Xolair for peanut allergies

[Anonymous]

FDA has approved Xolair for treatment of some food allergies. Studies show it can also reduce reaction to peanuts. Anyone has had any experience with this treatment? Any doctors to recommend in the McLean/Tysons area that administer this treatment? I have a 6 year old with severe peanut allergies. I am looking for a good allergist in the area to discuss treatment options. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know, but I am keeping my eye on it and planning to discuss with my DD’s allergist at her next appointment. She’s anaphylactic to even trace amounts of egg, plus has several other food allergies, so this would be a life-changer for us.

I know there are some concerns regarding risks and, of course, this is by no means a cure and requires injections indefinitely, but I am curious to get her allergist’s take on it. She’s 4, so we haven’t really done anything beyond strict avoidance, particularly after she’s failed a baked egg challenge on a single bite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FDA has approved Xolair for treatment of some food allergies. Studies show it can also reduce reaction to peanuts. Anyone has had any experience with this treatment? Any doctors to recommend in the McLean/Tysons area that administer this treatment? I have a 6 year old with severe peanut allergies. I am looking for a good allergist in the area to discuss treatment options. Thank you.

Hi-Dr Wood (Hopkins) was part of the study that was involved in FDA process.
I would reach out to Hopkins and they may be able to refer you to someone in Mclean. May be worth a consult at Hopkins with one of Dr Wood’s staff docs as he isn’t taking new patients now. The downside to xolair is it still requires two hour wait period post shot and shots are every two weeks indefinitely. This is a very studied medicine so there is much to discuss. If my child was so reactive that we couldn’t eat out, I would do this. You may also consider SLIT therapy which doesn’t require wait period I don’t think. My child outgrew but we were looking into it. SLIT gets you bite proof ie not free eating but it is just little drops. Some people go from SLIT to oral immune therapy which gets some kids to free eating but there are also some considerations with this. Mainly some kids hate the taste of peanuts and it becomes challenging to have them eat the amount they need every day to keep up tolerance. Anyway I am so happy to see science advancing in this area.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Scarupa is not in McLean/Tysons but he is fabulous and worked under Dr. Wood. He follows the data/science on food allergies and is always up to date on the latest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FDA has approved Xolair for treatment of some food allergies. Studies show it can also reduce reaction to peanuts. Anyone has had any experience with this treatment? Any doctors to recommend in the McLean/Tysons area that administer this treatment? I have a 6 year old with severe peanut allergies. I am looking for a good allergist in the area to discuss treatment options. Thank you.

Dr. Mackie in Vienna. Follows current research/practice for food allergies, but with a small family practice feel. My child was able to challenge out of one of his allergies and we need to go back about the other with Xolair. It's not just for peanut, it's for lowering risk for anaphylaxis to any food.

[Anonymous]

If your kid has any allergies or asthma, this will help immensely. It takes a few weeks but they'll breathe better and have less rashes and inflammation. I don't think it would be good for some occasional reaction to a rare exposure because that would be a lot of shots, meds and money for an off chance where an epi pen might work but since it can be fatal, maybe they would recommend it

[Anonymous]

Xolair does increase your risk of certain cancers, heart attacks, and stroke, so talk with your child's primary if you have a family history of that.

[Anonymous]

Following. My 7 yr old DD has severe food allergies to peanut, egg, milk, flaxseed, and tree nuts. She's had a number of accidental exposures over the years, requiring Epipen administration and ER visits. As a result, she has developed significant food-related anxiety. She also has asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies. She's basically always sniffly and itchy, despite Zyrtec, steroid cream, etc. Last year, we discussed Xolair with her allergist as a potential treatment option but of course it wasn't yet approved for food allergy treatment. I'm hoping that it might be a game-changer for us - but also want to understand more about any potential risks associated with this drug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Following. My 7 yr old DD has severe food allergies to peanut, egg, milk, flaxseed, and tree nuts. She's had a number of accidental exposures over the years, requiring Epipen administration and ER visits. As a result, she has developed significant food-related anxiety. She also has asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies. She's basically always sniffly and itchy, despite Zyrtec, steroid cream, etc. Last year, we discussed Xolair with her allergist as a potential treatment option but of course it wasn't yet approved for food allergy treatment. I'm hoping that it might be a game-changer for us - but also want to understand more about any potential risks associated with this drug.

Xolair at this point is not the right fit for every patient, but your DD is likely one of them. Multiple allergens, hard to avoid, hx of severe reaction and comorbidities. I would definitely revisit.

Also understanding the PP’s concern, I’ll just say comments on cancer risk are misleading vs study data. Talk to your doctor to make an informed decision. You can also ask to speak to a medical liaison for Xolair. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Following. My 7 yr old DD has severe food allergies to peanut, egg, milk, flaxseed, and tree nuts. She's had a number of accidental exposures over the years, requiring Epipen administration and ER visits. As a result, she has developed significant food-related anxiety. She also has asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies. She's basically always sniffly and itchy, despite Zyrtec, steroid cream, etc. Last year, we discussed Xolair with her allergist as a potential treatment option but of course it wasn't yet approved for food allergy treatment. I'm hoping that it might be a game-changer for us - but also want to understand more about any potential risks associated with this drug.

PP- My teen has multiple food allergies and is anaphylactic to milk. She also has eczema and asthma. We got her on Dupilumab (dupixent) 7 months ago and it's been a life changer for her eczema. There are also studies out there that Dupilumab steadily reduces IgE levels in patients with food allergies so we're hoping for this as well since we're hoping to start milk OIT this year.

[Anonymous]

NP but my DD teen has food allergies, seasonal allergies and terrible eczema on face and neck. Has your teen experienced any side effects from this drug? It may be worth it for her eczema but even more so if it can help her with walnuts, pecans, peanuts and sesame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP but my DD teen has food allergies, seasonal allergies and terrible eczema on face and neck. Has your teen experienced any side effects from this drug? It may be worth it for her eczema but even more so if it can help her with walnuts, pecans, peanuts and sesame.

PP here with a daughter on dupixent. No, side effects honestly. The first few times giving her the shot was anxiety inducing for us and for her, but that was the hardest part.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this because I came here to ask if anyone has experience. We have appointment in May to discuss with our allergist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FDA has approved Xolair for treatment of some food allergies. Studies show it can also reduce reaction to peanuts. Anyone has had any experience with this treatment? Any doctors to recommend in the McLean/Tysons area that administer this treatment? I have a 6 year old with severe peanut allergies. I am looking for a good allergist in the area to discuss treatment options. Thank you.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by severe? My child has a tree nut allergy but only gets hives and I'm wondering if xolair would be right for us. I guess I'm wondering what a severe food allergy means because I thought any reaction could be severe even if prior reactions were not very severe.

[Anonymous]

Xolair for food allergies was only just approved. You may not find many people with experience unless they've been in a study or were using it for a comorbidity.

If you/your child has multiple or difficult to avoid food allergies, repeated accidental anaphylaxis, or is an adolescent or off to college or has comorbidities that Xolair would also help with, it may be a good fit. Right now Xolair is a lifelong therapy as a shot every 2-4 weeks depending on the patient. That may change, that may not. Parents have to take that into consideration.