On Friday, the FDA approved Palforzia, the first drug to treat peanut allergy. Although approved, it is not yet available. We plan to begin using Palforzia as soon as it becomes widely available. If you or your child has peanut allergy, please call us to schedule an evaluation and determine eligibility so that you may be put on the wait list.
Keep in mind, while it is the first FDA approved drug, it is not the first or only treatment for peanut allergy. The first treatment for peanut allergy has been historically been strict avoidance. Over the last several years, many allergists, including us, started offering peanut oral immunotherapy “OIT.” Palforzia and peanut OIT are extremely similar. Both use peanut flour in gradually escalating doses to “desensitize” a patient with peanut allergy so that he/she may be able to “tolerate” some peanut in case of accidental exposure. For some patients OIT can go a step further and allow a patient to eat larger amounts of peanut freely. Keep in mind, both are not a cure and currently, based on available data, require ongoing daily usage. We also offer OIT for a variety of other foods. While OIT and Palforzia can be a very good option for some families, it is not for everyone. Call us to be evaluated for your food allergy and discuss your treatment options with Dr. Lieberman or Dr. Parekh. We are the Central Texas food allergy experts!
