Ask About My Peanut Allergy

It has been nearly four years since Bo ended his peanut allergy oral immunotherapy at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. So we wanted to provide a quick update on the continuing success of his peanut desensitization.

Today, Bo is a healthy, happy eighth grader that is as "normal" as a 14 year old teenager in high school can be, especially considering for many years he suffered with a life threatening peanut allergy.

The only remaining aspects of his five years of peanut allergy oral immunotherapy treatments is that he eats a Snicker’s ice cream bar every 3-5 days to maintain his desensitization to peanuts.

We do not worry about what foods he eats (other than encouraging him to eat healthy and in moderation) as any person should. When we are asked by Doctors or restaurants if he has any food allergies… our answer is …“No”.

So as one of the pioneers in the earliest food allergy treatment programs, Bo is living proof that oral immunotherapy treatment programs can be successful at generating long-term cures for deadly food allergies, like peanuts. Thanks Dr. Stacie Jones, nurse Karen and team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital!

Prayers for everyone who suffers with life threatening food allergies, as well as, their families, friends and the health workers who are dedicated to ending them.

Now if only we could get him to routinely put his dirty clothes in the hamper instead of scattered across his bedroom floor. Anyone know of any cures for that teenage syndrome?

May God bless you all!

Sincerely,

Bo and family

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. Bo battled the flu and Dad had an emergency appendectomy so the trip to Little Rock for Bo's peanut allergy food challenge has been postponed. Everybody is doing well now, though Mom needs a much deserved rest from playing nurse to the men of the house while running her travel agency business at the same time!

We are very excited to have received several e-mails recently from our readers that are participating in peanut desensitization treatment studies similar to Bo's at Duke in North Carolina, Australia and Spain! The fact that food allergy desensitization therapies are going global should help give this type of food allergy research and treatment even more medical credibility.

These food allergy treatment studies are laying the groundwork for the day in the not-so-distant future when food allergy sufferers can easily get safe, effective treatments or maybe even prevent anyone from ever developing a food allergy in the first place!

Enjoy Life Foods Granola Recommended by Bo

Over the last 2 months Bo has been eating granola from Enjoy Life Foods. The cool thing about Enjoy Life Foods is that all of their products are free of the 8 most common food allergens (wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy fish and shellfish) plus they are made in a dedicated nut-free and gluten-free bakery! As for taste... well we have gone through 3 bags in just 2 months. We have added Enjoy Life Foods granola to Bo's Peanut Safe Foods List. Bo eats the Enjoy Life Foods granola plain as a snack, while Dad likes to add it to cereal, oatmeal or yogurt. Enjoy Life Foods granola is a quick and easy allergy friendly food that is both delicious and nutritious! (Enjoy Life Foods Cinnamon Crunch Granola - 12.8 oz. , Enjoy Life Foods Cranapple Crunch Granola - 12.8 oz. , Enjoy Life Foods Very Berry Crunch Granola - 12.8 oz. )

We are now in that phase of Bo's peanut allergy desensitization treatments where the dosage increases alot every two weeks. He is now eating enough peanut flour every day to equal more than 3 peanuts! So far, he has not had any allergic reactions and the only issue we have to deal with is his dislike of the taste of peanuts. But Bo understands how important it is to keep up the treatments and he is preparing himself mentally for April when he will convert to eating peanut products, like peanut butter or peanut M&Ms, every day instead of peanut flour.

Great Online Source for Allergen-Free Foods

AllerNeeds online store provides a large selection of great-tasting peanut free and allergen free foods including chocolate, snacks, cake mixes, brownies, muffins and more. All the products they carry are produced in guaranteed peanut/tree nut free facilities. And if you have other food allergies, such as, wheat, dairy, egg, or soy, it's easy to shop AllerNeeds web site using their Shop-by-Allergy Search tool.

We have updated Bo's Peanut Safe Foods list page with his favorite foods from AllerNeeds including the chocolate Mars bars, Nonuttin' Granola Clusters with vanilla & caramel, and AllerEnergy Bars - Blueberry.

Birthday Party Tips for Food Allergy Guests

A neighbor made Bo's day this weekend when she went out of her way to make sure all the food (pizza, cake & ice cream) at her son's birthday party was peanut safe for Bo! Kathleen called several times in the days before the party to make sure she had all the bases covered regarding the peanut safety of the ingredients she was cooking with and the food she was buying. Bo was so excited to be able to eat the same things all the other kids were eating at the birthday party. Totally awesome to have such caring friends!

We also wanted to spread the word about a simple, but cool kitchen product we recently discovered that makes it easy for your food allergic child to carry their own homemade, food allergy safe cupcake to a birthday party or school.

It's a plastic container for a single cupcake that doesn't smear the icing or smash the cup cake! Now it's easy for Bo to bring a homemade, peanut safe cupcake in his lunchkit or cooler.

Order Cup-a-Cake Containers (Set of 5)

Bo's new daily dose of peanut treatment is now about equal to 1/3 of a peanut. He eats this every day mixed with applesauce. So far he has not had any type of allergic reaction to these initial doses of peanut.

Today Bo happened to be in the lab at the same time as our friend that we mentioned in our last post, whose son had an anaphylactic reaction to his initial very low peanut allergy treatment dosage. Her son and Bo have become buddys and we are happy to report that he has now been able to increase his daily dosage level without an allergic reaction! We look forward to watching his progress in the peanut allergy desensitization program.

Our Local Subway is Now Peanut Free
We checked in with the owner of our local Subway and found out that he had stopped carrying the peanut butter cookies due to so many customers mentioning food allergies. So we are thankful that Bo now has an additional restaurant choice here in our home area. Be aware though, that each individual Subway location decides what cookies and other foods to carry, so we only let Bo eat at this particular Subway location.

Helpful Food Allergy Awareness Flashcards
We recently had a chance to review a food allergy education product. The Beyond A Peanut - Food Allergy Awareness Cards teach peanut and tree nut allergic children and those who provide care for them, that staying safe with a food allergy goes beyond the allergen itself. The 36 color coded flashcards on a metal ring provide comprehensive safety information developed in an easy to learn format. The cards were developed by the mother of two children with life-threatening peanut allergies with support from the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) in New York. The flashcards introduce critical concepts to those living with food allergies, including: cross-contamination, the importance of label reading and always carrying emergency medication. They even highlight specific concerns to be aware of with certain types of food, such as, ice cream and baked goods.

While these flashcards are specific to nut allergies, it is reported they have proven to help raise awareness and understanding of food allergies overall. We believe the Beyond A Peanut - Food Allergy Awareness Cards are a valuable, easy-to-use resource for family members, babysitters, teachers, classmates and friends of those with nut allergies that will be used over and over again as a reference. Job well done Beyond a Peanut!

Bo's Parents
www.askaboutmypeanutallergy.com

My Daily Dosage Update
After 8 months, my daily dosage is now the equivalent of about 4 peanuts! When I first started in the peanut allergy treatment research study, my daily dosage was very small.

SunButter Is a Delicious Alternative to Peanut Butter
My dad really misses his peanut butter & jelly sandwiches so he recently ordered some SunButter® as a peanut butter alternative.

SunButter is made from sunflower seed in a peanut-free facility. I was never a fan of the texture or taste of peanut butter so I have not tried it yet, but Dad loves it. It definitely looks and smells just like peanut butter and Dad swears it tastes like peanut butter too! He got the creamy kind but it also comes in chunky and other types.

They also have a peanut-free snack trailmix with fruit that he likes too. Order at www.sunbutter.com.

I am a happy customer of Divvies, a food allergy friendly company that sells cookies, cupcakes, candy, popcorn and gift-packs that are free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and milk. I highly recommend their chocolate chip and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and circus sized gumballs! So it was neat to learn more about the Divvies company from the 12/6/07 New York Times article below, written by Katie Zezima.
Turning Kitchens Into Laboratories to Find Treats for the Allergy-Prone