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.

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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