is the picture of childhood mischief.

Little can you realize when you see her that she almost lost her life recently to an allergy not many Americans are even aware of; mustard allergy. While a brush with peanut butter at the age of 10 months had made Emily’s family aware of her allergy to peanuts, none of them knew about her other allergic condition.

Emily’s family found out about her allergy to mustard in late 2006, when a slice of bread with mustard resulted in an allergic reaction that almost killed her. The mustard caused an allergic reaction inside her throat, causing it to shut down rapidly. There were also giant hives across her face, shoulders, and neck.

Emily had to be rushed to the hospital, where it took an EpiPen Jr and some Benadryl to get her back to normalcy. She was in emergency for four whole hours, before her condition started stabilizing.

Emily’s family found out about her mustard allergy the hard way. Today, there is no peanut or mustard in Emily’s house. Her mother Carol has researched a lot on the subject since that fateful day, as is apparent from the almost half a foot thick heap of papers and notebooks near her.

Doctors and scientists agree that mustard allergy could be as bad as some of the other allergies. As Dr. Michael Young says, allergies to peanuts, mustard, and even egg have to be taken care of really well. Dr. Young is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and also author of The Peanut Allergy Book.

According to Dr. Young, food allergies can be pretty serious. If left untreated, they can lead to even death. At the very least, they can cause severe irritation of the skin. Mustard allergies are not common, but there are people who are susceptible to it, he said.

In Europe too, there has been rising concern about mustard allergy. There is a standing requirement since 2005 in Europe for food products having mustard to clearly state it on the label. This information is there in the website of the British Food Standards Agency. In the U.S., there is no such rule yet.

However, it would be a good idea to have such legislation in place, as it would help families of people with mustard allergy be sure that the food they are giving their beloved ones is not a potential health risk for them.

As of now, there is no mustard for Emily. And that is something she will have to get used to as she grows up. It would mean no more fast food parties and selective food habits, but that is a small price to pay for a healthy life.