For over 100 years, allergists have used a method called “immunotherapy” to safely and successfully treat environmental allergies. Unlike medications, which only treat the symptoms of allergic reactions, immunotherapy actually teaches the immune system to become more tolerant of allergens. For allergic nasal and eye symptoms, asthma, and atopic dermatitis (eczema), immunotherapy is very helpful in the form of allergy shots. An oral form of immunotherapy (“oral immunotherapy,” or “OIT”) is available for certain types of allergies, and has been shown to be effective as well. How Does Oral Immunotherapy Work? The goal of oral immunotherapy is to make the immune system less reactive to a food allergen by eating small, gradually increasing amounts of the food over time. Researchers have been working for decades on a way to apply immunotherapy to the treatment of food allergies, with mixed results. However, a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical […]
