Turns out that even peanut allergy can be misdiagnosed.

Researchers have developed a new, more sensitive blood test to detect antibodies to the most allergenic part of the peanut. Current tests are designed to pick up peanut proteins from areas not related to allergy - which results in more false positives.

The new allergen test was scrutinized for its effectiveness recently at University Hospital of South Manchester. In the study, 1,000 children were either given a biscuit with or without peanut in it. Results showed that 80 per cent of the children who were thought to be allergic showed no reaction.

Turns out that the kids who were thought to have peanut allergies actually had allergies to either grass or pollen.

The new test has a 97 per cent accuracy rate.

Using the test showed that only 1 in 50 children are allergic to peanuts, as opposed to the estimated 1 in 10.

Source: Nursing Times