Put Food Allergies Behind You
What if you could eat the foods you love without the fear of a reaction? Can you even imagine a life that didn’t revolve around food allergies? It’s time to consider a new solution: oral immunotherapy (OIT).
Allergy Group NJ is one of the few practices in the country to offer OIT allergy treatment, and we’re changing lives with it every day. Let’s do the same for you or your child!
What is Oral Immunotherapy (OIT)?
OIT is a proactive, monitored, and carefully calculated program where patients with a food allergy are fed the allergenic food in very small incremental amounts over time. The goal is to decrease the sensitivity to a food so that it can be eaten without a reaction.
Oral immunotherapy has been shown to be effective with peanut, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, and sesame. Our practice is currently treating all of these foods. OIT can be done for a single food or for multiple foods at the same time.
How OIT Allergy Treatment Works
At an OIT visit, your child will be fed a very small amount of the food and observed in the office for an hour to be sure it is tolerated. This same dose is then taken daily at home for two weeks. The dose will be gradually increased every two weeks at an “updose” visit in our office. Within 12 months or less most patients are able to tolerate the food that once threatened their health, with no reactions. In the case of peanut OIT, patient are able to tolerate the equivalent of one or two peanuts. The amount will differ for other food allergens such as eggs or milk. Skin and blood tests will then be repeated to determine if the food sensitivity has decreased. If so, the escalation process can continue up to a full serving size.
OIT works especially well in young children. In a recent peanut study, 71% of the children could eat 17 peanuts after treatment. NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said “The landmark results of the trial suggest a window of opportunity in early childhood to induce remission of peanut allergy through oral immunotherapy.” (see the study)
Goals of Oral Immunotherapy
There is great variability among families regarding their goals for therapy. Some seeking OIT may want protection against cross-contamination or the ability to consume foods with the “may contain” label. Others want “bite-proof” protection—or the ability to be safeguarded against severe reactions from accidental ingestions of larger amounts. Some desire the ability to “free-eat” where they can consume the allergen without restrictions. Wherever possible, the OIT program be customized for each family’s goals.
Families all share the need to take back control of their lives. With OIT, patients report a better quality of life…no more questioning every bite of food. No more missing out on birthday parties or new restaurants. Immunotherapy for food allergies opens up a world of new possibilities for you and your family. And if started early enough in some children, there is a real possibility that the food allergy can be actually cured.
Schedule a Consultation for Food Allergy Oral Immunotherapy
Allergy Group NJ has an well-established oral immunotherapy program for children and adults with anaphylactic food allergies. We have treated hundreds of patients safely and successfully. If you want to discover why patients of all ages come to us for life-changing OIT allergy treatments, contact Allergy Group NJ today.