PIXABAY, PUBLICDOMAINPICTURESRoughly 3 million Americans are living with peanut allergies, but new guidelines from the National Institute of Allergies and Disease (NIAID) suggest that early introduction of peanuts into infants’ diets may prevent a potentially life-threatening allergy from developing in the first place. The guidelines were published today (January 5) in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
“Living with peanut allergy requires constant vigilance. Preventing the development of peanut allergy will improve and save lives and lower health care costs,” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said in a statement. “We expect that widespread implementation of these guidelines by health care providers will prevent the development of peanut allergy in many susceptible children and ultimately reduce the prevalence of peanut allergy in the United States.”
The guidelines are bolstered by the landmark 2015 LEAP study, funded in part by NIAID, which involved more than 500 babies and demonstrated that children at high risk of developing peanut allergies (due to preexisting eczema or egg allergies) experienced an 81 percent reduction in risk of developing the allergy if they were exposed to peanuts during early infancy. ...
