Treatment

While the standard approach to care for peanut allergy is to avoid exposure, researchers continue to study different therapies, including oral immunotherapy.

Also known as desensitization, oral immunotherapy involves giving children with peanut allergies, or those at risk of peanut allergies, increasing doses of food containing peanuts over time. Oral immunotherapy is not a cure for peanut allergy. Rather, this type of therapy is intended to reduce the risk of severe reactions, including anaphylaxis, that could occur with exposure to peanuts.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first oral immunotherapy drug, Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) Allergen Powder-dnfp (Palforzia), to treat children ages 4 to 17 years old with a confirmed peanut allergy. This medication isn't recommended for people with uncontrolled asthma or certain conditions, including eosinophilic esophagitis.

In addition, as with any food allergy, treatment involves taking steps to avoid the foods that cause your reaction, knowing how to spot a reaction when it's happening and being prepared to respond quickly, including keeping epinephrine on hand.

Being prepared for a reaction

The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid peanuts and peanut products altogether. But peanuts are common, and despite your best efforts, you're likely to come into contact with peanuts at some point.

For a severe allergic reaction, you may need an emergency injection of epinephrine and to visit the emergency room. Many people with allergies carry an epinephrine autoinjector (EpiPen, Auvi-Q, others). This device is a syringe and concealed needle that injects a single dose of medication when pressed against your thigh.

Know how to use your autoinjector

If your doctor has prescribed an epinephrine autoinjector:

• Carry it with you at all times. It may be a good idea to keep an extra autoinjector in your car and in your desk at work.
• Always replace it before its expiration date. Out-of-date epinephrine may not work properly.
• Ask your doctor to prescribe a backup autoinjector. If you misplace one, you'll have a spare.
• Know how to operate it. Ask your doctor to show you. Also, make sure the people closest to you know how to use it — if someone with you can give you a shot, he or she could save your life.
• Know when to use it. Talk to your doctor about how to recognize when you need a shot. However, if you're not sure whether you need a shot, it's usually better to go ahead and use the emergency epinephrine.