Peanut allergy: Research shows oral immunotherapy is safe for preschoolers
We don’t have to live in fear anymore.” That’s the common refrain from hundreds of parents of preschoolers with peanut allergy that my colleagues and I have successfully treated with peanut “oral immunotherapy” over the past two years. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a treatment in which a patient consumes small amounts of an allergenic food, such as peanut, with the dose gradually increased to a target maximum (or maintenance) amount. The goal for most parents is to achieve desensitization — so their child can ingest more of the food without triggering a dangerous reaction, protecting them against accidental exposure. A recent study published in The Lancet has suggested that this treatment may make things worse for children with peanut allergies. The researchers behind the meta-analysis argue that children with peanut allergies should avoid peanuts. This study has limitations however. It did not include a single child under the age of five years old. And it runs the risk of