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Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

bbc.com

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Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#141

Post by n_plus_1_acc »

ugh123 wrote: post #125
eskibars wrote: post #9

Our son is very allergic to peanuts and less so to cashew, and sesame. We went through oral immunotherapy and it's been absolutely life changing. He used to need an epi pen in case of chance encounter, but now he eats 2 whole peanut m&ms every day to keep his dosage up. It's been difficult finding an allergist in Germany that's willing to accept this and move forward Obviously everyone's mileage will vary, but I'm ha…

> It's been difficult finding an allergist in Germany that's willing to accept this and move forward What are they saying? They don't believe in oral immunotherapy?

Even if they believe it, there's a list of treatments and procedures for each diagnosis that insurances are required to cover and oral immunatherapy might not be on said list.

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#142

Post by jorvi »

ad700x wrote: post #91
Obscurity4340 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this effective and available for milder chronic hayfever and runny,partially blocked nose, generally speaking?

I visited my local allergist for this (in the USA). Basically the treatments available to me were either shots or eyedrops. The shots required visiting the office almost daily, then weekly, then less frequently. The eyedrops can be self administered. I was told both treatment options are not permanent and need to be basically done in perpetuity. The cost was a couple thousand dollars per year (basically no insurance…

> I was told both treatment options are not permanent and need to be basically done in perpetuity

You were told wrong. Shots have a ramp-up period and then a five year maintenance period where you get one shot a month. Afterwards, you've effectively been cured.

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#143

Post by Atotalnoob »

azinman2 wrote: post #139
ahstilde wrote: post #54

Immunotherapy works. I run a company (YC w21) that wants to eliminate allergies forever. It's ancient medicine to manage symptoms with antihistamines when we can remove the root cause completely. Right now, we fix cat, dog, pet, pollen, and dust allergies. In a few years, we'll be doing nuts. Our launch HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26227807 company: https://www.wyndly.com/ book a visit with a doc: https:/…

I have some allergies that the allergy doc’s test doesn’t show; he said they are there but not by histamine reaction. Do you support these? Also, what about things like gluten and dairy sensitivity?

Most people with a gluten allergy have celiacs which is not an allergy at all, but rather an autoimmune disorder.

It’s similar enough to an allergy, though

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#144

Post by jorvi »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #41
Workaccount2 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It most likely has to do with how bored our immune systems are. We evolved to be constantly dirty, and we live in an extremely clean society. When your immune system has a lot to fight, it doesn't worry to much about dumb shit like pollen and peanuts.

> We evolved to be constantly dirty And infested with worms. Most allergies are caused by the antibody we evolved to fight worms (and venom) [1]. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5010491/

Reminds me of people having intestinal auto-immune diseases treated with helminth therapy.

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#145

Post by fgkramer »

bb123 wrote: post #121
rmccue wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long did your therapy take to get to this point?

About a year overall but I started to have meaningful protection after about 6 months. There is no one in the UK currently offering it for adults so I had to travel to a specialist clinic Atlanta a few times.

You travelled the Atlantic multiple times over the year? That must be costly!

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#146

Post by halfcat »

eskibars wrote: post #9

Our son is very allergic to peanuts and less so to cashew, and sesame. We went through oral immunotherapy and it's been absolutely life changing. He used to need an epi pen in case of chance encounter, but now he eats 2 whole peanut m&ms every day to keep his dosage up. It's been difficult finding an allergist in Germany that's willing to accept this and move forward Obviously everyone's mileage will vary, but I'm ha…

If you are willing to say, what was your son’s peanut allergy level?

One of our sons is 6/6 on peanuts and they were very hesitant to try oral immunotherapy, more or less saying they weren’t willing to given the risk of anaphylaxis.

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#147

Post by justinclift »

dminor wrote: post #132
eskibars wrote: post #9

Our son is very allergic to peanuts and less so to cashew, and sesame. We went through oral immunotherapy and it's been absolutely life changing. He used to need an epi pen in case of chance encounter, but now he eats 2 whole peanut m&ms every day to keep his dosage up. It's been difficult finding an allergist in Germany that's willing to accept this and move forward Obviously everyone's mileage will vary, but I'm ha…

I asked our allergist about oral immunotherapy for my daughter and he cited a study that found that avoidance was more effective in preventing severe reactions.

Seems like a problem when avoidance goes even a bit wrong though. :(

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#148

Post by gobins »

sva_ wrote: post #133
gobins wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow that is really good to hear. I am on immunotherapy for a different type of allergy and can't stop talking about its effectiveness. It has been life changing.

I did a whole immunization against dust mites and I feel like it didn't work at all. q.q I've been wondering if there's something else causing me to be allergic to them, like something I eat or so, idk. But I'll have to get tested again

I do a skin prick test every year and make sure I update allergens. It takes about 6 months to see the results and whole treatment could take upto 3-5 years. I took a break from the treatment during covid and the allergies came back. So it is important to get monthly shots.

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#149

Post by jes5199 »

rconti wrote: post #46
goldieboi wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what our allergist said. Living in Australia wife and I are both asian both eat peanuts. No peanut allergies in either families. Wife ate peanuts while pregnant but son has peanut allergy.

What's the implication here? That exposure to peanuts in utero might not help avoid peanut allergies after birth? (I'm not sure what the literature on that says) Or that there's something unusual about simply being in Australia as an infant that causes peanut sensitivity? Or that infants in Australia have less exposure to nuts?

it could be some other environmental trigger. for example, there was a study a few years back that suggested that some kinds of baby wipes could make it more likely that the child develops a food allergy: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a19719094/b...

Re: Australia starts peanut allergy treatment for babies

#150

Post by [deleted] »

bb123 wrote: post #60

It is not well known but this also works for adults too. I’m 28 and recently completed oral immunotherapy therapy for my extremely severe peanut allergy. I used to go anaphylactic from single milligram exposure and now I’m eating multiple peanuts a day. As an adult you have to go slower and be more careful but absolutely can be done and is life changing.

[deleted]
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