Advanced Specialty Care’s Food Oral Immunotherapy Program is expanding once again! Our Allergists are excited to offer Macadamia nut oral immunotherapy (OIT); another addition to our growing list foods available for allergy desensitization.
Macadamia nuts are a type of tree nut and while nut allergies are common, Macadamia nut allergy likely accounts for less than 5% of all tree nut allergies. The most common tree nut allergies are cashew, pistachio, walnut and pecan which is why our oral immunotherapy program started with cashew and walnut. Cashew immunotherapy usually also protects against pistachio allergy and walnut usually also protects against pecan allergy.
Though macadamia nut allergy is less common, since our allergy and asthma specialists received requests for macadamia nut oral immunotherapy, they made the decision to add it to our program. The most recent request came from a family who has a child with two food allergies, egg and macadamia nut. This child just successfully completed egg OIT and can now consume a while egg without triggering an allergic reaction. Recently, the child had a scary allergic reaction to macadamia nut and their parents requested macadamia nut oral immunotherapy which the child will be starting in the coming week.
The purpose of Oral Immunotherapy Treatment is to decrease the likelihood that the accidental ingestion of an allergen will trigger a worrisome allergic reaction, and hopefully to allow the introduction of foods containing allergens into the diet. Undergoing desensitization can significantly improve the quality of life for those with severe food allergies as it makes the risk of accidental allergy exposure less stressful.
At Advanced Specialty Care, we currently offer food Oral Immunotherapy for the following food allergies:
- Peanut
- Tree Nut: including almond, cashew, pistachio, walnut, pecan and macadamia nut
- Milk
- Egg
- Sesame
We hope to continue expanding and offering treatment for additional food allergens in the future.
The Allergy, Asthma and Immunology physicians at Advanced Specialty Care provide allergy & asthma evaluations and treatment. Allergy and Asthma appointments are available in our Danbury, New Milford, Norwalk and Ridgefield locations. If you have questions about Food Oral Immunotherapy, asthma, allergy testing, allergy treatments or would like to schedule an appointment, please call our office at (203) 830-4700 or simply click here to fill out an appointment request form
Advanced Specialty Care Allergists and Immunologists in Connecticut:
Dr. Jonathan Bell
Dr. Yogen Dave
Dr. Neetu Godhwani
Dr. Richard Lee
Dr. Purvi Shah