Food allergies plague thousands of adults and children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 4 to 6 percent of children in the United States have food allergies. While some kids outgrow these allergies, others will have to avoid certain foods for life or suffer severe health risks.
The burden of food allergies
“It’s a huge strain on a family’s quality of life because there’s always this worry, no matter where you are or what you’re doing: I hope my child is safe,” Dr. Ruchi Gupta, assistant professor of pediatrics and health services researcher at Northwestern University and Children’s Memorial Hospital tells CNN.
Right now, there is no treatment, but a recent study is providing some hope.
The egg study
A recent team of researchers examined 55 kids with an egg allergy. Forty of the kids were treated through immunotherapy. The concept involves giving children small quantities of the food they are allergic to and increasing that amount over time. The idea is that children build up a tolerance to the food. In this recent study, 75 percent of the kids who received immunotherapy were considered “desensitized” to eggs.
While the study shows promise, experts say more testing needs to be done before this treatment is widely used. Even if continuing studies are successful, this type of therapy probably wouldn’t make it into mainstream medicine for at least another five years, researchers say.
Still, doctors say this study is a good first step to help people, especially children, battling food allergies. It’s the largest blind, multisite trial of this kind.
“It really does give us great hope that there can be a treatment developed in the future,” said Dr. Wesley Burks, chairman of the department of pediatrics at UNC School of Medicine and chief physician at North Carolina Children’s Hospital.
