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Real Families, Real Stories, Real Success
My daughter was diagnosed just before she turned 2 years old with a severe life threatening peanut allergy. To learn that your child could die at any moment from even trace amounts of peanut, changes your word completely. I began to immediately research what a peanut allergy meant for my child and how to keep her safe. She grew up knowing she could NOT eat many foods that we all ate, and she became fearful of food, peanuts, and reactions. She was upset at parties, she wanted to be like everyone else. She went to special peanut free preschool and private kindergarten to keep her safe.
We were initially told there was no treatment and to just strictly avoid peanuts and food that could contain traces of peanuts. It was very scary for me as her mother to imagine her as an older child, or teenager. When she is little I can control a lot of where she goes, what she eats, etc. But as she gets older I have to let her take over and I know a lot of accidental deaths form allergies happen in the teen and young adult years. That scared me to death.
I learned of OIT from a friend, and I began researching. I still wasn’t sure if it was the right path for my child. I was so full of fear and anxie… Read more
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I was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy as a small child. Growing up I had numerous accidental exposures that led to varied reactions including swollen lips, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. Many people with young children with food allergies often ask if I have ever had to use my EpiPen. I always tell them no, but I probably should have. I have only had one reaction as an adult due to strict avoidance but I did not like the limitations my food allergy had on my life.
If you would’ve told me nine months ago that my severely peanut allergic kindergartner who had reactions to peanut dust on someone else’s hands is now eating 8 peanuts a day I would have thought you were insane! I mean I would’ve been excited but incredibly skeptical. But here we are and exactly 5 months from his day one we graduated peanut OIT with 
I have to say now that the stress and worry for starting was so much worse than it was in real life. He had a very easy time in OIT despite having very chaotic schedules, activities, full-time working parents AND blood tests well over 100. Yet here we are. Maintenance has been relatively easy adaptation to our life and any schedule changes we have to make a well worth it to ha… 
Fathers Day 2010: The day started pretty simply, I had made my husband two pb&j sandwiches for lunch. As he was eating and watching sports, I was playing “tea party” in the other room with our 18 month old daughter, Emersyn “Em”. As Em and I played she would bring “tea” out to her Dad to share. At one point Em reached for his sandwich and he pulled off a tiny piece of the crust and gave it to her. As soon as she ate it she started to cry hysterically. I went to her and she was pulling at her tongue and it looked as if she had been scratched from her cheeks to her lips. At that point we headed to the ER and put a call into her pcp. The on call Dr responded and asked if she was having a difficult time breathing. “No” was my answer. She had calmed and the streaks had lightened. We were advised not go to the ER, but to give her Benadryl, and watch her. Thankfully she did not have further symptoms that day.
I didn’t think it would be too hard to manage my younger son’s multiple food allergies. He would be safe if he only ate food that I provided and made for him, and I would be able to protect him from exposure or cross contamination if we avoided places or situations that may have his food allergens. However, as he grew older and more independent, I realized that it was harder than I thought. As kindergarten drew closer, I became more and more anxious – how could I protect him when he was at school, with kids eating peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, and anything else that contained nuts? How could I trust others to look after him, and know the appropriate action to take if he had an anaphylactic reaction? We also found out my older son had developed a peanut allergy at that time. Our stress levels were through the roof!
To anyone who is considering OIT or who is on the fence….
I’ve burned through 7 allergists. Lucky 7 was 
My son Nicolas is 14, diagnosed with peanut allergy at 20 months (post reaction) and we were living in San Diego. Our world changed and my learning curve was huge, I was just told to avoid peanuts. We didn’t have social media back then and found that people didn’t understand. We were strict avoidance but he still had reactions. His last one was major (to a “safe” food) and his Epipen fell apart in my hand. When medics arrived the Benadryl had kicked in and he had thrown up, they took us to the hospital for prednisone and observation. He still talks about how scary it was to not be able to breathe and I still (8 years later) can’t write this without tears, I was terrified beyond words.
Tuck began peanut OIT with 
We have laughed together, cried together, been scared together, but key word is TOGETHER. It was s… 
Kaitlyn has a life-threatening peanut allergy that truly dictates every aspect of her daily life. Her allergy is so severe, that she will go into anaphylactic shock if she ingests even the smallest particle of a peanut. This includes ingesting any product that has been produced at a facility that also produces peanut products, being touched by someone who has recently eaten a peanut, and even airborne particles such as those recirculated in a commercial airplane. Daily life is hard, and arguably harder on a such a young girl of 11.FROM OUR OIT NEWS BLOG
Wall Street Journal Covers OIT in another story of success
The Wall Street Journal featured OIT/Oral Immunotherapy in a featured health column by By Sumathi Reddy. Three of our allergists, Dr. Factor of New England Food Allergy Treatment Center, Dr Wasserman of Dallas Allergy, and Dr. Mark Weinstein of NJ were interviewed with several parents and children. We even made it into the story: "A growing … [Read More Here]
US News & World Report OIT Story: New Peanut Therapy Alters DNA
New Peanut Therapy Alters DNA By Shannon Firth A new experimental therapy creates changes in the DNA expression of peanut allergy sufferers. Using blood tests and DNA sequencing technology, researchers at Stanford University were able to successfully predict which subjects with peanut allergies would react to a peanut test. At the end of 24 … [Read More Here]
Umer: Listing data to copy and paste in each doctor’s listing
Mercy Medical Group: Dr. Rubina Inamdar and Dr. Binita Mandal Windom Allergy: Dr. Hugh Windom and Dr. Jean Ly Kansas City Allergy and Asthma: Dr. Derrick Ward, Dr. James Sterner and Dr. Mark Neustrom Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center: Dr. Manoj Warrier and Dr. Josie Vitale Bernstein Allergy: Dr. Jonathan Bernstein and Dr. Justin … [Read More Here]
National Institute of Health: “Oral Immunotherapy Is Safe, Effective Treatment for Peanut-Allergic Preschoolers”
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 Oral Immunotherapy Is Safe, Effective Treatment for Peanut-Allergic Preschoolers, Study Suggests WHAT: Nearly 80 percent of peanut-allergic preschool children successfully incorporated peanut-containing foods into their diets after receiving peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT), a clinical trial has … [Read More Here]
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