Whew...what a day! Our son finished his first day as part of an Oral Immunotherapy clinical trial for peanut allergy. The goal of the trial is to number one, achieve a level of desensitization so that an accidental exposure won't cause a reaction, and number two, to see if the treatment can help him achieve tolerance, which is basically the same thing as losing his allergy completely! So, we began!
We started at 8 am and did the normal stuff...height, weight, history and then skin test. They test different concentrations of peanut along with some other allergens (like weeds, grasses, trees, cats, pecans, dust mites). They don't know of any connections with those in particular, but just want to see if there is any significant correlation to the peanut allergy for any of those. He, of course, tested positive for peanut, but not all of the concentrations, just the higher ones. He didn't test positive for any of the other allergens they tested. That was good news!
Then we did the IV and blood draw. They had put numbing cream on him earlier, so the stick didn't hurt him, but he sure didn't like being held down! Once he had the IV in, he was fine. They use an IV on this day just in case he needs fluids during the reaction.
So, then we moved to the scary part! This was the part I had been dreading. In earlier studies, the skin and blood tests and a history of a reaction was sufficient to enroll in the trials. Well, they were criticized for this and people said things like "oh, those kids probably weren't even allergic to begin with". So, they had to include a food challenge on the first day of the future trials...so there we were. We sat in a room with a bunch of EpiPen Jrs and two doctors/nurses at all times. I was nervous, but never afraid. They were truly wonderful and I had no fear that they would push my son or do anything to harm him. Anyway, he had some peanut on an animal cracker...and we waited. Nothing. More peanut in applesauce...nothing. They documented everything all the way. More peanut...more nothing. So, then...my 17 month old fell asleep! So, after the 30 minute waiting period between doses, we woke him up and decided to increase more frequently to try to get his body to respond. So, we gave him that dose in some applesauce and within a few minutes...a little runny nose....cheeks turned a little red....lips started to look blotchy and swollen...then in the same minute, he started scratching at his nose and chin.....REACTION! They were so on top of it. I mean, I was going...umm...maybe...yeah, a little swollen...uhh....and they were like, nope, that is a reaction, that is all we need to see! So, they gave him Benadryl immediately (which was already measured in a syringe and ready to go). Then we waited. They kept us there for another 3 hours just to observe him and make sure he was okay. He played for a bit, then fell asleep again and woke up and played some more. He was just fine! In total, he consumed 296 mg of peanut flour. One peanut is equivalent to 300 mg. So, he had almost a whole peanut before he had a reaction.
So, they took out the IV and sent us on our way for the day. During the course of the day they just talked to us a lot about allergies and the studies and just life in general! It was wonderful to hear all about the studies and research and just to chat with people who are in the thick of it!
I was SO impressed with the clinic and all the wonderful people there...it was really a pleasant day considering! So, now we move on......
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