Peanut Allergy Immunotherapy Has Arrived

Food Allergy Sublingual Therapy

It seems fitting that my 500th Food Allergy Assistant post is one of hope and anticipation.

The letter was addressed "To the parents of...". The return label was from the allergist's office. The envelope was thick and indeed contained the long-awaited announcement.

"Our office has begun peanut sublingual immunotherapy. Do you want to participate?"

Well, yes...but. It turns out we have lots of questions and some logistics to figure out. The office requires a commitment of a two hour appointment every two weeks. Between appointments, we administer the serum at home. There can be no eating for 15 minutes before serum is given and then no eating for 30 minutes after.

It's a lot to ask of a kid.

And then there's the cost. I've seen figures upwards to $3000. Some insurance companies cover it, others don't. It appears that the serum is currently not covered.

We're being offered sublingual immunotherapy or SLIT. This is the process of placing a food extract under the tongue. This is not to be confused with oral immunotherapy (OIT), which is also being actively studied. OIT means increasing amounts of allergenic foods are fed to an allergic individual. This method had a high level of anaphylactic reactions in the past. According to the information we were given, less than 1% of individuals participating in SLIT have experienced allergic reactions.

The next step for me is a little more research, a call to the insurance company and a call to the allergist's office with our questions. I am cautiously excited and will keep you posted on our decision and progress.

Update on Food Allergy and Flu Vaccine

My egg allergic son successfully received the flu vaccine for the first time. No reactions at all! The better news is that our allergist told us this would be the last time we needed to worry about egg protein in the flu shot. There was only a small amount of protein this year, and next year there will not be any, according to her conversations with various manufacturers of the vaccine.

This is great news for everyone with an egg allergy!

In other news, our allergist shared that the office will begin peanut desensitization sublingually this December. She said that milk and egg desensitization should be ready in the office in a year or so. The process involves placing a liquid or tablet under the tongue every day to get the body accustomed to the protein. The therapy can be administered at home, with occasional trips to the office when protein amount is increased.

I'm feeling so hopeful about all of this! There have been many successes with SLIT (Sublingual Immunotherapy) in research studies, and some offices around the country have begun successful programs as well.

Truly, it has been my dream for there to be no need for my food allergy blog and website. I'm getting closer to being put out of business and I couldn't be happier for my food allergic child and the millions of others with food allergy.

In the meantime, I'll keep writing and we should all stay vigilant to keep those with food allergies safe.