Oral Immunotherapy

Oral immunotherapy is a procedure that Dr. Rajan offers for some patients with food allergies. The procedure involves giving patients small incremental doses of the food that they are allergic to, over months, in an effort to desensitize their immune systems. In the past, patients with food allergies were forced to avoid the food that they were allergic to strictly, or fear having a potentially life-threatening reaction. Oral immunotherapy now offers a way for people with food allergies to now be able to eat at restaurants and schools without worrying about cross contamination, and some are even able to eat the food freely without fear of having a reaction.

Oral immunotherapy is offered for allergies to cow’s milk, egg, soybean, wheat, peanut, tree nuts, as well as a few others. Dr. Rajan will perform both blood testing and skin testing (hyperlink to skin testing) to the foods that you are avoiding. Sometimes, she finds that a food allergy may have been outgrown since the last time testing was performed. In that situation, an oral challenge (hyperlink to oral challenge page) will be performed. An oral challenge is the gold standard for diagnosing a food allergy. If the testing shows that the food allergy is still present, an oral challenge will not be performed. In that case, Dr. Rajan will discuss oral immunotherapy with you and your family. The process of oral immunotherapy is a lengthy process and involves visiting our office weekly for 60+ minute visits to have your dose of the food increased under our strict supervision. The food needs to be eaten daily at home and a 2 hour rest period (without any exertion or increased body temperature) needs to be observed. Most patients reach the highest dose of the food after about 6 months of weekly visits but every patient is unique and some may take longer. Since you are eating a food that you are allergic to, there is a risk of anaphylaxis. The overall success rate for patients to complete oral immunotherapy is about 85%. If any side effects occur, Dr. Rajan will personalize the treatment specifically for you in order to give you the best chance of success.

Comprehensive Evaluation

If you or your loved one is interested in starting oral immunotherapy with Dr. Rajan, please give us a call so that we can perform a comprehensive evaluation and determine whether this would be a good treatment option for you.