Nurses testing peanut allergy cure

Wednesday August 26th, 2009

Nurses have been talking of their role in a ground-breaking programme to desensitise children who are allergic to peanuts.

Allergy nurse Yvonne King and consultant in paediatric allergy Andrew Clark are helping to run the programme at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, UK. They believe it is the world's first successful peanut desensitisation programme.

Avoiding peanuts at all times is demanding and restrictive, parents report. Unfortunately the condition is becoming increasingly common - affecting around one in 50 UK children. No one knows what causes it, and unlike other childhood allergies, it rarely disappears in adulthood.

At Addenbrooke's, children are given carefully-measured doses of peanut flour in a well-equipped hospital ward, explains an article in Nursing Standard.

Previous attempts by doctors to desensitise children using injections led to serious side-effects and were unsuccessful. But this time the team are using far more gentle doses through the mouth with greater success.

Four children took part in the initial research last year, and now a further 18 children, aged between seven and 17 years, are being treated. Their dose of peanut flour is gradually increased until they can tolerate at least 800mg, the equivalent of five peanuts.

Ms King says: "The patients we see have spent their whole lives desperately avoiding any kind of contact with peanuts.

"When a child has successfully completed the protocol, families are ecstatic. One family we worked with went out for a Chinese meal to celebrate their son finishing the programme - something they would never have been able to do before. It has changed their lives."

But she warns: "It is potentially dangerous. It should never be done outside of a hospital."

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Child Health | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News

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