Peanut Allergy Desensitization - Moving to eating "May Contain Peanuts"

Posted by Suzanne Dietrich on Monday, August 12, 2019

I never thought the day would come when my son would be able to ingest a full peanut....but it has!! He's had multiple food allergies since he was 1.5years old. Read more if you're curious as to how this process has worked for him.

My son is now 8 years old and for the past 15 months we have been gradually introducing peanut protein under doctor (Allergist) supervision one month at a time. 

Basically we started with 1mg of peanut protein which came in a capsule of oat flour that we mixed in chocolate pudding. He ate this in a hospital setting. We waited for 2 hours and there was no reaction. So daily for the next 30 days we mixed the contents of this 1mg capsule into applesauce, yogurt etc.

Not all the capsules are shown in this picture that we used but for the most part the dose was doubled on a monthly basis. He had to consume each dose on a daily basis. Each increase was done in the Allergist's (MD) office. This is very risky because an increase could cause an anaphylatic reaction. THIS IS ONLY TO BE DONE BY AN ALLERGIST (MD).

$ This is a costly process as we had to buy the capsules... over $200/month but the prices vary depending on where you live, and the MD you are working with. This service is not covered by OHIP, at least not at my son's age which makes it inaccessible for many children. ☹️ It was also not covered by our employee benefit health insurance.

So for now he is eating one peanut per day and in a few weeks we will trial 1/2 tsp of peanut butter. They are doing these trials for milk, eggs and other allergens too al around the globe.

This is helpful for us because he can now officially eat items that say "may contain peanuts." We shall see how this goes but I'm hoping he can some day eat a peanut butter sandwich or Reese's Peanut butter cup. For now we don't have to be quite so worried if someone is eating peanuts nearby or touches him with peanut oil on their fingers! 

If you're curious about this ask your Allergist (MD). 
Our go to resource when we have questions about food allergies and how to navigate is Food Allergy Canada - they have amazing resources and support. 

If you're looking for help navigating food allergies with a Dietitian who is also a food allergy Mom and "gets it" then reach out. Starting daycare, navigating school lunches, sleepovers and helping friends/family understand can all be challenging.

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