What is peanut immunotherapy?

If you or your child has a peanut allergy, and is between 4 and 17 years old, we are pleased to offer you peanut immunotherapy.

Our service has been running since January 2024. We initially offered Palforzia (a licensed pharmaceutical form of defatted peanut protein) but since this has been withdrawn globally by the manufacturers, we now offer oral immunotherapy with commercial defatted peanut flour.

We now also offer oral immunotherapy for other foods including milk, egg, tree nuts and sesame – we can offer combination food immunotherapy, to reduce costs and time commitment.

What is food oral immunotherapy (OIT)?

Immunotherapy is the treatment of allergy by giving small, precise, regular doses of the thing you are allergic to – so small that they do not cause a reaction – and building the dose up gradually until you no longer react to that thing.

This is done in different ways for many kinds of allergies including bee/wasp venom, grass/tree pollen, as well as food. 

For peanut allergy, we measure precise fixed doses of defatted peanut flour. This dose is eaten, usually with other food your child is eating (such as yogurt), every day. Over time, the dose is gradually increased.

More details on the process is here.

The aim is to build “tolerance”, in other words, increasing your body’s ability to tolerate the thing you are allergic to without reacting. Another word for this is “desensitisation”.

Is this a cure for peanut allergy?

Unfortunately, not always. 

The aim of this treatment is to increase the amount of food that is tolerated (in other words, eaten without triggering an allergic reaction). You could call this “bite protection”.

That tolerance depends on continuing to get small daily doses of that food.

You still need to avoid the food, other than in your daily dose.

If you were to eat a lot of the food you are allergic to, you might still react. And if you don’t continue to take your daily dose, your allergy could come back, the way it was in the beginning.

So immunotherapy is “tricking” your body into not reacting, rather than curing your allergy. Some people do seem to grow out of it completely, but at this time we believe they are in a minority.

So what’s the point?

Increasing your tolerance to the thing you are allergic to reduces the risk of reaction from accidental exposure. The “threshold” or amount of food needed to cause a reaction is higher.

That should mean less reactions, and less severe reactions.

It means you can worry less about cross contamination in factory produced goods, or in restaurants.

Studies have shown that peanut immunotherapy reduces the anxiety felt by children and their families due to food allergy, and reduces the social restrictions that food allergy can lead to (such as avoiding parties, buffets at weddings or other family events, hotels).

Children and young people with food allergies are often more cautious in general than their peers. They often feel their options are restricted and can feel they miss out on social events involving food.

Who is it not suitable for?

There are some children and young people where food immunotherapy may not be suitable. This includes:

• Severe or uncontrolled asthma. 
• Problems swallowing or long term problems with your digestive system including eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. 
• Severe or life-threatening anaphylaxis within 60 days before starting treatment.

Why is this not available on the NHS?

Food immunotherapy is not a new or radical idea, it has been done in many clinics across the world for many years.

It does however require a lot of staff time, and clinic facilities, which are often in short supply in paediatric allergy clinics who are already struggling to provide basic diagnostic services.

See here for more information.

Get in touch!

Click here for details about costs.

Please go to the Glasgow Private Clinic website if you wish to discuss peanut immunotherapy with us. You can phone, email or fill out the enquiry form there.

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