Anyone done OIT?

[LowDownBoyStandUpGuy]

We are considering going abroad for OIT for peanuts and hazelnuts. Has anyone went down the OIT route?

Im a bit worried because we managed to avoid reactions just fine but there is always a risk whatever we do. It just feels a bit wrong to be purposefully feeding my child the allergens that we have avoided for their whole life.

Anyone have any experience?

Yes we have!

We did it in London, for peanuts and cashew/pistachios. I’m very glad we did and would definitely recommend it, it has made life a lot easier and massively reduced my anxiety. My daughter is too young to really understand the benefits but she definitely enjoys being able to have baked treats/ice cream when we’re out.

I also found it really weird to get my head round feeding my child the allergens, and got nervous a lot during the updosing process, but we’ve been doing it for months now and its second nature.

Happy to answer any questions you have!

Thank you so much for replying it’s good to hear a positive experience. Did your DC have any reactions during the treatment? We have gone years with no reactions just through avoidance although tests still show very high sensitivity so DC is convinced that the first tiny bit will cause anaphylaxis.

We did unfortunately have one reaction early on - but it wasn’t anaphylaxis and we managed it with antihistamines. We figured out quite quickly that it had been caused by her being too hot after a dose, which we manage more carefully now. I did find it quite mentally difficult to keep going after that, but it was months ago now and nothing since!

The whole process has taught us a lot about allergic reactions and when they are more likely to happen, which has also been helpful. We also didn’t have an epi pen prescription before but have them now which adds an extra layer of feeling like we can manage it at home (although we’ve never had to use them)

Hi there, apologies that this is some time after the original post, but I wondered if you could share a little more about your experiences of OIT?

What age was your child when you did this?
Did you do all nuts at the same time? How long did it take?
How was the experience? (Did your child find it challenging/scary?)
Do you have to make sure to consume those nuts on a regular basis going forward?

Appreciate that is a lot of questions, no pressure to answer them all! Thank you.

I have just emailed an allergy clinic in UK to enquire about this. I enquired years ago and am sorry now I didnt proceed then. I hope I havent left it too late, he is 16.
We have always managed without a reaction and I dont know if its because he isnt actually that sensitive or its down to the fact that we are extremely careful, we never take any chances.
He is out with his friends today on a school trip and texted me to say he was standing outside a chinese food place in a food hall and he started to feel sick and got a headache. Its all panic as he knows there are peanuts in there. I feel so sorry for him.
The allergy consultant we go to actually ran a trial in Ireland but she didnt recommend the OIT. She said the child will still have an allergy, still have to avoid peanuts all his life and will have to take the peanuts every day to keep up the desensitisation. She said if he stops eating them he will revert to being as sensitive and everything we will have gone through will be lost. That put us off especially when it was going to cost us between 22 and 25 thousand euros.

Its getting more difficult now as he is out more with friends, exposed to a lot more environments without us, is going on a school trip to Italy next year.