Peanut allergy and contraception

[Heavensabove3005]

So was quite shocked to find that the contraception the doctor advised me to go on contains an amount of peanut oil. They are aware of my allergy, I have took this for three days, have now thrown it in the bin. Well aware it was partly my fault for not reading the leaflet properly but is this something in most contraceptives now? Thanks in advance

Did it cause a reaction ?

Did you specifically mention your allergy during the consultation? The GP can't be expected to randomly recall the fact your allergic to peanuts unless discussed as part of that appointment

My eczema had flared up which I put down to the weather change but mow wondering if it was from this? The receptionist said it was probably if I had a build up in my system ie a month's worth..quite worrying really.

Yes I mentioned it as I always do with anything I'm given.

What contraception is it?

Refined peanut (aka groundnut) oil does not cause a reaction in people with peanut allergy.

I would still really like to know what contraception the OP is talking about.

The theory is that, as ThereIsNoSuchThingAsRoadTax says, "Refined peanut (aka groundnut) oil does not cause a reaction in people with peanut allergy". This is because there shouldn't be any protein, which causes the allergy, in the refined oil. However, speaking as a formerly highly allergic person, I know that this is incorrect. People who are allergic to soy, for example, can and do react to soy oil. A friend in the food testing industry told me that "most" samples of refined oil do in fact contain small amounts of protein that can cause an allergic reaction. Here's a serious scientific paper on the issue:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10722892

Well aware it was partly my fault for not reading the leaflet properly but is this something in most contraceptives now?
If you could post which contraception this is then perhaps people might be able to answer your question.

In addition I have a friend who also has a peanut allergy and is just about to start taking a new contraceptive so I would prefer to not tell her this until I know what exactly you were referring to.

Thanks!!

@Dushenka

Here's a serious scientific paper on the issue:

And that paper says:

'It has been shown, in well-designed studies, that refined peanut oil can be safely consumed by the vast majority of peanut-allergic individuals'

'The review concludes that peanut oil, and by extrapolation other edible vegetable oils, presents no risk of provoking allergic reactions in the overwhelming majority of susceptible people.'

The GP double checked I have no issues with nuts or soy before prescribing cerazette.

@ThereIsNoSuchThingAsRoadTax
You are misunderstanding. "The vast majority" does not mean "all". In other words, there may be some individuals that do react to refined oil. The exact language (please read it) is: "It has been shown, in well-designed studies, that refined peanut oil can be safely consumed by the vast majority of peanut-allergic individuals, whereas unrefined oil can provoke reactions in some of the same individuals. However, some other studies report cases of allergic individuals reacting to oils, which are presumed to be refined."
You may think this is nit picking but the OP may well be one of the minority who does react. So precision is important when it comes to allergies. You should not take risks with people's lives.

How the hell would a receptionist know if your allergies would flare in response to medication? Complain to the practice about that.

Back to the doctors with you.

Which contraceptive pill was it?

@Dushenka
I can assure you that I am not misunderstanding, and am quite used to reading and interpreting scientific papers, that (and writing them) being my job.

No scientist would ever say 'there is absolutely no risk', because you can never be 100% sure, especially in the absence of good data on safe levels of protein exposure.
If you read the whole paper properly, and the studies to which it refers, in those studies that used proper clinical double blind designs, no participant had a reaction to refined oil. The quantities of oil to which they were exposed were quite fairly high - 5ml and above. The chance of a reaction to the clinical grade oil that would be used in pharmaceuticals and in the quantities that would be used in a pill is so vanishingly small that it can be confidently dismissed.

Can't believe you are recommending that the OP takes risks based on your inadequate reading of this paper. It says, "Although full refining of oils results in the almost complete removal of protein, thresholds of reactivity have not been established, even for allergens that have been well studied. In these circumstances, it is plausible that sometimes enough protein remains in an oil to provoke a reaction in a highly sensitive individual. As a result, doubts have been cast on the safety of oils derived from these sources for allergic individuals, particularly in the light of well-documented cases of reactions after ingestion of some oils... [one] study thus demonstrated with 95% certainty that fewer than 5% of peanut-sensitive individuals would react to the amount of protein present in up to 16ml of the refined oil. Consequently, refined peanut oil does not present a risk to the vast majority of peanut-allergic individuals." How do you know the OP isn't one of the unfortunate 5%, outside of the "vast majority"? And just because a dose of 5ml gives a reaction, that doesn't prove that smaller doses will not... As a former highly allergic person, I find your attitude alarming. I repeat, you must not take risks with allergic people.

@Dushenka I have made no recommendations to anyone. I do, however, suggest that there is little reason to think that anyone would react to the minuscule quantities of highly refined oil present in a pill.

As to inadequate reading, I would point to the person who thinks that a statement that one study 'demonstrated with 95% certainty that fewer than 5% of peanut-sensitive individuals would react to the amount of protein present in up to 16ml of the refined oil' is the same as saying that 5% of people will react, and who seems not to understand the concept of dose-dependent responses. By the by, in that study, not one of the 60 participants reacted to refined oil.