NIAID New Guidelines for Food Allergy Diagnosis and Management

Yesterday the NIAID published new Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergies. 
The NIAID is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.


NIAID worked with 34 professional organizations, federal agencies, and patient advocacy groups to develop concise clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals on the diagnosis and management of food allergy and the treatment of acute food allergy reactions. Below is a link to this important information.


The guidelines provide 43 concise clinical recommendations for healthcare professionals on how to diagnose and manage food allergy and how to treat acute food allergy reactions. They also identify gaps in the current scientific knowledge to be addressed through future research. The guidelines contain an introduction and five sections that address the following major topics:

• Definitions, prevalence, and epidemiology of food allergy (Section 2)
• Natural history of food allergy and associated disorders (Section 3)
• Diagnosis of food allergy (Section 4)
• Management of non-acute food allergic reactions and prevention of food allergy (Section 5)
• Diagnosis and management of food-induced anaphylaxis and other acute allergic reactions to foods (Section 6)

Guidelines. Click the link below.
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical/Pages/default.aspx

There is a lot of information to explore on the NIAID site. Be sure to check out the page "FAQ About the Guidelines" 

Food Allergy Treatment and Recipes-The early years

When my boys were little they were "allergic but mainly intolerant" to 50 foods each. Not to mention scads of trees, grass, molds etc. 
Don't get me started on the hours, days and weeks of time it took to test over 100 foods.  
They were tested in the old fashioned way via injection or intradermal testing. During this test, a small amount of the allergen solution was injected into the skin. We sat in the office for hours receiving shots of decreasing strength until there was no reaction. (First with my oldest son and later with the younger)
The treatment?  Shots of allergy extracts customized with the exact level of allergen needed for each food. We did this for years!  Poor kids.  (There is much more to the story but that's it for now.)
Soooo both boys tested positive for wheat, corn, rice, soy, milk,eggs, brewers yeast (the list goes on). Each child had a different list of foods with some commonalities and different levels of intolerance to those "foods".  
I embarked down the journey of creating my own "versions" of recipes without those allergens. At the time there were few resources for alternative ingredients or non-allergic recipes. Now thanks to the internet such recipes exist. 
Many of you have created your own recipes in order to survive the food allergy dilemma. 
Some were probably disasters and some surprises. Share your funny stories, your successes and your failures.  
Most of all let's all share the best of the best of our recipes as there is a great need for non-allergic recipes that work and taste great. 

Click on the "Recipes Without" link at the right hand side of the blog to view Recipes.

Over time I will post some of my best non-allergic recipes. 

I invite you to email your recipes to 

salt.light.truth@gmail.com   I will post them for you!

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

2 1/4 c Quick Cooking Rolled Oats

1  c       Butter or Margarine melted  

1 1/2 c  Dark Brown Sugar, firmly packed

1 Egg, slightly beaten

1 T   Amber Agave Nectar or Molasses  

1 t Vanilla

3 T Rye Flour or All Purpose Flour

1/2 t Salt

Combine Quick Oats with melted Butter and brown sugar.  Stir well to combine

Let stand overnight at room temperature (or longer) so the oats will absorb the butter.

The next day add remaining ingredients. Mix well. (I used a hand mixer ).

Drop 1 level teaspoon of batter onto parchment lined or well greased baking sheet .  

9 cookies per sheet (they will spread).

Bake 1 sheet at a time in a preheated 375 degree oven for 7 minutes or until golden brown. 

When cooled should be very crispy. 

Cool 30 sec to 1 minute on pan.  Remove to rack.  Turning parchment over onto rack is easy way to remove the sticky cookies or use thin metal spatula.


(Wheat Free, Milk Free, Nut Free)

Peanuts to CURE Peanut Allergy

CBS News reports on a research and clinical trial conducted at Duke University Medical Center using peanuts to "cure" peanut allergies according to the CBS interview.
subtitled- "Patients with Sometimes-Deadly Allergy Consume Tiny Amounts of Peanuts Daily to Build Up Immunity in Pioneering Studies."

Our son Alexander just began Oral Immunotherapy TREATMENT for his life-threatening peanut allergy.  This is a full treatment program not a study or clinical trial.

Its a 3 year long Treatment program offered by Dallas Allergy and Immunology.
The initial desensitization phase can take 6 to 12 months depending on the patient
followed by a maintenance phase of 2 years.

I am documenting our entire treatment process on this blog.


The Duke study shown in this video used Oral Immunotherapy also.


After participating in the Duke study the 11 year old boy in the video is no longer deathly allergic to peanuts.
He eats a handful Peanut M&Ms as his daily "medicine"


Per this CBS interview the doctor stated "We don't know that long-term it really will make it (the peanut allergy) go away: and that is where the studies are concentrating now."


Watch the CBS NEWS VIDEO by clicking here 

Peanut Allergy Treatment DAY 1

A revolutionary new treatment is available for people allergic to Peanuts, Milk, Eggs and Wheat. The treatment is called Oral Immunotherapy (OIT).   

We begin today - our Food Allergy Desensitizing Day 1 is here. There are 3 patients ready to begin the treatment program. Each person has a different Food allergy- Egg, Milk, and Peanut. My son is the peanut patient.

We arrived at 8am to Dr. Wasserman's of Dallas Allergy Immunology with pillows, blankets, snacks, electronics and "to do's" in hand. The stage is set for an entire day at the doctors.

Entrez Vous

After completing our computerized health status questionnaire we proceed for med check (height,weight, blood pressure) & then to the PFT test which Alexander FAILED in September (click here to see my "Roadblocks" post). 
Xander passed this time with 79% lung function. Not great but vastly improved. Next the physicians assistant questions Xander about his current health as he was undergoing treatment for a cough & drainage in addition to Advair for his asthma and poor lung function.
Hurray- we are deemed healthy enough and allowed to proceed.


We settle into a large room with reclining loungers along with an 18 year old teenage boy with an Egg allergy and a 10 year old boy with a Milk allergy.
Picture a small table set up in the room and a nurse armed with a timer to dispense a dose of the allergen every 15 minutes (treatment details will be provided in posts to come). Alexander is given a name tag to wear that says "PEANUT". The other 2 patients don "EGG" and "MILK" name tags. 

As a precaution each patient wears a name tag displaying his particular allergen

The dosing procedure is fully explained and we begin.


8:54 a.m. I am handed a syringe with Dose 1.  A tiny bit of peanut flour mixed with grape juice.  I hand it to Alexander and he squirts the peanut "cocktail" into his mouth.

A syringe is used for the "allergen cocktail" of peanut flour and grape juice

After a few doses Alexander "settles in for the long haul" teenager style.

The environment is comfortable especially with the teenage accouterments 

This scenario is repeated every 15 minutes like clockwork. Alexander ingests 26 doses of peanut flour mixed in grape juice with each dose increasing in strength. Very precise procedures.
The nurses regularly check to ensure each patient feels normal, no cough, itching, hives or worse.  
For more information on this treatment click here for my post "Oral Immunotherapy Frequently Asked Questions".


5pm- He made it! Ingesting all the doses with no adverse reactions. 
WHEW! Praise God.

Share your food allergies stories. Email your stories to salt.light.truth@gmail.com and I will post them on the blog. 

There is a world out there waiting for information, help or encouragement