20-year-old Myriam Ducre-Lemay died after kissing her boyfriend who ate a peanut butter sandwich. Myrian has had severe peanut allergy since October 2012. Her mother, Micheline is relating the story to serve as a warning to others with such allergies and to help them avoid the same situation.
According to the coroner's report released in 2014, Myriam's new boyfriend was unaware of the severity of her peanut allergy. Myriam immediately began having trouble breathing - an initial sign of allergic reaction. She tried using her asthma pump, and when that did not work she asked her if he had eaten peanuts. - Her story was told in CJAD News.
When he confirmed, Myriam told him outright to call 911. The pair had been out at a party that night and did not have her Epi-Pen and she was not wearing a Medic Alert. It's likely that doing any of those things or possibly even being more open about her peanut allergy -- could have saved Myriam's life.
Her condition worsened during the emergency call where the emergency dispatcher advised Myriam's boyfriend to administer CPR; help arrived eight minutes later taking over resuscitation attempts. They then gave her a dose of epinephrine and unsuccessfully tried to intubate her. She suffered cardiopulmonary arrest on their way to the hospital.
The hospital managed to resuscitate her, but it was too late. Doctors found during her ordeal that Myriam had suffered severe cerebral anoxia that deprived her brain of oxygen supply completely. Doctors finally had to take her out of a respirator and confirmed her death.
#Research finds it's more likely a #child will be exposed to #peanutallergens at #home than anywhere else --> https://t.co/FmCVTYrv0n
— PeanutAllergy.com (@PeanutAllergy1) June 11, 2016
Many are still unable to clarify the potentially-fatal impact of a peanut butter kiss. Another case was cited in Teen Vogue , having a similar story but was debunked in 2006. When 15-year-old Christina Desforges who also died after kissing her boyfriend, which was very much similar to the allergic reaction of Myriam's, medical reports however declared she died of an asthma attack.
Dr. Christine McCusker, head of pediatric allergy and immunology at Montreal Children's Hospital stressed the importance of carrying EpiPen or a Medic Alert bracelet, "even though you don't want to and even though it's not cool". Many outlets report brushing teeth helps eliminate the chance of an allergic reaction, but the only thing that will ensure it won't trigger any allergy is waiting a long time after consuming peanuts before engaging in a kiss.
