My 3 year old son is allergic to peanuts. What's your question?

This would pertain to tree nuts but maybe you would know. If one is allergic to tree nuts around the holidays what about a bowl of mixed nuts in the shells. If people have handled them and handle other things in the rm would (not cracking open the nuts) could this still put the allergic person at risk? Or would it only be the dust and oil of opened shells?

I think, but I am not sure, that the nut allergy is a FOOD allergy, not an inhaled or contact allergy. However, if someone is extremely allergic, it's possible that there could be a problem.

I would think not opening the shells would be fine. I know with peanuts, my son should not go somewhere shelled peanuts are being opened and eaten (baseball game). Because of an airborne (inhaled) reaction. Someone near him eating a pb and j sandwich is much safer since the oil keeps the allergen from being airborne. If pb is accidentally smeared on him, theoretically he could have a local reaction ( hives, rash, goes away with soap and water). We've never of tested this, of course.
It all depends on the person's severity of allergy and their age. Toddlers are very dangerous- they'll eat anything they find on the floor.

Agnespuffin, it is a food allergy, but just being around dust from the nuts or having skin contact can cause a reaction, it doesn't have to be eaten to deadly. I dated a guy who, if he walked in a room where there were peanuts, would immediately swell up and his throat would close up. He would suffocate if he didn't use his Epi-pen and we got him to a hospital immediately.

I'm allergic to tree nuts, and while my allergy is not severe, if someone is eating them in an enclosed space near me, I can have a reaction (there was a woman who sat next to me at work who used to put walnuts on her salad every day -- just the act of her eating that and it wafting over to me would cause a reaction (runny nose and watery eyes). I had to ask her to please stop putting walnuts on her salad).

I never eat mixed nuts because while I may not have a reaction to specific nuts (oddly enough, I can eat almonds, but not pecans or walnuts), if they've been in contact with other nuts that I do react to, it's just not a risk I want to take. Heck, I don't even eat peanuts, because they're often processed in factories that process tree nuts. I've also found over the years that certain candy bar brands (Mars specifically) will sometimes cause a reaction, as will various breakfast/granola bar brands that don't contain tree nuts specifically, but have been manufactured in factories that do process tree nuts.

I've never ingested so many tree nuts that I've had a life-threatening reaction, although I have had major allergic reactions after going to certain restaurants (usually Chinese or other ethnic foods that are likely to use tree nut oil or paste in their cooking) -- when this happens, I break out in hives, my eyes start watering, my nose starts running, and my throat starts tightening up. Again, I don't appear to have a life-threatening allergy; the few times that this has happened, taking some benadryl or other antihistamine takes care of it. I would advise for most people that have a nut allergy, though, to look into getting an epi-pen -- it's something I've considered doing myself.

Tree nut or peanut allergies aren't really something to mess with. If you know you're allergic, it's best to avoid all contact with contaminated foods.

Thanks for info. I do not have nut allergies. I just know around the holidays many people have bowls of nuts in shells as well as nuts in shells used in displays and wondered about people with allergies.