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A New Treatment Can Relieve Food Allergies, But Few Doctors Offer It - NPR
Scouring ingredient lists. Carrying an EpiPen. Sitting at the special lunch table at school. These anxiety-ridden measures have become routine for families with severe food allergies, who know it takes only one wrong bite to end up in the emergency room.
Nearly 6 million U.S. children and teens — about 8 percent, or two per classroom — have food allergies. In children, allergy to peanuts, which can be life-threatening, has gone up more than 21 percent since 2010.
Some of these kids — as well as adults with severe food allergies — are trying a new treatment. And they're not waiting around for the Food and Drug Administration to approve it. The treatment, known as oral immunotherapy, involves consuming tiny amounts of the trigger food, with gradual increases in dose. Over time, the immune system learns to react less vigorously to the allergen.
Scouring ingredient lists. Carrying an EpiPen. Sitting at the special lunch table at school. These anxiety-ridden measures have become routine for families with severe food allergies, who know it takes only one wrong bite to end up in the emergency room.
Nearly 6 million U.S. children and teens — about 8 percent, or two per classroom — have food allergies. In children, allergy to peanuts, which can be life-threatening, has gone up more than 21 percent since 2010.
Some of these kids — as well as adults with severe food allergies — are trying a new treatment. And they're not waiting around for the Food and Drug Administration to approve it. The treatment, known as oral immunotherapy, involves consuming tiny amounts of the trigger food, with gradual increases in dose. Over time, the immune system learns to react less vigorously to the allergen.