Posted on 02/20/2010 6:10:50 PM PST by cajuncow
San Diego, California (CNN) -- Peanuts are like poison for people who have severe food allergies to them. For some, ingesting even a tiny piece of peanut can trigger a potentially fatal reaction.
But new research is showing that immunotherapy, a method of giving a small dose of peanut to a patient in a controlled setting and then increasing the amount over a few months, may help temper these reactions. It's the same principle as allergy shots, only done with food.
The research, conducted at Cambridge University Hospitals in the United Kingdom, was presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Perhaps a Freeper physician can explain to me how there were NO kids with a “peanut allergy” when I went to public school, but now, almost 1 kid in 2 has a fatal peanut allergy. My bullshit detector went off on this story, same as the “1 in every 20 kids is autistic and the rest are ADHD” story.
This is one of those therapies where you say to the doctor, “You first”.
bttt
This sounds like what Dr. Rapp has been doing for decades using incredibly miniscule amounts of the allergen.
Your experience is anecdotal and no indication of the real numbers of people with food allergies. What is different today is the acknowledgment of and treatment of allergies. Your figure of “1 in 2” is a complete fabrication and makes you look silly for making a big deal out of this. Food allergies are a common problem and I don’t see anyone making fun of people who have serious shellfish allergies, why is a peanut allergy any less serious? Peanuts and soybeans are sometimes difficult to avoid because some form of soybean is in nearly everything since the requirements of nutrition labeling made companies want food to look better, so they started adding soy protein in everything. Do you know that almost all brands of canned tuna have soy in them? I say this because peanuts and soybeans are the same plant family (legumes) and I am allergic to them both.
On the other hand this treatment they are discussing is quite effective for some allergies.
FWIW, I heard a story about a friend’s grandmother who had grown up and lived all her life on a farm. In the spring they would find a piece of poison ivy and pull off a piece about the size of a pinhead. They would rub it on the skin or put it in their mouth.
Supposedly it helped keep them from having poison ivy reaction during the summer.
I can’t imagine doing something like that. Maybe it works but it seems pretty risky for anyone who is allergic to it.
There is a report out about peanut oil being used as a carrier in certain vacines. http://www.vaccinetruth.org/peanut_oil.htm
I don’t get it either.
I’ve got a grandson with a peanut allergy - and yeah - he’ll die if he eats peanut butter.
Apparently people who have never personally encountered the problem find it impossible to grasp.
Also, not telling hypochondriacs what they’re eating has been found to be miraculously effective.
I'm not a physician nor do I play one on TV. However, look at Epigenetics as an explanation for the rise in peanut allergies and other ailments.
As a parent of a child with p-nut allergy, I find your take on the seriousness of this subject to be offensive. Most 3 year olds that I’ve met are not hypochondriacs. While I would not volunteer my child to participate in this study, I am hopeful some day he will be able to enjoy his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
This is interesting.
At around age 60 or so, I suddenly could no longer wear anything washed in laundry products that had perfume or optical whiteners or dyes. I would break out in a very uncomfortable rash everywhere from the clothing washed in these products.
I have long had some seasonal pollen and mold allergies and I had some tiny areas of psoriasis that would become worse under stress and then disappear for years. The respiratory problems are controlled by antihistamines and the skin problems with a single small appplication of cortisone cream. Both resolved the laundry product reaction, as well.So, perhaps I was already in a sensitive state.
All it took was switching to one of the laundry products with no additives and I am fine.
Peanut and soy were not as prevalent in the past. I do see how constant exposure can sensitize people. Perhaps those with severe allergies used to simply die young. I do know non-allergic folks who cannot abide the smell of peanuts or peanut butter and will become nauseated if exposed to them. Maybe this is a milder reaction and there is a spectrum of sensitivity. I also know folks who find dark greens and celery to be bitter-tasting and they avoid them. One such person gets canker sores if they eat these vegetables.
Allergies can come and go, or worsen or sensitivity can lessen. My dust and other allergies were so bad as a child I had to wear a dust mask to vacuum or dust. Now it takes a lot more to start a sneezing/asthma-type attack.
And to those who say it’s all in your mind, I guess they have never gone to an allergist and be tested as I was. As a child it took me identifying peas in a puree soup in a restaurant in France for my mother to finally take me seriously and take me to the doctor. The chef was astounded I could tell as they’d apparently thrown in only a handful into a huge pot.
I had to take a number of allergy medications as a child that now some are OTC that were once prescription (Benadryl, Teldrin).
It’s a real eye-opener when you learn what things are made of. I learned they used soybeans in some plastics and other things in some interior car parts.
Dude, I agree. Just about everyone I knew as a kid (60s) brought and ate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and I never heard of anyone having a problem.
Now you could cause a panic complete with trampling of innocent bystanders by dropping a single peanut on the school cafeteria floor!
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