Oral Immunotherapy: Helping Babies Become Less Reactive to Allergenic Foods with David Stukus, MD

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE

If your baby has a diagnosed food allergy, you might feel overwhelmed by the idea of food avoidance for the indefinite future. But Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) offers a promising alternative whereby a person can gradually learn to eat or tolerate increasingly larger amounts of the offending food protein working towards desensitization. In this episode pediatric allergist Dr. David Stukus explains what oral immunotherapy is, how it works and whether or not it’s a viable option for young children with food allergy.

SUMMARY OF EPISODE

In this episode we’re talking about:

• What OIT is, how it works and why Dr. Stukus has special nut flours in his office

• Whether babies under age 1 can start eating foods they are allergic to using OIT

• Concerns for use of OIT outside of a controlled, licensed medical facility 

ABOUT THE GUEST

• Dr. Stukus is board certified in allergy/immunology and pediatrics

• He’s the Director of the Food Allergy Treatment Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

• Dr. Stukus works with families of children with food allergies and does OIT in his clinic

OTHER EPISODES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Episode 227 - When Does the Food Allergy Prevention Window Close? with @allergykidsdoc David Stukus, MD

• Episode 125 - Why are False Positive Results in Food Allergy Testing so Common? with David Stukus, MD

LINKS FROM EPISODE

• OIT from Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE): https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/oral-immunotherapy-oit-practice 

• Dr. Dave bio from Nationwide Children’s https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/find-a-doctor/profiles/david-r-stukus 

• OIT from AAAI with Dr. Stukus  https://education.aaaai.org/2021AM_314

• Follow Dr. Stukus on Instagram @allergykidsdoc

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