Peanut Allergy in Babies, Young Children and Teens

While caring for your baby, imagine you see her face turn bright red and a skin rash flare-up, and hear her scream, but not know why? This was the experience of Robyn Lao, who discovered her daughter Addie had a severe peanut allergy, among others, when she was just a little baby.

Over the years, the family had to practice strict avoidance, carry an EpiPen, and restrict social activities to avoid accidental exposure. The daily burden of living with a peanut allergy significantly impacted the entire family’s life, and with kindergarten inching closer, their anxiety that Addie would find herself accidentally exposed to peanuts only grew.

In January 2020, Addie’s allergist recommended the first-ever FDA-approved oral immunotherapy (OIT) for peanut allergy. OIT is a medical therapy that aims to desensitize the individual via the gradual introduction of increasing amounts of the allergenic protein of the problem food to reduce the risk of severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis.

Today, Addie can tolerate the equivalent of up to one peanut kernel and is getting ready for kindergarten – with peace of mind that accidental exposure to peanuts won’t result in potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.

Fore more information: www.helpforpeanutallergies.com