Commentary: Cautious optimism urged in new peanut allergy research

For years, parents have heeded this advice from their pediatricians: Avoid feeding peanuts to infants in order to decrease their risk of developing a peanut allergy.

But the current guidelines, adopted nearly 10 years ago by the American Academy of Pediatrics to help prevent childhood allergies, are being challenged.

A new study from the New England Journal of Medicine says the widely accepted advice may be more harmful than helpful.

Researchers found that feeding small amounts of peanut protein to at-risk infants between ages 4 months and 11 months could produce a dramatic reduction in the prevalence of peanut allergy at age 5.

A peanut allergy is serious business. It can cause hives, skin rash, digestive problems, shortness of breath or wheezing. In the worst-case scenario, someone allergic to peanuts can suffer anaphylaxis, an extreme and potentially life-threatening reaction.

And if it seems that with every passing year, more children suffer from this allergy, it is not your imagination. The prevalence of peanut allergies in children has doubled in the last decade. In the United States, a child is sent to the emergency room with a food-related allergic reaction almost every three minutes.

Food-consumption rules are being affected across the country. Parents may be banned from packing peanut butter sandwiches in school lunches, and flight attendants often hand out pretzels instead of peanuts.

So this study is exciting. It may one day sharply reduce the prevalence of peanut allergies among children. This theory may also one day be applied other allergenic foods.

But while the new data may lead to changes in the recommendations, more information is needed. It is not yet safe for anyone to make major changes to current guidelines.

We should all be optimistic about the possibilities this study presents, but let us be cautiously optimistic.

Dr. MALIKA GUPTA LOUIS is an allergist and immunologist for Hoag Medical Group, serving children and adults.