Can food allergy be cured?

Abstract

Food allergy(FA) is emerging as a global social issue. It is a potentially life threatening condition with a negative impact on quality of life of patients and their families. However, the current standard approach is relegated to the strict avoidance of triggering food(s) and the use of rescue medication in the case an allergic reaction occurs.
Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) represent an  effective, active  treatment for FA, able  to increase the amount  of food  that the patient  can intake without reaction during treatment (i.e desensitization) and reduces the risk  of potential of severe allergic reaction in the event of accidental ingestion. The key messages of the Guidelines of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) suggest that OIT should be considered for children form around 4-5 years of age with symptoms suggestive of persistent IgE mediated food allergy. Caused by cow’s milk, hen’s egg or peanut.
Currently, for OIT the use of fresh food or native food is advisable. OIT represents a typical hospital treatment administered by competent personnel i.e doctors and nurses. At present time there are just fresh food or native food available for OIT.  During many decades, the supportive management of food allergy consisted of avoidance of offending food and early recognition and treatment of anaphylaxis. Nowadays, looking into this matter, the time is ripe for practice of OIT in selected medical centers and under medical supervision with the goal of improving quality of life of patients and their families.