Peanut allergy scare from childhood experience

So it's clear that the body has certain reactions to certain stimuli. The body has a way of reacting to certain stimuli that is sometimes even irrational. When it's just a small amount of a non harmful stimulus, there is usually limited body reactions.

I remember the first time I witnessed it, I was left wondering how the body distinguishes a harmful stimulus from a nonharmful one. It was my little cousin, and I took a small bite from a normal looking biscuit that we didn’t know had peanuts in them. My mother was the one that bought it as a gift so all the kids would enjoy. My elder sister didn’t know there was peanut because that biscuit was in a transparent rubber with no label telling you the ingredients.

Almost instantly, my cousin's whole face started to change. He started scratching his neck like there was something inside that was causing a problem. It was one of the first instances I witnessed that made me avoid and fear my cousin. I thought it was an infectious disease he had and after we sent him to the hospital, they said it's allergies to peanuts. I was so young and ignorant I stayed away from him for months until I learned about allergies and understood it. He didn't seem bothered and he was so young he barely remembers it now.

I used to go to the store a lot to buy snacks before boarding a train, and the usually come with chocolate. Because I didn’t know, I ended up putting some things back. When I go to visit him, I try to eat things like apples or plain biscuits, so we don't risk anything. It feels like a lot of work. I think the first time I witnessed it, I was left with an image that I could never forget. It was a traumatic experience to witness someone choking just because of a peanut.