An increasing number of children are being diagnosed with food allergies. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that between 1997-2011, food allergies in children increased by 50%. The CDC also reported that instances of peanut or tree nut allergies more than tripled from 1997-2008.

Earlier this year, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) updated their peanut allergy prevention guidelines, suggesting that parents introduce peanuts to children earlier to help prevent allergies.

The research studies that NIAID conducted found that high-risk infants had lower development of allergies to peanuts when peanut-containing food was introduced as early as 4-6 months of age. Now of course this doesn’t mean you should be feeding your child peanuts right out of the gate. There have been a few suggestions on how to introduce peanuts to such young children.

• You can give your child peanut butter that is thinned with breast milk, formula or water
• There is also a product available called Bamba, which is a peanut-flavored puff (like a Cheeto Puff),
• The new guideline also offers a peanut soup using ground peanuts.

To read the full guideline from NIAID, click here to visit NIAID's site.

AASC’s own Dr. Bukstein has been an advocate of early introduction to peanuts for years, and is excited by this new guideline. Our Greenfield office has already conducted numerous food challenges with Bambas.

Dr. Bukstein is also hosting a Peanut Allergy Screening for Infants in two of our satellite clinics:

• Wednesday, May 17 in our Madison office (call 608.609.2188 to reserve a spot)
• Friday, May 19 in our Milwaukee office (call 414.393.4002 to reserve a spot)

If you have any questions, or would like to set up an appointment, please call us today at 414.529.8500.

Our own Dr. Don Bukstein also was just recently interviewed in Madison on their NBC15 station for the screening. To view the interview, click here.