Here at Schreiber Allergy, we like to think we are at the forefront of treating allergic and immunologic disorders. With so much new information and research coming out on the prevention, management and treatment of food allergy in particular, it is sometimes difficult to keep up! But we read (a lot!), keep in communication with mentors and colleagues across the country, attend conferences and also learn by experience with our many patients with such a variety of food allergies.
Up until about 3 years ago at Schreiber Allergy, our only recommendation for food allergic patients was to simply avoid the offending food or foods and be diligent about carrying auto-injectable epinephrine. Although oral and sublingual food immunotherapy were management strategies adopted by some allergists in Europe and other countries, they didn’t quite have the same popularity here in the US. By researching oral immunotherapy (OIT) protocols in other countries and from early studies published on the benefits and risks of OIT, slowly some US allergists started to use this in their offices.
Allergists performing OIT for patients require a staff dedicated to reviewing the rules and protocols of OIT in detail with the patients, the mixing and dosing of the foods, preparing their office for an emergency, in addition to scheduling and rearranging rooms so patients can stay their allotted time every 2 weeks during up-dosing appointments. They also need to keep up-to-date with the ever-increasing amount of literature on food allergy, making sure they are offering the best care for their food allergic patients in the safest way possible. Here at Schreiber Allergy, we are truly lucky to have such fantastic nurses, medical assistants and front desk staff to implement each of these elements for our OIT program to be successful.
Dr. Schreiber and her PA Jen have read, studied, attended conferences and improved their OIT protocols over the course of about 3 years now, with over 100 children and adults going through this program. And more recently, Dr. Sokol joined the practice with a background in food allergy research, also contributing to the daily implementation of our program.
Oral immunotherapy certainly has its risks and its benefits, and you can read more about that on our site. However, right now, the research is not out regarding the length of oral immunotherapy protocols, meaning you must be willing to eat the food every single day, forever! Of course, ongoing research is studying this exact question and we hope to have more information in the coming years.
In addition to OIT, there are several other management options that might be available in the future. These include epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) also known as patch IT, injectable biologic medications either used in combination with OIT/EPIT or alone, and food allergy vaccinations. We are hopeful that future of food allergy treatment is bright, and that Schreiber Allergy will be offering the newest treatments as they become available in the safest way possible.