When I consider how careful I have to be myself just because my son's classmate has a peanut allergy, I am overwhelmed by all he and his parents have to consider to keep their son safe and healthy and from having awful reactions to trace amounts of nuts. I feel for them and am very happy to do all I can to help keep them from trips to the emergency room and the ickiness and sick that can accompany an allergic reaction.
Given all the efforts and considerations and pain that peanut allergies can be, wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a cure for the nuts that ail you?
The bad news is, there's not one. The good news is, there's not one yet. Fortunately, food allergy experts have recently and publicly predicted that a cure for peanut allergies is right around the corner. Here are five things the experts are saying that you will want to know as you study food labels, hunt down nut-free recipes and load up on the EpiPens:
1. Immunotherapy that could cure peanut allergies will likely be available in the next five years. Multiple studies that are showing promise are being conducted now, boosting the chances of a viable treatment for peanut allergy sufferers.
2. The hope is that the immunotherapy would convert a person's allergic response to a non-allergic response, possibly using engineered peanut proteins or Chinese herbal medicines.
3. The cure may also come in producing an allergen-free peanut. The risk of this? According to one expert, messing with the genetic make-up of peanuts might mean "you could end up with a soybean."
4. Still not convinced a peanut allergy cure's a priority? Consider the numbers: 1.5 million people are affected by peanut allergies. Peanut allergies cause 80% of all fatal or near-fatal allergic reactions each year, making it the most common reason people have anaphylaxis.
5. Peanut allergies most often appear before a child turns three, and while most kids outgrow their food allergies, only 20% of those allergic to peanuts do. Studies are showing that more children are being diagnosed with peanut allergies (the reason for this is debated and also under investigation) and it now impacts about 1% of kids aged 5 and younger.
Now calculate how many parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, classmates, caregivers and other people factor into adapting to a kid's peanut allergy. As that circle grows and widens, there are more of us to rally for and cheer on a cure (or many cures). And until it (or they) come, there are many of us to share the soy butter sandwiches while we wait.
[photo credit: Getty Images]
