Allergy Update

George had his annual appointment with his allergist last Thursday. Because he had not been tested in a couple of years, Dr. L recommended a re-test to see if George had "grown out" of any allergies. As of the last testing, he was allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy and some dyes. We knew this was coming so I had prepped George by reminding him that he had been tested at 1) six months and 2) two years old and that he did not cry once during the process. Testing is surprisingly painless, and George has never voiced a complaint. So we started with the testing, and he did great, as is his normal response. When the nurse had finished with testing, he said, "Now you cannot scratch. It is going to itch badly, but no scratching."

Like most of us, George is very suggestible so, although he has never said testing made him itch before, he complained about itching almost immediately. So... I blew on his back non-stop for twenty minutes while he watched Scooby Doo episodes on his iPad. He has us well-trained, and I was very light-headed.

But I could hardly argue with him about the itching, even with the negative itching history, because his poor back looked like this:

The upshot is that George's soy allergy has resolved! That's fantastic because most food additives are soy based. The peanut and tree nut allergies are still severe, and Dr. L explained that only 15% of patients "grow out" of nut allergies. Barring a miracle, George is likely stuck with those. They can draw blood to determine to which "part" of the peanut he is allergic and from there they can make an estimate of how severe the allergy is (and make additional estimates on how dangerous his response would be), but Dr. L indicated that the blood test would be redundant given his reaction to topical application. He would have a severe response.

However, the medical community is working to solve the nut allergy. Currently, the standard has been shifted, and they recommend introducing peanut butter to three month old babies so that they become accustomed - an immunity, if you will, to peanuts - before the allergy forms. For older children who have already acquired the allergy, they are working on a peanut patch enabling the introduction of peanut at very, very low doses to try to very gradually become accustomed to the peanut. Through a series of progressive patch exposure, a patient can very slowly work up to trying to eat a single peanut. They aren't hopeful that they can take a patient from allergic reaction to regular peanut consumption, but minimizing/eliminating severe reaction would be life-saving in the event of accident exposure/ingestion. Exciting times for allergies.

Finally, Dr. L thinks George might be ready to try a food challenge. His response to egg has minimized a little so we may try him eating some eggs in the office to see if he can tolerate ingestion. Of course, Dr. L and his staff will be available for any adverse response, and George is eager to add eggs to his routine.