Food allergies can be tough to deal with, especially if they are severe. In some cases, even the smell of a certain food can cause someone to feel sick because of an allergy. Some allergies, such as a peanut allergy, can be deadly. Luckily, doctors from National Jewish Health in Denver are working on the “Peanut Patch.” It’s a small, beige patch that when placed on skin could help treat peanut allergies.
This allergy patch is similar to nicotine or contraceptive patches, but instead of using various chemicals, the peanut patch actually uses peanut. The patch contains an extremely small amount of peanut protein to help build a person’s immunity against the allergy. This method reflects the use of allergy injections.
Because peanut allergies can be deadly, they can be banned from classrooms.
Photo by Distal Zou/Courtesy Flickr
However, the peanut patch is not on the market just yet. For now, researchers are in the “safety testing” step. This means that they aren’t concerned with its effectiveness but rather the safety concern that is related to it. However, clinical trials of the patch could start as early as this fall. So it looks like people with peanut allergies may find relief soon.
Do you suffer from a peanut allergy? Would you be willing to try this innovative peanut patch out?
Read More:Treating Peanut Allergies with a Patch – PeanutAllergy.com
Peanut allergy ‘patch’? – CNN