Hard to judge how rational the fear is

A recent article in Salon.com about peanut allergy got my goat.  Here's my reaction.

Fear is only irrational if it is out of proportion to the risk. The problem with peanut allergies is that, for many of us, it is difficult to assess the risk of us or our children becoming severely ill or dying from exposure to peanuts. Certainly, for some people, the risk became quite obvious the first time they or their child was rushed to the emergency room, but for many others the allergy is identified in relation to treating less sensational threats, like eczema or asthma. For those people identified through skin prick tests or blood tests as likely to have an allergy, or those who had a reaction to eating peanuts that was not confirmed by a physician, assessing the risk is decidedly more fuzzy...

This post has moved.  Read the rest of the post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2009/02/hard-to-judge-how-rational-fear-is.html