There's now good news for peanut allergy sufferers. The allergy that can drastically affect lives and force people to never eat out at restaurants may be able to be outgrown. A study in this month's Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology says 20 percent of patients with peanut allergies outgrow the allergy.
Patients often live in fear of accidental exposure and avoid numerous products out of concern.
The allergy results when antibodies to peanut proteins trigger symptoms such as hives, swelling, vomiting or difficulty breathing. The antibody is known as peanut specific IgE. Researchers from John's Hopkins looked at 223 people known to have peanut allergies. Of those 85 were eligible and agreed to undergo testing of their allergy when exposed to peanut protein. They found 48 of those did not have a problem when eating 4 grams of peanut protein. They say those patients who had low levels of the antibody were more likely to outgrow their problem.