Question 1

Food Allergy Research & Education: FARE

Accepted Answer

FARE (https://www.foodallergy.org/)- a go-to resource for people living with food allergies, the latest research updates and ways to get involved within the food allergy community. 
 
A must-have print out for home and daycare/school: Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan(https://www.foodallergy.org/living-food-allergies/food-allergy-essentials/food-allergy-anaphylaxis-emergency-care-plan)

Question 2

Allergy Groups on Facebook

Accepted Answer

The allergy groups on Facebook are single-handidly the most important resource that we've come across. There are multiple allergy-related groups. They vary by allergy-type (Sesame Allergy Information and Awareness)(https://www.facebook.com/groups/sesameallergy), focus on talking about treatment (e.g. Food Allergy Treatment Talk o(https://www.facebook.com/groups/foodallergytreatmenttalk)r SLIT Support for Food Allergies)(https://www.facebook.com/groups/slitsupport) or are location specific (e.g., NC FACES)(https://www.facebook.com/groups/ncfaces). 
 
These are closed communities of people dealing with a situation similar to ours. You have to ask the admin to join. While the specific allergies we manage may vary, members in these groups understand what we're going through, share their stories, provide comfort, express frustrations, and more.
 
We've also found it super helpful to use the search function within the groups to compliment what we're already researching ourselves. It's easy enough to look up everyday products (food, hygiene, cosmetics, etc.) from various companies to see if anyone's talked about them being safe or use for situations like planning your first dentist visit and knowing if there's anything to watch out. Just a great resource to quickly get up-to-speed and help focus where we dig deeper on our own.

Question 3

The Allergy Fix

Accepted Answer

By the time we read The Allergy Fix (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Allergy-Fix-Evidence-Based-Desensitization/dp/1544511582)- by Dr. Sakina Bajowala, MD., we had a better idea of what we were dealing with. In hindisight, we wish the book was out when we first suspected and confirmed our daughter's allergies. Nonetheless, Dr. Bajowala's book made things a lot clearer. Bits of information that we had gathered along the way started making more sense to provide us a more educated and overarching view of the situation. If you're new to this journey, it'd certainly be worthwhile to give her book a read.

Here's the description from Amazon of Dr. Bajowala's book:

"Eating should be fun, not cause for fear. But for children with food allergies, the condition transforms even simple pleasures like parties and picnics into dangerous minefields. Instead of resigning themselves to a lifetime of avoidance and exclusion, food allergy sufferers can now take action and embrace the promise of desensitization therapy. In The Food Allergy Fix, board-certified allergist and immunologist Dr. Sakina Bajowala discusses how allergies can be managed through sublingual and oral immunotherapy, which retrains overactive immune systems through the precise administration of foods. Combining rich history and current scientific research, Dr. Bajowala arms parents and patients with the tools they need to begin working with a trained immunologist, while walking readers through her innovative and holistic treatment process. The incredible success of Dr. Bajowala’s integrative approach proves that it is possible to live in a world free from the chains of a food allergy diagnosis. This book is the first step toward reclaiming freedom."

Question 4

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)

Accepted Answer

Given the limited number of board certified allergists that offer Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT allergy drops) treatment for food allergies, we had considered traveling out-of-state to start treatment. Luckily, while we were exploring this as an option, Dr. Nikhila Schroeder (https://allergenuityhealth.com/about-us/)decided to start her own practice, called Allergenuity Health,(https://allergenuityhealth.com/) in North Carolina. We're hopeful that the multiple years of SLIT treatment will have long term benefits for our daughter. Fingers crossed!

More about Dr. Schroeder's clinic and approach to Sublingual Immunotherapy:

"Allergenuity Health has created a venue for patients from all over the country to come together and enjoy innovative, personalized allergy care, direct access to your own allergist, a comfortable healthcare environment, transparency in pricing, and a convenient array of appointment and communication options. Here is our method."

"Allergenuity Health acknowledges the tremendous known advantages and untapped potential of Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT allergy drops) treatment, and we have chosen to focus on making comprehensive and innovative sublingual immunotherapy options available to all those who are interested and could potentially benefit from them. At Allergenuity Health, we provide quality, personalized, long-term SLIT treatment as our primary method of allergen immunotherapy. This form of SLIT can be used to treat an extremely wide variety of both environmental and food-related allergic conditions. Taking your SLIT treatment is very easy and consists of placing drops of controlled allergen doses into your mouth just underneath your tongue. It is the safest form of immunotherapy currently well-studied, and the majority of your treatment is done at home."

Question 5

Oral immunotherapy (OIT)

Accepted Answer

We've been going to Dr. Fitzhugh's office (https://www.allergypartners.com/chapelhill/)locally for annual bloodwork. Within the next year, we hope to compliment Anya's SLIT treatments with Dr. Schroeder with OIT via Dr. Fitzhugh's office. All with the hope of mitigating the downside risk and ideally getting to free eating one day.

More on Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) and Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) from Allergy Partners:

"OIT is a treatment option for food-allergic patients that provides an alternative to complete avoidance of the food in question. OIT aims to help a patient’s immune system slowly acclimate to a food allergen, raising the threshold for triggering a reaction over time. Over time, OIT can protect an allergic individual against a severe reaction should they come into direct contact with the allergen due to accidental exposure or cross-contamination. While there is no cure for food allergies, OIT can significantly alleviate the symptoms and severity of allergic reactions, providing peace of mind for food-allergic patients and parents.
At Allergy Partners, we help our patients steadily, safely, and incrementally increase their daily dose until allergic desensitization occurs. Our clinical team works closely with every patient and family to adjust dosages and build-up as depending on each patient’s unique allergy profile and medical history."

"SLIT therapies can be an excellent option for those seeking relief from allergy symptoms and for whom traditional allergy shots may not be the best choice. For patients with busy schedules, SLIT can be a convenient alternative to in-office allergy shots. For children with “needle phobia,” SLIT provides an alternative option that avoids needles all together. SLIT may also be a good option for those who have not tolerated allergy shots, and those with isolated seasonal or dust mite symptoms."

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