A glimmer of hope for peanut allergy sufferers

His growling stomach reminded the boy that it was time for an afternoon snack. He climbed up the steps from the basement playroom and headed for the kitchen. As a big 9-year-old, the boy felt more than capable of preparing something for himself, with no need to bother his parents, who were taking advantage of the beautiful weekend weather to work on a few outside chores.

Reaching into the pantry, he spotted an unopened jar of peanut butter. The boy proceeded to crack open the jar and make himself a tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Washing down the snack with a glass of cold milk, the child rushed to put the dishes in the dishwasher and hurry back downstairs to his unfinished game.

The boy's parents came inside half an hour later to find the peanut butter jar perched on the kitchen counter. They each asked the other if they had opened the jar, and when the answer was clearly "no," they rushed to the basement in a panic to check on their peanut-allergic boy. Happily, their son was perfectly fine and a bit mystified by his parents' hysteria.

Though this child took it upon himself to retest his peanut allergy, he was very lucky and appears to be one of the fortunate few to have outgrown his life-threatening food allergy. Do not try this at home! Peanut challenges should always be performed under close medical supervision in the safety of an allergist's office.

According to experts at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, about 8 percent of American children suffer from food allergies, and most childhood food allergies are known to be caused by six common food products: milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts.

Peanuts top the list when it comes to causes of severe or deadly allergic reactions among all age groups in the United States. The AAAAI estimates that in this country, allergic reactions to peanuts account for 15,000 emergency room visits and 100 fatalities in children and adults each year.

A discouragingly small number - about 20 percent - of peanut allergic patients will outgrow their condition, so it's not all that surprising to find that peanuts continue to be prominently featured on the AAAAI's list of the four most common adult food allergens, along with tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

But peanut allergy sufferers, take heart. In a recent study out of Duke University Medical Center, a small select group of peanut allergic children gradually overcame their allergy after receiving desensitization treatment with tiny, daily doses of peanuts. It's an exciting discovery, but the authors note that much more work needs to be done on the topic, and that once again, peanut challenges are not to be attempted at home.

With all this talk of peanut allergy, when can parents safely start their child on peanut butter? Well, it's a good question, and truthfully, it's hard to get a straight answer from the literature. Some physicians take the conservative route and recommend no peanut products until age 3. Others feel it's OK to introduce peanut butter to toddlers as long as there is no close family history of allergy to this product.

If you have concerns, discuss the subject with your child's pediatrician. If you do plan to serve foods from the peanut family, just remember that whole peanuts, thick layers of peanut butter, and peanut butter eaten off a spoon can all pose choking hazards for younger children.

• Dr. Helen Minciotti is a mother of five and a pediatrician with a practice in Schaumburg. She formerly chaired the Department of Pediatrics at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.