Research Shows Peanut Allergy Origins, Treatment

March 2 (iVillage Total Health) -- If your child has peanut allergies, new research may help you avoid allergic reactions, keep your newborns allergy-free and determine whether your other children are at risk of developing peanut allergies as well.

The research was presented in San Diego last month during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). Nearly 3 million people in the United States have peanut allergies and/or are allergic to tree nuts, and roughly 1.5 million people suffer from a severe allergy to peanuts, according the AAAAI.

Though many types of food allergies are outgrown after childhood, only about one in five people outgrow an allergy to peanuts. A few people may find that their allergic response diminishes over time (or goes into remission), though the majority of people with peanut allergies need to carefully avoid peanut and peanut products throughout life.

Symptoms of a peanut allergy usually include swelling, hives, itchiness, redness, nausea and stomach pain. Treatment of the symptoms associated with peanut allergies usually involves the use of medications, such as antihistamines and bronchodilators.

Siblings of children with peanut allergies may also be at risk of developing peanut allergies, according to one of the studies presented at the AAAAI meeting. Researcher Saiful Huq from the University of Manitoba studied 514 children. All were born in 1995 and their parents were given questionnaires assessing allergic reactions and use of the EpiPen (allergy kits).

They found that children were more likely to be allergic to peanuts if they have siblings who are allergic to them. The researchers recommended that allergists consider testing siblings of their patients before the siblings eat peanuts.

Another study concluded that peanut allergy remission may be possible by monitoring the results of skin prick tests in children. Dr. Katie J. Allen of Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia studied 267 children with hypersensitivity to peanuts. The children, who ranged in age from four months to 23 months, were monitored for up to nine years.

Physicians measured the size of the wheal -- a red swollen area at the site of the skin prick -- to determine the extent of allergic reaction to the peanut substances. They found that a decrease in the size of the wheal could predict whether a child would experience remission of his or her peanut allergy. More than a fifth of the children in the study (21 percent) had remissions by age 5.

Another study examined the use of oral immunotherapy in helping children reduce their risk of serious allergic reactions to peanuts. Immunotherapy is the only treatment designed to help a person with a known allergy overcome their sensitivity to a certain allergen. It is typically given in a series of allergy shots over a period of weeks, months or years, with each shot containing more of the allergen to which the person is sensitive.

This exposure builds the patient's tolerance to the allergen and makes it less likely that the body will react to that allergen in the same way. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center studied eight children with peanut allergies. Over an 18-month period, they were given multiple doses of peanut allergens in a three-phase process. The children were then given a food challenge test to determine their tolerance for peanuts. Seven of the eight children tolerated the maximum dose of 7.8 grams of peanut flour.

The researchers concluded that oral immunotherapy was safe and effective for children with peanut allergies.

A fourth study involved 403 infants and their mothers. Researchers from Montreal sought to determine if early exposure to peanuts in the womb and while breastfeeding increased the risk of infants later developing peanut allergies. The researchers analyzed the mother's breastfeeding habits and diets during pregnancy as well as the babies' diets, environment and family history of atopy between 1998 and 2005. They found that early exposure to peanuts was a significant risk factor for the infants.

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