Chicago – The treatment for a severe allergic reaction to food has not changed much since the late 19th century – a quick shot of epinephrine and a rush to the doctor to stave off the rapid closing of airways, brain damage and possibly death.
Medical personnel from school nurses to chiefs of pediatric departments say such near- fatal allergic reactions are becoming more common in children.
Data on whether there are more children suffering from food allergies now than in years past remain sparse. Estimates have been that from 6 percent to 8 percent of children under 4 years old have food allergies, but some experts believe the percentage is growing.
Dr. Scott Sicherer of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City participated in a study that found allergic reactions to peanuts had jumped to 1 in 125 in 2002 from 1 in 250 in 1997.
The accumulation of largely anecdotal evidence has prompted action. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, announced last year that it would spend $17 million over five years for a food allergy research consortium at Mt. Sinai in New York.
Spending on food-allergy research by the allergy institute more than doubled last year to $7.7 million. But that remains a paltry sum, according to the researchers who gathered at Children’s Memorial on Wednesday, who called on Congress to allocate $50 million annually for food-allergy research.
Three Chicago medical institutions said Wednesday that they will collaborate on an extensive study to determine the cause of the increase and will plead for more federal research funding.
“I’ve been treating children in the field of allergy immunology for 15 years, and in recent years I’ve really seen the rates of food allergy skyrocket,” said Dr. Jacqueline Pongracic, head of the allergy department at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “Where in the past it only represented a small proportion of my practice, now more than half of the children I care for have a food allergy.”
