Facing daily life with a food allergy requires constant vigilance and preparedness. For those dealing with this issue, having a deep understanding of the best food allergy treatments available can help you stay safe and healthy.
The Main Treatments for a Food Allergy
The following innovative treatment options are transforming the lives of North Texas adults and children that are experiencing the symptoms of food allergies.
1. Sublingual Immunotherapy (Food Allergy Drops)
Food allergy drops, known as sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), involves placing a small amount of an allergen under a patient’s tongue to build tolerance. The dose gradually increases over time, helping the immune system become less sensitive to the substance. SLIT is a relatively new therapy, and is at the forefront of recent research into convenient, effective solutions for severe allergy symptoms.
Due to its ease of administration, SLIT is proving to be a popular treatment for both children and adults with allergies. Food allergy drops are an ideal allergy treatment for those who just don’t care for needles and injections.
At TexasAllergyMD, we’re finding that our adult allergy patients who often travel for work really value the SLIT treatment option, while parents appreciate the ability to treat children at home (while also avoiding potential allergy shot anxiety).
2. Oral Immunotherapy Treatment
The cause of food allergies is the immune system’s overreaction to proteins in food like eggs, milk, peanuts and tree nuts. Oral immunotherapy treatment (OIT) desensitizes the immune system with gradual exposure to the food allergen. Administering OIT treatment differs slightly from SLIT, as OIT patients eat small amounts of the allergen (increasing over time).
With OIT, consuming the allergen in manageable doses helps prevent reactions to the allergen and continues to build tolerance until the patient reaches the maintenance level.
Patients who choose this treatment option find comfort and confidence in consuming the food allergen and seeing the lack of reaction. Eventually, some will be able to regularly consume the allergen. Chocolate – which contains both milk and nuts in some cases – is a good example of this.
Being able to eat at restaurants, parties and holiday celebrations without fear is a great relief for our TexasAllergyMD patients, including adults, children and parents of children.
3. Food Allergy Avoidance
Prior to the introduction of some new treatments, avoidance and dietary management were the usual ways people lived with a food allergy. And avoidance is still beneficial for many with allergies, bypassing possible severe reactions that might occur after accidental exposure to milk, eggs, shellfish, peanuts (and other foods found as ingredients in many items). Your allergist can discuss effective nutritional habits and cross-contamination to reduce the likelihood of allergic reactions.
However, avoidance is one of the hardest practices to adhere to long-term, and that’s why food allergy desensitization with SLIT or OIT is so popular.
4. Epinephrine Auto-Injectors for Food Allergy Reactions
Epinephrine is an emergency allergy treatment option for severe reactions. Epinephrine auto-injectors deliver an “emergency shot” used to treat a severe reaction (also called anaphylaxis). The auto-injector delivers a measured dose of epinephrine to rapidly counteract the severe allergic response. Patients are encouraged to carry the injector with them in case of exposure that may result in such a response.
Innovative Food Allergy Treatments in North Texas
TexasAllergyMD provides allergy relief at our McKinney/Prosper and Southlake allergy treatment centers. Contact us for guidance on food allergy immunotherapy treatments. Call (469) 375-1525 or request an appointment today.
