Is OIT or XOLAIR® Right for You? What Every Food Allergy Patient Should Know

A little mistake shouldn’t pose a big threat. With food allergy treatment like oral immunotherapy (OIT) or XOLAIR®, you can help your body better handle accidental exposure.

Accidents happen. In fact, they’re a core part of the human experience.

When you live with food allergies, though, accidents become a much scarier proposition. Accidental exposure to your allergen can land you in a life-threatening situation.

Doing what you can to avoid exposure will always be important. But to lower the risk that a mistake leads to a dangerous reaction, Chad W. Mayer, DO, and John Frith, DO, offer targeted food allergy treatment.

With options like oral immunotherapy (OIT), sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) or XOLAIR®, we can help to moderate your body’s response to the allergen. That means being able to tolerate small accidental exposures or freely eating the food.

If you think you might be a candidate for food allergy treatment, come see our team at Allergy and Asthma Institute of Southeast Michigan in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Understanding your food allergy treatment options

The first thing everyone with food allergies should know is that they have a couple of main treatment opportunities they can explore.

Historically, people who wanted to lessen their body’s response to their allergen used oral immunotherapy (OIT). This treatment involves consuming tiny amounts of the allergen in order to get your body more used to it and slowly moving up to eating larger volume of the food

This consistent, controlled exposure means that the body has a less serious reaction in the event of accidental exposure, and can tolerate from small exposures up to adding the food to the normal diet.

More recently, food allergy treatment expanded with the FDA’s clearance of XOLAIR. We inject this medication into your system, where it goes to work mitigating your body’s overall allergic response. XOLAIR addresses your body’s allergic reactions in general rather than your response to a specific food.

Finding the right treatment for you

Dr. Frith and Dr. Mayer work with you to find the food allergy treatment that best fits your individual allergic reaction, your allergen(s), and your lifestyle.

If you’re not a big fan of needles, we might see if OIT can work better for you. With this option, you take a dose of the allergen orally on a daily basis and over time reduce to 1-3 days a week.

In short, we want all food allergy patients to know that they have options. We also want to tell you that we’re here to help you explore them. We have extensive experience in food allergy treatment. Dr. Mayer has long been on the leading edge of protective measures like these. Allergy and Asthma Institute of SE Michigan was the first office to offer OIT in the Midwest 17 years ago and we have treated more patients than anyone in the whole of the midwest. Dr Mayer was involved with the Xolair peanut trials over 20 years age and has over 20 years experience treating food allergies with Xolair.

Our team’s goal is to help our food allergy patients move toward a life where a little mistake doesn’t have grave consequences. If you’d like that kind of support, contact the Allergy and Asthma Institute of Southeast Michigan to schedule an appointment today.