Pregnancy & Delayed Allergies

1/20/16:  Peanuts During Pregnancy Have No Impact

The mother eating peanuts during pregnancy or while breastfeeding appears to have no impact on children developing (or not developing) food allergies according to a study that came out the prior month. [1]

1/26/16:  Delayed Allergies Are Getting More Notice

Immediate and delayed allergies (IgE and IgG) have produced some debate over the years, but now the IgG (delayed) are gaining more importance especially for milk allergy manifesting in eczema and mucus membrane related issues (sinuses).  [2]

[1]  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675539/

[2]  https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2016/01/26/prevalence-risk-factors-allergic-reactions-food/

SLIT

SLIT is an acronymn that stands for Sublingual Immunotherapy. Taking substances under the tongue or sublingually, "[D]iffuses through the mucous membranes beneath your tongue. And because of the plethora of capillaries there, the medicine has a fairly direct route into your bloodstream," according to Thomas P. Connelly, DDS. 

Normally the therapy involves giving the food allergic person a small droplet or part of the allergen under the tongue.  For example, the droplet may be 1/100th of a drop of milk or 1/100th of a peanut.  Some prepared droplets can be ordered off the Internet that contain mixtures of various types of allergens, such as egg and dairy in a variety of forms including milk, yogurt and cheese for example. 

As the patient takes regular doses of the prepared drops, gradually--over a period of months--the amount given can be increased.  Eventually the concentration level of the allergen can be increased, but with dropping back down to a small amount at first, then working up to more if no evidence of any symptoms appear.  Gradually, the hope is that the person's body become slowly desensitized to the allergen through a regular, measured dosing--not an accidental nor occasional high amount of the allergen.   

If you are patient and work under medical advice, it might be just the ticket.

Pollen & Oral Allergies

Did you know the chemical make up of some foods is so similar to specific pollens from the environment that seasonal allergies can trigger or worsen food allergies?  According to the Mayo Clinic, these foods may be triggered by their pollen-related cousins:

• Apples, carrots, celery, hazelnuts, peaches and pears allergies can be enhanced by birch tree pollen;
• Bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon allergies can be enhanced by ragweed pollen; and
• Orange, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, peanut, tomatoes and white potato allergies can be enhanced by grass pollen.

So if you are experiencing seasonal allergies due to pollen, then perhaps consider avoiding these associated foods if you or your child has any unusual symptoms.