Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) for Food Allergies | MedicareWell

Food allergy means the immune system reaction after eating a specific food. This can happen even after eating a small quantity of that food. In some individuals. the food allergy can result in a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis. It affects approximately 8% of children under five years of age and 4% of the adult population, globally. Food allergy is often confused with food intolerance, but they are two separate terms. They both are troublesome but the latter is less severe, as it doesn’t involve a person’s immune system.

Some of the options for food allergy treatment are:

• The primary option for treatment is avoiding food that causes an allergic reaction. For this, a person must read the labels carefully to check for the ingredients that he/she is allergic to.
• Certain medications help treat food allergies such as antihistamines, epinephrine, etc. Antihistamines relieve mild symptoms of food allergy like runny nose. On the other hand, epinephrine treats severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis.
• Oral immunotherapy is another method of treatment.

Let’s discuss oral immunotherapy like allergy immunotherapy in detail.

Oral immunotherapy for food allergies involves eating or drinking a small quantity of food and drink a person is allergic to, then slowly increasing the amount he/she can have. This process requires a period of some weeks to months. The quantity of food and drink and timeframe changes depending on a person’s diagnosis and what food or drink they are allergic to.Moreover, the person is given food in the form of liquid or powder, the quantity is measured carefully and then added to another drink or food like yogurt, etc.

After eight months, the researchers categorized children consuming 1g of white egg part and not developing any symptoms as desensitized. 

On the other hand, the researcher categorized children consuming less than 1g of egg white without developing any symptoms as partially desensitized and researchers continued giving them an increased dose.

Furthermore, the researchers gave a heated egg white to symptomatic children. Once the children reached their targeted dose, they started consuming the third part of an egg daily. After three months, the researchers performed an oral egg challenge with half part of a half-boiled egg. The researchers then allowed the patient who passed the challenge to intake the heated form of half part of an egg. However, they did not increase the quantity of raw eggs. The researcher allowed them to consume heated egg products daily.

Some of the risks associated with oral immunotherapy are as follows:

• The individuals might face mild to severe allergic reactions such as hives, anaphylaxis, etc. An individual can suffer from anaphylaxis more probably during the phase of dose escalation.
• There is a chance that an individual might face gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Some individuals might not get the desired desensitization level.
• If an individual is consuming certain medication, there is a possibility that it might interact with the patient’s oral immunotherapy.
• There is a possibility that a patient might get sensitive to something new.