Reactions include hives, swollen airways, digestive problems, and in some people, they may be more severe, even life threatening.
However, researchers says there are potentially ways to prevent peanut allergies.
Part 1 - Our Chicago: Food Allergies, Treatments And Possible Prevention
Dr. Ruchi Gupta is the director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research at Northwestern University.
She says we're seeing more children with food allergies than in the past.
"It has become an epidemic in a generation or two generations, and a lot of time people say, 'when I was young there were no food allergies and we used to take PB&J to school every day and it was no issue.' So, what happened in one generation it has increased dramatically," Dr. Gupta said.
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Gupta says researchers are trying to find out what happened that caused the change.
Natalie Hnatiuk is the parent of a child with food allergies. She says that during his six-month pediatrician appointment, she was told to introduce peanuts to her son, but she said the instructions were pretty vague.
Hnatiuk says that when they introduced peanuts the first time, it went well. But there was a significant period of time before he had peanuts again.
Part 2 - Our Chicago: Food Allergies, Treatments And Possible Prevention
"The next time, he was pretty immediately covered in hives and redness and I was completely shocked. I could not believe I was witnessing him having a food allergy reaction," she said.
She says her son's food allergy has impacted their daily life.
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"From school procedures, reading labels, going out to eat, making sure you have your Epi device with you," the mother said.
Dr. Gupta has been involved in groundbreaking research.
"For people with food allergies, we want to prevent but not everyone can prevent it. And so, if you do develop food allergies what's so exciting now, we do have treatments," Dr. Gupta said.
Dr. Gupta says oral immunotherapy is a very common treatment now and she says there are other options as well.