Interesting reports from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual conference

Every year I am excited to see what research news the AAAAI conference has for those of us dealing with food allergies.  I follow the reports posted on MedPageToday.  The conference showcased several interesting studies, including:

• Kids may react to milk protein in DPT shot
• Drug speeds up milk allergy treatment
• Oral treatment best for milk allergy
• Many kids shake milk allergy as toddlers
• Oldest siblings hit hardest by allergies
• Cookies may help kids beat milk allergy

My two favorites are the one on oldest siblings (it says oldest kids have the highest risk of food allergies, followed by the second kid, then the third kid - so my soon-to-be baby has the least risk of my three children of having food allergies) and the one on cookies/other baked goods helping kids overcome their milk allergy.

Regarding the last study, last summer our allergist instructed me to start adding very small amounts of milk and egg to baked goods and giving them to Ainsley on a regular basis because he said the research was showing this was a safe way to induce tolerance to these allergens (safe because she was able to tolerate some baked egg/milk when she was very young so we know she's not allergic to baked milk/egg in small concentrations).  Still, I hesitated to do this because it feels weird to introduce these allergens to her diet - and because logistically it's harder to bake this way because I can't allow her to help me mix up the batter (because she would come into contact with the unbaked forms of these allergens) and would have to keep separate mixing bowls/utensils for this type of thing.  But this study has convinced me that I have to start doing it ... sometime after the new baby arrives and I have some energy again.