FALMOUTH, Maine — Experts say about a little more than 1.2 million children have peanut allergies.
The condition causes anxiety for parents who often worry about a potential accidental exposure at school and birthday parties, which could lead to a severe allergic reaction.
A family in Falmouth now has peace of mind thanks to a breakthrough treatment that is helping manage peanut allergies safely. The relatively new treatment is call Oral Immunotherapy or OIT. It involves a process of desensitizing patients by giving them increasing doses of the very food they are allergic too.
11-year-old Elle Farraher eats peanut M&M's several times a day -- not a big deal, right? But she is actually severely allergic to peanuts.
"I still drink water to get the taste out of my mouth but overall I am fine," Elle said.
That's because Elle is considered peanut tolerant. She doesn't worry about accidental exposure at birthday parties or if peanuts end up in her trick or treat bag.
"Two years ago at Halloween, I ate like this popcorn, it had these nuts inside of it, I got all nervous but then I realize I was fine," Elle said.
When Elle was in first grade, her parents discovered OIT. Every two weeks, it involved traveling to the New England Food Allergy Treatment Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Under medical supervision, Elle started off eating a few flecks of peanut protein mixed into pudding.
"We would wait a half an hour and see how she was doing whether she have any abdominal pain and any sort of reaction. An at each point they would double the dose," Elle's dad, Steven Farraher, said.
Elle was sent home with a container of the dose, which she had to take daily. Every two weeks, she returned to the center for larger doses of the powder. All along, there were no signs of problems.
Nearly a year later, Elle graduated to tolerating 10 peanut M&M's. Her maintenance dose is three to four M&M's every day -- something she must do for the rest of her life.
While OIT is not a cure with Elle desensitized -- she says her allergy is no longer a threat.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a peanut powder treatment, called Palforzia. It's an oral therapy that must be taken every day. This is one of several potential new treatments for peanut and other food allergies. The FDA will soon be evaluating a peanut "patch" to help prevent reactions from accidental ingestion.
Information on Palforzia from the FDA can be found HERE.
Click HERE for information on Oral Immunotherapy from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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