treatments
Food Desensitization
Idaho Allergy is pleased to announce a new food desensitization program that can provide a long term solution for people with allergies to peanut, egg, milk, tree nuts, soy, and wheat.
Is Oral Immunotherapy right for you?
Oral Immunotherapy does not involve shots or medications. Patients gradually consume increasing small amounts of the food they are allergic to over a period of two to six months, resulting in tolerance of a food that previously elicited a severe reaction.
Call 208-938-3443 to schedule your Oral Immunotherapy appointment!
In 2003, Stanford conducted its first clinical trial for oral immunotherapy for people with food allergies. By 2011, this evolved to an established facility dedicated to the treatment of food allergies, SAFAR (Stanford Alliance for Food Allergy Research).
Private clinics have shown very favorable results as well. In the West, there are two Portland area allergy clinics that have been successfully utilizing oral immunotherapy to desensitize food allergic patients for over five years. The New England Food Allergy Treatment Center has treated over 500 peanut allergic patients with 90-95 percent of patients being able to be desensitized. The technique we use has treated over 100 patients with a hundred percent success rate.
While no medical procedure is completely risk free, the risk of reactions to Oral Immunotherapy are equal to or less than strict avoidance. Few patients have experienced itchiness. Nausea is unlikely but possible. Use of epinephrine is rare. The treatment is safe and effective, provided that it is properly administered in a controlled setting.
Our goal is to get the patients “bite proof”. For some patients, the goal may be to add the food to their diet and eat it freely. This outcome will be discussed and determined on a case by case basis depending on the individual.