Preventing Food Anaphylaxis

Food-induced anaphylaxis incidence rates in 0 to 19 year-olds and 0 to 4 year-olds are reported as 0.2 and 7.0 per 100 person years respectively, with increased hospitalizations reported in the United States. Avoidance has been our traditional approach to prevent food-induced anaphylaxis and it involves reading nutrition labels, understanding forms of allergen exposure, food allergy policies outside the home, and communicating effectively about personal risk. Active approaches have also emerged including oral immunotherapy and omalizumab, which are both Food and Drug Administaration-approved. Many other options are currently in development, for example, epicutaneous immunotherapy, sublingual immunotherapy, and a variety of biologic drugs.