Showing posts with label peanut allergy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peanut allergy. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2009

Homeopathy Heals

So often the mainstream media attacks all other than mainstream medical treatments for health issues. Homeopathy is one of the most attacked health options, but this time it seems as if it gets rave reviews.

Peanut allergy can be deadly for many people, but with this new twist on a homepathic proving, 'peanut' just made the front page.
"Enter oral immunotherapy. Twenty-nine severely allergic children spent a day in the hospital swallowing minuscule but slowly increasing doses of a specially prepared peanut flour, until they had a reaction. The child went home with a daily dose just under that reactive amount, usually equivalent to 1/1,000th of a peanut."

While this new term "oral immunotherapy" seems to have been coined by doctors at Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children's Hospital, the principle is the same - Like Cures Like.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Peanut Allergy Linked to Skin Creams, Soymilk

from a six year old report on peanut allergy -
By: Anna Soref, April 01, 2003

Peanut allergies in infants and young children may be related to soy-based foods and peanut oil-based skin creams, according to a study published in the March 13 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Of the 49 children in the study who developed peanut allergies, 84 percent had used peanut oil-based creams and a quarter had consumed soymilk in their first two years. "I think that based on these findings, many of us in practice will ask families not to use peanut-based products, whether they be in creams, peanut butter or candy, until children do get somewhat older," said Brian Smart, M.D., a spokesman for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Milwaukee.

The researchers are hoping to learn why the number of children with peanut allergies has tripled in the past decade. About 1.5 million Americans are allergic to peanuts and 50 to 100 people die from the allergy each year. Similar results in future studies could pave the way for new strategies for handling peanut allergies, the researchers said.

Smart pointed out, though, that most people who think they have food allergies actually do not. "It's important for those who believe they have food allergies to see an expert because chances are they can eat a much broader diet than they think," he said.

In the same issue, NEJM also published a study on a new drug that is the first to offer protection for those who suffer from severe peanut allergies. A single dose of the drug TNX-901 increased the threshold of sensitivity from one to nine peanuts—enough to thwart accidental peanut ingestion, the researchers hope.

"We believe this will be a wonderful tool, but it will probably be a couple of years or longer until it will be on the market because we need more safety data," Smart said.

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Macys Printable Coupons