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New Immunotherapy Trial Cures Kids of Peanut Allergy For Up To Four Years (theguardian.com)

Using a new kind of immunotherapy treatment, Australian researchers have managed to cure a majority of the children in their study suffering from a peanut allergy. "The desensitization to peanuts persisted for up to four years after treatment," reports The Guardian. From the report: Tang, an immunologist and allergist, pioneered a new form of treatment that combines a probiotic with peanut oral immunotherapy, known as PPOIT. Instead of avoiding the allergen, the treatment is designed to reprogram the immune system's response to peanuts and eventually develop a tolerance. It's thought that combining the probiotic with the immunotherapy gives the immune system the "nudge" it needs to do this, according to Tang. Forty-eight children were enrolled in the PPOIT trial and were randomly given either a combination of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus with peanut protein in increasing amounts, or a placebo, once daily for 18 months. At the end of the original trial in 2013, 82% of children who received the immunotherapy treatment were deemed tolerant to peanuts compared with just 4% in the placebo group. Four years later, the majority of the children who gained initial tolerance were still eating peanuts as part of their normal diet and 70% passed a further challenge test to confirm long-term tolerance. The results have been published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

164 comments

  1. Up to? by schnipschnap · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Four years later, the majority of the children who gained initial tolerance were still eating peanuts as part of their normal diet and 70% passed a further challenge test to confirm long-term tolerance.

    That sounds much better than "up to four years". Very refreshing to see a headline that understates research results :)

    1. Re:Up to? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2

      A proper /. headline might read; "Have Scientists Just Eliminated Peanut Allergies?"

    2. Re:Up to? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Peanuts allergies dead, Netcraft confirms.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:Up to? by nmb3000 · · Score: 1

      A proper /. headline might read; "Have Scientists Just Eliminated Peanut Allergies?"

      But then Betteridge would say the answer is no, and we don't want to upset Betteridge.

      A truly proper headline would be: CURE YOUR PEANUT ALLERGY FOREVER WITH THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK!

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
    4. Re:Up to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Annette Funicello was right!, eat your Skippy PB lunch!"
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt-G_flCgCg

    5. Re:Up to? by lgw · · Score: 2

      Cure your peanut allergy with this weird trick invented by a Melbourne mom! Big pharma hates her.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  2. When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    nobody had a peanut allergy.

    Now your kid can be suspended for even having a granola bar (ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY).

    1. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why you smuggle your nutty treats up your ass.

    2. Re:When I was in school by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      nobody had a peanut allergy.

      Peanut allergies are a first world problem. They are rare in developing countries, where kids grow up around chickens, pigs, and goats, so they develop strong immune systems that don't overreact. In China and Vietnam, peanuts are a very common ingredient, and kids eat them everyday. Yet in America, it is the kids of neurotic Asian mothers who have the worst problems with allergies. My kid's elementary school has a "peanut free" zone, and 90% of the kids who eat there are either Chinese or Vietnamese.

    3. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So first would = bad, right?

    4. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b40yoSL4HqI

    5. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So being "too clean" is detrimental to your health and it seams the health of others. A regular dose of bacteria and virii help keep your immune system strong a primed, much like a seasoned veteran army vs weekend warriors

    6. Re:When I was in school by Kjella · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Peanut allergies are a first world problem. They are rare in developing countries, where kids grow up around chickens, pigs, and goats, so they develop strong immune systems that don't overreact.

      Part of why it seems like such a huge first world problem is the gross over-reaction to "casual" allergy to protect a few hyper-allergics. I'm allergic to peanuts. I don't care if you eat a peanut bar in the adjacent seat or if the kitchen used the same spoon. Hell, I could eat that peanut bar and though it might cause me a bit of discomfort it wouldn't actually be dangerous. But if I tell anyone I have peanut allergy that tends to invoke "faint traces of nuts = lethal danger" levels of paranoia. Don't get me wrong, they exist and it's nice that we accomodate them so they don't die or anything but you sometimes feel those with a common cold and ebola are put in the same box labeled "sick".

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    7. Re:When I was in school by sjames · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is important to understand. Practically all peanut allergies are like yours. People with the severe trace of nuts in the room equals death level allergy are extremely rare. Even they can be (carefully) de-sensitized enough to make casual contact harmless.

    8. Re:When I was in school by Rockoon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I no longer tell people that I am allergic to dogs/cats (pet dander) when visiting them because of the insanity that follows. You would think that if I am reaching out to pet your dog that you would get a clue... but nope... instead they scream at their dog, swat it away, and whatnot...

      I blame the liberals. Seriously. They raised entire generations that overreact to everything.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    9. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Only suspended? You're lucky. In our school district, kids can be ARRESTED for possessing any kind of nut or peanut based food (remember peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes).

      Reckless endangerment or something... it's ridiculous. Bad parents refuse to properly raise their kids, so they end up with nearly lethal allergies to common things, and the rest of us are the ones who get punished.

      Fuck them.

    10. Re:When I was in school by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nobody is fooling me. This is just some fake science dreamed up by the peanut lobby. Big Peanut will stop at nothing to make a buck, even if it means endangering our innocent children. Its a slippery slope, first make us think we don't have to worry about peanut allergies, next we'll be forced to eat Thai food and lubricate our cars with peanut oil. Go ahead, keep your heads in the sand. I warned you.

    11. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Our litigious society has driven us to this response. Schools do not want to assume liability if Jonny keels over because Sue brought peanuts to snack time, so it is easier to block than manage risk. They are teachers, not health care providers, but we expect schools to do it all.

      Parents absolve themselves of any responsibility for their kids as soon as they load them on the bus. An obvious solution would be to quarrentine severe allergics into separate schooling facilities so that the majority would not be inconvenienced, but society wants everyone lumped together, equally.

    12. Re:When I was in school by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      This is part of our pampered, bubble wrapped society. I ask when people stay over if they have an allergy to cats and if the answer is yes then I will typically spend 5min extra vacuuming the area where they will sleep and then let them know we have some antihistamines.

      Frankly half the time the people who really need to be subscribed with a cup of cement aren't the people suffering from a disease.

      We as a society have labeling fear. "That's GMO, it must be bad or they wouldn't label it so." "That says gluten free on it. Last time I had the one with gluten I had an upset stomach, I must be celiac!"

    13. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I no longer tell people that I am allergic to dogs/cats (pet dander) when visiting them because of the insanity that follows. You would think that if I am reaching out to pet your dog that you would get a clue... but nope... instead they scream at their dog, swat it away, and whatnot...

      I blame the liberals. Seriously. They raised entire generations that overreact to everything.

      I made the mistake once of mentioning my pineapple allergy among friends, When at a party later one of them who was mixing cocktails proceeded to announce loudly every time she made a drink"don't worry, there's no pineapple in it!" until I got fed up and told her that it's just raw pineapple that makes the inside of my mouth a bit itchy: if it's been cooked, grilled, or pasteurized there's no problem as apparently heat destroys the offending allergen. Now I just don't mention allergies to anyone anymore thanks to the overreaction that tends to happen.

    14. Re:When I was in school by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2, Funny

      I finally have a good reason to only wash my dinner plates and bowls only once a week! I'm not gross, I'm building a strong immunity!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    15. Re:When I was in school by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      This is part of our pampered, bubble wrapped society.

      Maybe, but have you ever played with bubble wrap? That shit is amazing!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    16. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't get me wrong, they exist and it's nice that we accomodate them so they don't die or anything

      Why is it a virtue to force everyone to bend over backwards for someone who can't survive in the outside world? especially if doing so exacerbates the problem?

    17. Re:When I was in school by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Are you also allergic to pen apple pen?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    18. Re:When I was in school by famebait · · Score: 3, Funny

      My country is more liberal than yours. I see nothing like that here. I blame your flag. Just as well-founded.

      --
      sudo ergo sum
    19. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. Where did you go to school? Seriously, I'm 50 and I personally knew two kids in a ~400 student school with nut allergies.

      You need to contact the CDC with the contact information on that student body. They need to know this sort of things exists so they can send out questionnaires and find out if the ancestors and descendants had nut allergies.

      What a rare opportunity.

      Unless, you know, you are full of shit, which is MUCH more likely.

    20. Re:When I was in school by famebait · · Score: 1

      Who isn't?

      --
      sudo ergo sum
    21. Re:When I was in school by famebait · · Score: 1

      First they came for the peanut allergy...

      --
      sudo ergo sum
    22. Re:When I was in school by redmasq · · Score: 2

      Allergies vary depending on the individual. I have a strange one: red onions. They will give me a mild contact rash that goes away after a day or so. It won't kill me; it does make me rather unpleasant for a day or so, less if I had taken an antihistamine about an hour or so prior to contact. On the other hand, I know someone that was put into hospital for over a week from eating a food to which he was allergic. I have to take quite a bit of care concerning food prep when he visits, but it is no reason to panic.

      Concerning peanut allergies, I know several people with them. A few have minor reactions such as upset stomach from consuming or rashes from contact exposure. One swells up like a balloon from consuming them and must keep Epinephrine on person for such unfortunate occasions.

      I think there is a place for notices in case of allergies. I also think that people should actually confirm they have an allergy before they announce it to the world and not use it as an excuse for not eating something he or she does not like. I have noticed that some individuals treat their (sometimes real) allergies as trophies. I think they like for people to make the effort to cater to them; however, that is just open speculation. For me, it's just easier to tell people that I do not like red onions and pick them off with a napkin if they disagree. As a side note, not so much an allergy per se, but, it is interesting to see how many people will have cheese removed from their dish because "lactose intolerance" but will order ice cream for dessert.

      And, btw, bubble wrap is pretty fun to pop.

    23. Re:When I was in school by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 2

      I've seen this sort of thing too with my Vietnamese and Chinese friends from college. It definitely seems like hiding your child from normal immune development at early ages is the biggest trigger for allergy problems. The nice thing is that if they can cure kids of a peanut allergy that can straight up kill you, there is a great amount of hope for people with mild allergies. And it doesn't have to be a doctor doing it.

      One of my kids has allergies to... well to *something* in the air. Probably pollen or mold. We don't give him a bunch of immune suppressing who-knows-what-kind-of-side-effects allergy medicine, except once during a trip out of town because it was ruining his trip and making him freak out. We see signs that over time his allergies are getting less and less problematic, and I'm willing to bet, just like dear old dad, he will be 100% allergy free as an adult (confirmed by testing from an allergy specialist... I do have a bit of acid reflux though).

    24. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I blame the liberals.

      LOL When do you ever not blame "the liberals?"

    25. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your anecdote is strong and true, while his anecdote is obviously the work of a liar or idiot?

      That line of thought is certainly easy... one never has to change one's mind.

    26. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cheese thing sounds like my sister. Nobody in our family is lactose intolerant, yet somehow she is. 2 Parents, 3 siblings, none of us are, but she is somehow. Never mind that her lactose intolerance is very finicky and things like buttermilk ranch don't bother her, but hard cheeses will, despite the fact that hard cheeses have almost no lactose in them at all. She also doesn't have problems with certain baked goods like pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes, despite the fact that both of those have several liters of cream in them. At least she does say that ice cream bothers her though.

    27. Re:When I was in school by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      I used to think the cat allergy thing was overblown, until I met someone with a real cat allergy. They can handle being around a cat for an hour or two, but after that, the effects become noticeable to others. The extra vacuuming helps some, but not as much as you'd expect.

      As for the peanut allergy, I'd say it's up to the people themselves to deal with it. Same with shellfish. You don't see everyone running around like nuts restricting shellfish everywhere. Have a nut allergy, don't eat nuts. It's a first world problem because severe (nut) allergies result in child mortality in the third world.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    28. Re:When I was in school by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      I kinda feel bad for any kid who can't eat peanuts or even more importantly, peanut butter; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are like a staple of childhood in the US and Canada.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    29. Re:When I was in school by denzacar · · Score: 2

      I blame his overblown allergy to liberals.
      It has made him paranoid of any contact with liberals or liberal ideas so much that he sees liberals everywhere and blames them for everything.
      He screams at them, tries to swat them away, insanity ensues...

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    30. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      nobody had a peanut allergy.

      Peanut allergies are a first world problem. They are rare in developing countries, where kids grow up around chickens, pigs, and goats, so they develop strong immune systems that don't overreact.

      And peanuts too. In Israel, peanut butter and milk mixed is often the first solid food that babies get, and peanut allergies are almost unknown.

      You are spot on regarding the folks who have adopted the avoid at all costs - neurotic- outlook. Those children have a messed up immune system because of it. Too much avoidance and you can end up being deathly allergic to almost anything with proteins.

      Related story. When my son was young, we took him with us one day to visit out horse for the first time. He got a blotchy rash, and my wife called his pediatrician. Luckily for us, the doctor asked if he was wheezing, we told him no, and then he told us to keep taking the boy and see what happened. Within a week, no reaction at all. Doc also told us that dirt is good for kids. I totally believe him.

      Fast forward to when my son was playing Ice Hockey. About half his team was on asthma inhalers. Whether it was a coincidence or not, there seemed to be a relationship between that and the neurotic parents.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    31. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Frankly half the time the people who really need to be subscribed with a cup of cement aren't the people suffering from a disease.

      Wait...what? I think that might be a good saying, but can't parse it.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    32. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      My country is more liberal than yours. I see nothing like that here. I blame your flag. Just as well-founded.

      Aren't crypto-conservatives a blast? I got stuck in a traffic jam with one, and he kept blaming it on former President O'Blama.

      So yeah, if a traffic accident is the fault of liberals, peanut allergies logically follows.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    33. Re:When I was in school by Octorian · · Score: 1

      And now, thanks to overreacting school rules, we can't pack them as lunch for our kids. The best and easiest option, taken off the table. Grr :-(
      I only hope that someday this nonsense will end, and efforts like this one will make it possible to stop having such rules.

    34. Re:When I was in school by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      I propose a different reason for that. Those that had extreme allergies in those sorts of place probably die in infancy.

      So the infant mortality rate of 17.8 and 12.1 per 1000 live births in Vietnam and China respectively is a lot higher than the USA at 5.8 or the EU at 4.0, and compared to Norway and Sweden at 2.5 and 2.6 even the 5.8 in the USA is positively medieval.

      So yes they play in the dirt in developing countries, but the kids drop like flies, with a death rate of 87 in Chad for example, 53.9 in Pakistan and 40.5 in India.

      Perhaps Asian mothers are neurotic because culturally they have not grown used to low infant mortality rates? If your parents and grandparents tell you stories of how many of their siblings died in childhood that will likely have an impact on how you treat your children, especially if you only have one or two for economic reasons. Seems a likely hypothesis to me at least. Where in the "west" those sorts of tails are dim and distant memories.

    35. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I grew up on a farm in Canada where we drank unpasteurized milk and i don't think even 1 of us have an allergy i don't know if there is a connection but i have to ask why is unpasteurized milk illegal to sell.

    36. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm the OP.

      My HS was the largest in the state of Florida and my senior class had over 4000 students at graduation.

      There was no peanut hysteria in 1996 at all, and I don't know of any single person in that school with any type of allergy. That's not to say I knew all of 4000+ people but there was no peanut panic in my school, at all.

    37. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      every day. I'm a packaging engineer

    38. Re:When I was in school by PPH · · Score: 1

      When I was in grade school in the early 1960's, I was in one class where the teacher announced that one student had a peanut allergy. So we should not trade or share the contents of our lunches. Evidently not a serious enough allergy to warrant banning peanuts. Also, the sensitive student wasn't identified. Probably to avoid teasing.

      I'm guessing that by high school, kids are responsible enough to avoid peanuts on their own, unless the allergy is so severe that proximity might trigger it.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    39. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If your parents and grandparents tell you stories of how many of their siblings died in childhood

      I'm Armenian. So my elders told me to avoid Turkey.

    40. Re:When I was in school by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      If obsession on artificial cleanliness, avoidance of anything deemed 'dirty', and/or protecting your children from anything is bad, then yes.

      Of course the US has just as many weird obsessions as any culture, but we have the resources and wealth to obsess over these and implement practices that have unintended consequences. So we get weird allergies, for instance.

      We are also a litigious society, ready to sue for any cause, and courts that are increasingly willing to sit in judgment of issues they should not, and make decisions based not on law, or even 'science', but on their individual senses of justice, as in 'what I want the world to be like'.

      Bad things, my friends, bad things to be avoided.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    41. Re:When I was in school by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Not washing your hands after taking a piss is good practice, to quote a Marine, 'because I was taught to not piss on my hands'.

      Just remember, seriously, you don't wash up leaving the bathroom because you think you're dirty, but to assure others that you will not ask them to trust that.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    42. Re:When I was in school by PPH · · Score: 1

      Those that had extreme allergies in those sorts of place probably die in infancy.

      There was a project to develop an easily transportable food to alleviate starvation in some parts of Africa. The result was a squeeze tube of a peanut-butter fortified with some nutrients and other stuff that didn't require refrigeration. Kids, even babies could eat it.

      When asked about the possibility of triggering peanut allergies, an epidemiologist (part of the development team) said that they didn't see significant rates of peanut allergies in Africa. I think people in this sort of profession knows the difference between low rates of occurrence and counting the survivors that the substance didn't kill.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    43. Re:When I was in school by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      I'm allergic to pet dander, and therefore most any animal's dander. I had a cat for most of my adult life, and tolerated the reaction until it became unimportant to me. I've had dogs for less time, but still. And for some times I suppressed my allergic reactions with sedating antihistamines, tobacco, then marginally effective non-sedating antihistamines, ophthalmic antihistamines, and now caving in and using a nasal coritcosteroid because the eye drops are just too damned expensive. Even the generic.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    44. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm building a strong immunity!

      Well, as we have been told, it takes an illage.

    45. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wipe carefully after I take a shit.
      I don't get shit on my hands. Why should I wash my hands afterward? If piss guy won't, I won't. We can shake on it.

    46. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And peanuts too. In Israel, peanut butter and milk mixed is often the first solid food that babies get, and peanut allergies are almost unknown.

      Could it be that all of the people with a sever allergic reaction to them are killed off so it doesn't get passed down to their children? Are you advocating murdering babies due to genetics?

    47. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ^

      Made me chuckle.

    48. Re:When I was in school by lgw · · Score: 1

      Hey, I was in several traffic jams that were the result of either Obama or Hillary (as they were visiting town, and freeways were closed for hours etc) - as good a reason as any to hate a politician, if you ask me.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    49. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Peanuts are a common ingredients like pepper.

      That does not mean many dishes contain it.

      The percentage of Vietnamese or Thai (no idea about Chinese) who actually like and eat peanuts is pretty low.

      I doubt there is a significant difference in numbers of allergies.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    50. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      If your allergy is on such a low level, it is not called an allergy but an intolerance.
      Might even help people who suffer from it to grasp the difference.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    51. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Again this "liberal myth" on /.

      So a democrate or republican would never overreact?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    52. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      how many people will have cheese removed from their dish because "lactose intolerance"
      Then they are idiots. Cheese is already fermented and safe to eat for anyone with lactose intolerance.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    53. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      You live in a country where the school has rules what kids can bring to eat.
      Unbelievable.

      And you parents accept that?

      Shakes head

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    54. Re:When I was in school by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      First of all, peanuts are nuts.
      Secondly, the definition what what is, is a bit arbitrary, e.g. a strawberry is a nut too. And a banana is a berry.
      Just pick up a plant classification book ...

      Bad parents refuse to properly raise their kids, so they end up with nearly lethal allergies ...
      We actually don't know how allergies develop.

      But if you do, write an assay and farm in your first Nobel Prize instead of behaving like an anonymous idiot on /.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    55. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Peanut allergies are a first world problem.

      A first-world problem is still a problem. Food allergies range from extremely unpleasant to potentially lethal. Similar techniques have been tried before, with less success, so this is an important development.

      They are rare in developing countries, where kids grow up around chickens, pigs, and goats, so they develop strong immune systems that don't overreact.

      So, what you're saying is that this research will be more important over time. As other nations industrialize, they will resemble the US and Europe more closely, assuming agriculture becomes industrial there as well.

    56. Re:When I was in school by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Well, if nobody is reacting strongly and they have little medical care anyways, like in a third world situation, they're just another child mortality statistic and there is no reason for anything about peanuts to ever come up.

      I'm sure there are lots of deadly problems they "don't have" because they wouldn't be able to measure things well enough to even detect it and label it.

      Obviously, excess cleanliness makes allergies a lot worse, but they did already exist before soap was even invented.

      If nobody is taking steps to protect them, they all died young, and every example of a person with peanut allergy will be of people who can survive casual exposure. Duh.

    57. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      And peanuts too. In Israel, peanut butter and milk mixed is often the first solid food that babies get, and peanut allergies are almost unknown.

      Could it be that all of the people with a sever allergic reaction to them are killed off so it doesn't get passed down to their children? Are you advocating murdering babies due to genetics?

      I think you are talking about "survivor bias". I really don't think this is the case, because we'd certainly hear about infants dying in large numbers right after getting their first solid food.

      The problem with a super clean, avoid all possible allergen/bacteria lifestyle is that it's easy to fall into. People want to protect their children. But we can go overboard, and not give their immune systems enough proper exercise. Its a hypothesis to be certain, called the "Hygiene hypothesis" but there is a certain logic to it. If a person does not exercise their immune system while young, it might over-react later on in life.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    58. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Hey, I was in several traffic jams that were the result of either Obama or Hillary (as they were visiting town, and freeways were closed for hours etc) - as good a reason as any to hate a politician, if you ask me.

      Oh Gawd, I hear ya. When candidates or elected officials come through my city, its a first class PITA

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    59. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So improve the species. Let the truly weak ones die off before they can pass on their genes.

      The modern focus on protecting the weak is bad for us as a species. STOP.

    60. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OH! So for your group of acquaintances* you knew no one with any peanut allergies. That, my friend, says WAY more about you than about your school or allergies or this so-called "peanut hysteria" that Delta Airlines and Jiff Peanut Butter dreamed up.

      *I'm saying acquaintances because an attitude like yours rules out friends.

    61. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Roughly 1% of American's have a nut allergy (Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the US..." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10200001)

      Current population of the United States: 325,000,000 (https://www.census.gov/popclock/)

      1 out every 100 people you meet should have a nut allergy. By the OP's own admittance he had over 4000 students in his high school. There should have been 40 students with nut allergies.

      This is what we call "science". You should try it some time. It's very useful. It allowed me to accurately asses the level of shit in the OP's post.

      'Course, y'all kin-serv-a-tivs think science is a lib-tard hoax so I is not holdin' out much hope there.

    62. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure? Cause i'm pretty certain the "5 Second Rule" was created in America.

      Kids today though, i pity. Can't climb trees, walk to school, stay home alone, walk to a friend's house half a mile away, play on jungle gyms or monkey bars, can't eat unhealthy food of dubious cleanliness (lookin at you bologna and your 'maximum allowed insect parts' FDA regulations!), can't eat stuff grown at home (pesky air quality pollutants are dangerous zomg!), and so much more that all equaled growing up with strong immune systems, strong bodies, a knowledge of pain and that its never the end of the world, confidence, and a sense of independence.

      No, now all of that is bad parenting, little Timmy should stay home, eat sterile food and live his life in fear of anyone he doesn't already know.

      But at least Science! can correct some of that harm now. Here's hoping they add wild bug parts to the lab grown meat!

    63. Re:When I was in school by sjames · · Score: 1

      There may well be some 3rd World deaths from severe allergy that never get characterized. It would be hard to know.

      My point is more that in the 1st world, the paranoid peanut bans some schools implement are drastic overkill in most cases. The odds are that the one or 2 allergic kids simply need to not eat peanut butter or get it smeared on them. The kid at the next table eating nutter-butters isn't a big deal.

    64. Re:When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope.

      It started from Alexander the Great, and was the 50-minute rule (if your food is on the ground for less than 50 minutes, it's OK to eat).

    65. Re:When I was in school by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      The extra vacuuming helps some, but not as much as you'd expect.

      We have several friends with actual allergies. The vacuuming buys them about an hour. We have antihistamines in the house anyway.

      That said the allergy is to saliva and not all cats trigger the allergy. My old cat was a Burman, and and can best be described as hypoallergenic. One of our friends who would scoff down antihistamines whenever around most cats could happily have him rubbed all over her face without so much as a blink.

    66. Re:When I was in school by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      My compiler just spat out an error at word 12. I think it was meant to be prescribed. :)

    67. Re:When I was in school by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      My compiler just spat out an error at word 12. I think it was meant to be prescribed. :)

      Okay. I wasn't sure - sometimes I get a little thick. 8^) I still like it though.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    68. Re:When I was in school by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      There are cats that are hypoallergenic, something in their genetic make-up is different enough from other cats that the allergic reaction is reduced or even in some cases non-existent. There are certain breeds of dogs that exhibit similar traits. At least 3 breeds I know of have been isolated from other strains of dogs for many centuries, 2 of those having been breed exclusively on islands and one by royalty.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    69. Re:When I was in school by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Why is it a virtue to force everyone to bend over backwards for someone who can't survive in the outside world? especially if doing so exacerbates the problem?

      Lack of malice? Special snowflakes that can't take a mean word without throwing a fit and retreating to their safe space is one thing, but there genuinely are people whose immune system will go loco over something innocent. They didn't ask for it. They have no choice in the matter. That ought to be enough, really.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    70. Re:When I was in school by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      For susceptible people (I'm married to one), it is deeply addictive.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    71. Re: When I was in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if, in Asia, the rare peanut allergic kids just don't live long enough to figure out they have a peanut allergy?

      Anyway, my brother's best friend died at 30 in the mid 90s due to eating Asian food cooked with peanut oil. Not able to smell it, he got to much into his system and went into a cardiac arrest.
      One time before, he'd been given a peanut shake, on holidays in Canada. Being Dutch, he didn't realize such a thing existed, and the person handing him the shake thought it would be a good surprise...
      Luckily there was a doctor who took his final words before passing out seriously, about having a severe peanut allergy, and kept giving him adrenaline, pulp fiction style, until his body responded. If I'm not mistaken, he needed 12 injections...

      I don't believe anyone else I've ever met has such a strong allergy. Many don't have an allergy at all, like a comment below about pineapple allergy, which by the description sounds like the general reaction to eating fresh pineapple...

      So I think few people are really strongly allergic, and many of not most may benefit from exposure. As long as the right care is available, it should be all right.

    72. Re:When I was in school by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      There may well be some 3rd World deaths from severe allergy that never get characterized. It would be hard to know.

      Horseshit. Knowing how many is hard, knowing if there are any only requires knowing the risk and if you're tracking it or it. If you know that some percent of the population has the risk, and you know that it would not be counted, then you already know it is happening.

      You're obviously not being intellectually honest, and you have some hidden bias that is actually responsible for your asserted conclusions.

      As far as the part at the end, the difference is that these school districts have employees who habitually consume research data, and so they know the actual risks and death rates. All you know is your [political] conclusions. You start from your conclusion, and then you make up random fake-facts that you purport as supporting your conclusion. But that process is really moronic.

    73. Re:When I was in school by sjames · · Score: 1

      You know, those pills aren't just sanity talismans. You have to actually swallow them before they can do any good.

      As for the rest, we DON'T know how many, if any, have the risk in some populations in the developing world. Of course, some places have no peanuts, so necessarily no peanut allergy risk. I'm not sure what sort of bias you think I might harbor there.

      For the rest, if there are really that many kids THAT deathly allergic to peanuts, surely there will be many sensational headlines reporting hospitalizations or deaths at school. Where are they?

    74. Re:When I was in school by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      You're still failing to comprehend the difference between "we don't know how many" and "we don't know if there are any." They do have different meaning.

    75. Re:When I was in school by sjames · · Score: 1

      And you don't seem to appreciate the difference between KNOWING and SUPPOSING.

      The first requires not less than one documented example.

  3. Peanuts are an abomination! by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Funny

    So sayeth The Lord.

    1. Re:Peanuts are an abomination! by dwywit · · Score: 1

      Don't come between me and satay!!!!

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    2. Re:Peanuts are an abomination! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Yeah! I hate that yellow guy! He and his red buddy are ripping the new orange guy apart!

      Leave caramel alone!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:Peanuts are an abomination! by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      God also hates Figs. I feel like I need a commandment to understand which foods I'm not supposed to eat, but all we got were some lousy footnotes.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Peanuts are an abomination! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering that most people have no problem eating peanuts it's more likely that those with lethal peanut allergies are the ones that God apparently hates and loves to troll.

  4. Guardian reporting is going downhill by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    Somehow a study that checked back on people 4 years after treatment get's converted to "works up to four years".

    Do these people even english?

    1. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You just don't science.

    2. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 2

      Seeing how the whole media industry has been in continuous decline for the last couple of decades it's probably to be expected that most of the actually talented people have moved on to less... Dying... Industries. Then again there's also the clickbait aspect all commercially funded media is subject to and the general news media never really having been all that great at understanding actual science (probably because journalism falls more way more under liberal arts than under hard science).

      --
      "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    3. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by famebait · · Score: 2

      This is a common way of expressing "can work for at least four years" in academia.

      The problem with former is that is can be read as "works no longer than 4 years"
      The problem with the latter is that is that is sounds hypothetical, leaving doubt about whether these durations have actually been observed.

      The ambiguity could be removed by expanding it into what the original is (fairly established) shorthand for: "has been observed to work for up to four years"

      --
      sudo ergo sum
    4. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 2

      Since when has Science ever had anything to do with Science Reporting. Most of these reporters have no idea about science

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    5. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Do these people even english?

      They don't know talking good like me and you.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    6. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      "has been observed to work for up to four years"

      So what? After four years they're out of work or something?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    7. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Somehow a study that checked back on people 4 years after treatment get's converted to "works up to four years".

      Do these people even english?

      Unpossible!

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    8. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      No, after four years is in the future, thus they are not able to observe it working. If they could observe the future, they wouldn't be in science, that's for sure.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    9. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by PPH · · Score: 2

      Do these people even english?

      Well, this IS The Grauniad. What did you expect?

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    10. Re:Guardian reporting is going downhill by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Why not? Travel to the future, see value of stocks and crypto-currencies, buy today.

      In the future, become rich and stop working for money, continue doing research because that's what you love.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  5. Physical curling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So, isolating children from a danger was making them lethally sensitive, and the solution is to gradually expose them to it. Surely, that strategy applies only to this specific case?

    1. Re: Physical curling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It works with guns too. Just shoot them with a water pistol until they stop flinching, then repeat with the next gun. Water pistol - super soaker - nerf gun - airsoft gun - paintball gun (okay, this is just list masturbation now) - BB gun - rock salt in a 20 gauge at 20 yards etc.

  6. Allergies and placebos ? by Diac · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Is it just me or does giving any group of people especially kids who have a much lower level of understanding and a higher level of trust medicine that might be a placebo and then telling them this will let you eat that thing that could kill you seem like a bad idea?

    1. Re:Allergies and placebos ? by famebait · · Score: 2

      Yes, it just you who thinks this is what happened.

      --
      sudo ergo sum
    2. Re:Allergies and placebos ? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Informative

      The kids were given a skin prick test with peanut allergen before and after the treatments. Only the kids who no longer reacted to the allergen would have been told they could eat peanuts. Kids who still reacted would have been told they still had to avoid peanuts.

      So yes, it's just you misunderstanding how clinical trials work.

    3. Re:Allergies and placebos ? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2

      One way or the another, you reduce the number of peanut allergic kids.

    4. Re:Allergies and placebos ? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      It's also making me misunderstand the local mafia guys when they call me "little prick".

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  7. peanut oral immunotherapy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yes, it's a therapy.

    No, it doesn't make your peanut bigger.

  8. do not want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    My snowflake is perfect as is. You need to check your peanut privilege.

  9. You'd all die in Brazil... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... but at least you would die happy.

    http://artesanatobrasil.net/09-receitas-de-doces-com-amendoim-para-festa-junina/

    I'd get that treatment if not else just to be able to eat paçoquinha.

  10. You know what else works? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You know what else "cures" a peanut "allergy?"

    Peanuts.

    Desensitization works for peanut allergies nearly 100% of the time. In fact, isolation from allergens typically only makes allergies worse. I had a peanut allergy as an infant. I almost died once according to my parents. My mom, being a well-educated and smart woman, ignored the idiot doctor's orders to keep me away from all things peanut (doctors only say this to cover their asses, there is no medical research that supports evasive therapy for allergies) and instead would put a tiny amount of peanut on my lip every day. I would break out in hives at first, but after a couple of months, my reactions went away.

    Now I eat peanut butter all the time and I have my mom to thank. Since learning of this when I was old enough to understand, I've never avoided allergens - and I've never had allergies of any kind, to anything.

    BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts. It's all in their heads.

    1. Re:You know what else works? by GerryHattrick · · Score: 3, Interesting

      At least 10 years ago, journals were reporting that a microdose of peanut protein, increased each day (with careful monitoring) could desentise successfully after months. This study uses probiotics - interesting and wholly credible too, but where is the 'control' that probiotics specifically have contributed, and to what extent?

    2. Re:You know what else works? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      there is no medical research that supports evasive therapy for allergies

      Really? Because people who have peanut allergies who aren't exposed to any peanuts have successfully not died from their peanut allergy 100% of the time. Using big words like "therapy" just shows you have no clue as to what doctors told you or the reasons behind it.

      BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts. It's all in their heads.

      You're a fucking idiot.

    3. Re:You know what else works? by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      but where is the 'control' that probiotics specifically have contributed, and to what extent?

      If you sin and RTFA, they note that the role of probiotics is unknown, as there wasn't this control group. And that given how well this worked, they are interested in exploring that. The obvious question was why not do these obvious controls at the time of experimentation, and the answer is generally that there weren't enough participants to split them that many ways and still meet the N size to have significance.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    4. Re:You know what else works? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have tested myself multiple times over >30 years and so far as I can determine my fatal peanut allergy is physiological, not psychosomatic. I physiologically respond to some other well-documented allergens, such as urushiol. I've experienced allergies for which I did successfully build tolerance (mostly respiratory), and ones for which I didn't (mostly food-borne). Typically my reactions precede knowledge of exposure, and it is the reaction that evidences the exposure. Your sample size of one does not prove a case. My sample size of one exactly contradicts all of your claims. Neither anecdote is sufficient to make a scientific truth claim.

      You know what else "cures" a peanut "allergy?"

      Peanuts.

      Desensitization works for peanut allergies nearly 100% of the time. In fact, isolation from allergens typically only makes allergies worse. I had a peanut allergy as an infant. I almost died once according to my parents. My mom, being a well-educated and smart woman, ignored the idiot doctor's orders to keep me away from all things peanut (doctors only say this to cover their asses, there is no medical research that supports evasive therapy for allergies) and instead would put a tiny amount of peanut on my lip every day. I would break out in hives at first, but after a couple of months, my reactions went away.

      Now I eat peanut butter all the time and I have my mom to thank. Since learning of this when I was old enough to understand, I've never avoided allergens - and I've never had allergies of any kind, to anything.

      BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts. It's all in their heads.

    5. Re:You know what else works? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

      Because people who have peanut allergies who aren't exposed to any peanuts have successfully not died from their peanut allergy 100% of the time.

      So people who aren't exposed to any peanuts don't die from exposure to peanuts. That's an utter truism and says nothing about the underlying question.

      BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts. It's all in their heads.

      You're a fucking idiot.

      If it's really that clear-cut, why don't you skip the invective and spend a few keystrokes actually providing some evidence of documented death from casual contact with peanuts (as opposed to actually eating them)? It doesn't look particularly good for you from what I can see.

    6. Re: You know what else works? by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

      A former co-worker did the same with her lactose intolerant son. Started with a tiny bit of milk and gradually worked the amount up. Now her son had no issue... took about a year if I remember correctly.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    7. Re:You know what else works? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts.
      And despite your personal experience you are an idiot.

      If your mother had spoon fed you 2 spoons of peanut butter in your young age you likely would be dead.

      How can one be so suffering from an allergy and be so dumb about it. That is beyond me.

      Stupid idiot even giving advice on the internet. You should be jailed.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    8. Re:You know what else works? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Why don't you google yourself you moron?

      Citing a huffinton post article ... that is not even funny.

      This is from 1943: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/1...
      This is more modern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      This are show cases: http://nonutsmomsgroup.weebly....

      In what damn dream world do you live? I hope you never have kids. Damn idiot.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    9. Re:You know what else works? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The body's reaction to urushiol is not allergic, it is immune. Urushiol binds with the proteins in your skin to make something the body doesn't recognize, and so is treated like an invader. Your body is trying to kill the offending protein cells.

      The difference between whether someone is "allergic" to urushiol is whether their immune system sees the bonded proteins as a foreign invader. It has nothing to do with allergies.

      Your peanut allergy may be similar. Have you ever tried green peanuts out of the ground or have you only ever tried processed peanuts? Perhaps it is something in the processing and not the peanut at all.

    10. Re:You know what else works? by Spamalope · · Score: 1

      >

      BTW, if anyone tells you their kid will die at the slightest contact with something peanut, they're lying. Nobody is that allergic to peanuts. It's all in their heads.

      You're a moron. A friend Julie is that allergic. Her husband ate peanuts in the morning, kissed her after midnight and put her in the emergency room. She's an MD and didn't know why she's that sensitive for many years, before she discovered she's got a form of leukemia that amplifies immune system response.

      I've got a mast cell problem that does something similar, but with yellow jacket stings. 'Regular' allergens just make me hurt as though I've got the worst case of flu body aches ever.

      That of course doesn't mean that school admins aren't creating solutions that allow them to be authoritarian because they like that vs that being the best course of action.

    11. Re:You know what else works? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

      You're clearly confused. Why don't you try carefully rereading what I asked for: " documented death from casual contact with peanuts (as opposed to actually eating them) ."

      Your 1943 paper says nothing about peanuts. Your Wikipedia article gloms together "ingestion of or exposure to peanuts, wheat, nuts, certain types of seafood like shellfish, milk, and eggs" and thus provides no actual examples of death from casual contact with peanuts. The list of specific deaths in your "no nuts" (if only) article is from people actually eating them.

      Contrast that with the article I cited, which actually speaks to the issue I raised (13 U.S. deaths over 10 years, and the linked Forbes article says all 13 were from ingestion, just like your "no nuts" list).

      Citing a huffinton post article ... that is not even funny.

      Says the person who cited Wikipedia and an activist moms website? Come on.

      In what damn dream world do you live?

      One in which I use precise words in the English language to communicate precise concepts, supported with evidence specifically linked to those concepts. You might try that sometime in place of your knee-jerk histrionics.

    12. Re:You know what else works? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Oh, I did not notice the emphasized "casual contact".

      I doubt casual contact can trigger a strong reaction.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    13. Re:You know what else works? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      actually providing some evidence of documented death from casual contact with peanuts

      There's this thing called Google. Use it. People don't need to die to invalidate the claim, and there are hundreds out there.

      e.g. http://www.abc.net.au/news/201...
      Just the first google result. I'm sure you can find more if you don't rely on people spoon feeding you common knowledge.

    14. Re:You know what else works? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

      I'm sure you can find more if you don't rely on people spoon feeding you common knowledge.

      There's no spoon feeding to it, brother -- I'm well aware of all the anecdotal hysteria out there. I'm just of the ever so humble opinion that anecdotal hysteria shouldn't be the basis for social policy. Get back with me when you have some actual data. I won't be holding my breath.

    15. Re:You know what else works? by antdude · · Score: 1

      What about with adults? :(

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  11. NO. Plumpy'nut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    His comment isn't form one of those people who are picking on someone for acting like it's the end of the World because their video game is broken.

    He's right by the way - although the ultra cleanliness of first world countries is just a hypothesis. Plumpy'nut is distributed in Africa during famines and they have yet to see an allergic reaction.

    1. Re:NO. Plumpy'nut by Obfiscator · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that peanuts are served roasted as a snack, covered in a sugar/water mixture and served as a snack, and ground up into paste and used as a sauce across much of Africa (Francophone Africa, at least...haven't spent that much time elsewhere). I have yet to see someone around here turn down peanuts (groundnuts) in any form due to an allergy.

      --
      "Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist." -Indiana Jones
  12. Finally!!! by brxndxn · · Score: 1

    The last flight I was on had to serve almonds instead of peanuts because a passenger had a peanut allergy. Here I am.. 30,000 feet.. and I'm eating almonds - like we're flying over Iran or something.

    --
    --- We need more Ron Paul!
    1. Re:Finally!!! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      When I eat almonds I think California (droughts), not Iran.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  13. So if I say I'm allergic to idiots ?? by Salgak1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    . . . I can force others to keep them away from me ??

    (OK, it was worth a shot. . . . )

  14. Let nature take its course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you can be killed by a peanut, your genes are weak and should be removed from the pool.

    1. Re:Let nature take its course by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Anyone who can be killed by this guy is weak indeed.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  15. Finally a cure for something! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So... now kids can eat more?

  16. Political peanut allergies? by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I blame the liberals. Seriously. They raised entire generations that overreact to everything.

    Really? Peanut allergies are political now? I find it amazing that so many conservatives seem to find a way to blame liberalism for anything that annoys them. That is called scapegoating and it says more about you than it does about them. I coach a high school sports team and I can assure you that conservative parents are just as obnoxious and over-reaction prone as liberal ones. I deal with both routinely and it has NOTHING to do with their political bent.

    1. Re:Political peanut allergies? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I blame the liberals. Seriously. They raised entire generations that overreact to everything.

      Really? Peanut allergies are political now? I find it amazing that so many conservatives seem to find a way to blame liberalism for anything that annoys them.

      Yes. By the way, they are crypto-conservatives. I don't want to venture into the No True Scotsman territory, but 1950's-1960's conservatives would not recognize these kooks.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:Political peanut allergies? by lgw · · Score: 1

      Not so much liberals as progressives: when your whole political ideology is founded on complaining about minor issues, it's not that far fetched to get blamed for any sort of over-protectiveness or obsessive avoiding of minor harm. This used to be the provenance of the right-wing religious whackos, and still is in some parts of America, but for the most part there's been a generational shift over to progressives being America's over-worriers and moral scolds.

      Now if only there were a party for classic liberals!

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:Political peanut allergies? by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      Yes. By the way, they are crypto-conservatives

      I'm not familiar with the term. Guessing, I'd assume someone who feels they need to hide their conservative leanings, similar to crypto-fascists. I don't see many people these days who sneak around like that, they are proud to don swastikas, endorse the KKK, etc.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    4. Re:Political peanut allergies? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Yes. By the way, they are crypto-conservatives

      I'm not familiar with the term. Guessing, I'd assume someone who feels they need to hide their conservative leanings, similar to crypto-fascists. I don't see many people these days who sneak around like that, they are proud to don swastikas, endorse the KKK, etc.

      You have to look at the path of the Republican party since the early 1980's. They went from a party of conservative principles that could work with Democrats - also known as compromise - to a party that has ousted all th emoderates they could, and are trying to push strange concepts like a healthcare bill that removes healthcare form many people, and redistributes it as tax breaks for a few folks. And they try to do this without any compromise, while requiring 100 percent of Republicans to walk in lockstep with the punitive measures.

      Furthermore, they are accepting of purposefully stopping the Government for that plan, which some of us real conservitives consider a mortal sin, not any action performed by a politician who is loyal to the country, but at best, a person wedded to some concept of "winning", or in some of our opinions, a traitor to the USA.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  17. Dirty childhood reducing peanut allergies? by evolutionary · · Score: 1

    I remember being told (may or may not be true) that children who were allowed to play in the mud and get dirty were less likely to develop allergy to peanuts. Something about developing a tolerance. I forget the details. It's good to know we have a way of treating those who are affected, even if for a relatively short time.

    --
    "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
    1. Re:Dirty childhood reducing peanut allergies? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      who were allowed to play in the mud and get dirty were less likely to develop allergy to peanuts.
      Sure, because the mud in Germany is in any way related to peanuts.

      Playing like ordinary kids play surely has its benefits for the immune system. But chaining it to especially peanuts allergies sounds far sketched.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  18. Not cure but palliative by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it is "up to four years" then it is not a CURE, it is a palliative, not a cure at all!

  19. Darwin would say let the penut faggots die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are too weak to survive the wrath of peanuts, you remove yourself from the pool. This is 100% effective in eradicating this blight.

    As Darwin loving liberals, you should all support this.

  20. Works with other allergies? by Tempest_2084 · · Score: 1

    I wonder if something like this could work with other allergies. My wife has a terrible latex allergy which really limits where she can go (you'd be surprised at the number of places that have balloons for no apparent reason or use latex gloves to prepare food). Maybe there's hope?

    1. Re:Works with other allergies? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Well,
      it could be worse. That reminds me at a couple where the woman hat an allergy to the sperms of her BF, and the BF had an allergy to latex.
      They used super expensive special condoms made "in the old way".

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  21. helicopter parents? by globaljustin · · Score: 1

    Instead of avoiding the allergen, the treatment is designed to reprogram the immune system's response to peanuts and eventually develop a tolerance.

    I can't help but think part of the whole 'peanut allergy' thing has to do with helicopter parents who micromanage their child's comfort beyond all rationality.

    For parents like this (helicopter parents isn't the best term, can't think of a better one now), a doctor telling them their kid *cannot* have a single peanut is almost like crack to them. It gives them an outlet for their OCD: Guard child against deadly peanuts.

    To these parents, the idea of sensitizing their kid over time is anathema..."I will not slowly poison my child!" I guess the only way to really see what I mean is to hop over to some of those "parenting" message boards about peanut allergy...

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:helicopter parents? by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      (helicopter parents isn't the best term, can't think of a better one now)

      Back in my day, the phrase 'helicopter parents' didn't exist. We called them what they are: control freaks.

    2. Re:helicopter parents? by globaljustin · · Score: 1

      We called them what they are: control freaks

      yep, that's them

      --
      Thank you Dave Raggett
  22. Don't try this experiment on your kid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It can seem like it's working.....then suddenly you are in the emergency room wondering if your child will die.

    It took my daughter more than 1 year to recover the ability to eat normal food after this treatment failed and put her in the emergency room.

    If your child has an anaphylaxis level allergy, siimply keep them away from the allergen. It's 100% effective.

    1. Re:Don't try this experiment on your kid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Until they step out of the carefully controlled environment you've created for them.

  23. These studies and therapies exist in the USA today by scurr · · Score: 1

    OIT https://www.oit101.org/ (oral immuno therapy) AIMT (Aimmune Theraputics) http://www.aimmune.com/clinica... https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2... 500 person trial ending i november CODIT oral therapy for PN DBVT (ViaSkin Patches) https://www.dbv-technologies.c... Skin patch therapy for peanuts. Go invest in them FWIW... DS

  24. Big problem is the FDA by PeterM+from+Berkeley · · Score: 1

    I agree arresting kids who had no ill intent with their food is overboard. Use of peanuts as a deadly weapon is quite another issue.

    However, the British have > 90% effective treatments for desensitizing people with peanut allergies. Since 2009-ish.

    https://blogs.scientificameric...

    and other articles. Why is the FDA not jumping on this treatment and allowing it in the USA? Is it because we can't give credit to the results of other first world countries' studies? If so, this is dumb as rocks.

    Treatments exist today that could relieve as much as 90% of the severe peanut allergy burden in this country.

    --PeterM

  25. prior art by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    This is how the Dread Pirate Roberts developed an immunity to the deadly poison iocane.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  26. Sounds like what I did for hay fever by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Took 4 years, over the course of 6 months per year, they give you shots of the things you are allergic to. After that, I'm pretty much allergy free from flowers, trees, weeds (ragweed is the killer!). Oh, if the pollen count gets stupid, it might bother me a bit, but nothing like it did. Once when I was 18, I ended up in the hospital ER, with anaphylaxis. Couldn't breathe, heart rate nuts, eyes swelling. After a treatment, was good as new. Use to keep an epi-pen with me for a while. The shots were WORTH it. The doctor was a customer of mine, and so I knew the staff pretty well. When they would usher me into the room right off the lobby, I would have some "fun" if there were kids in the lobby. As I came out, to sit in the lobby (required for 20-30 minutes after the shot), I would hold my arm and say OUCH and rub my arm...Looks on the kids eyes. The staff kept saying they would stash all their "rusty dirty, bent" needles if I didn't stop it.

  27. Yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's true, it's called the Hygiene Hypothesis.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841828/

    As a hypothesis it has been experimentally supported and is very respectable. In short there is truth in this idea. There has even been research that suggests pets in the home (cats & dogs mainly) also help train the immune system of children living in that home.

    The underlying theory is that your immune system is extremely powerful and is perfectly capable of killing you if it goes off track. Immune system components like antibodies are responses to immune challenges you've had; you don't have antibodies for things your immune system has never seen (there is a minor exception for infants who are breast fed). Therefore it is essential to train and regulate your immune system to properly distinguish Friend from Foe.

    However there's more to it than that. Allergies are to Non-Self materials but those allergens typically pose a minor threat or even no threat at all. Allergies are an immune system over-reaction. Therefore the idea is that training your immune system to respond appropriately, is key to tamping down allergic reactions. You want a modulated immune response, not a five alarm fire reaction to everything.

    Now, this isn't a suggestion to avoid medical care, to neglect wounds, or even to stop vacuuming! It just suggests that exposure to the environment is good, and more exposure to the environment tends to be better.

  28. Four years? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd be happy if they just cured it for ONE PLANE RIDE!

    Mombies with these defective kids are the absolute worst. They think their precious spawn are the most important thing in the whole world and should inconvenience the entire plane full of people instead of, you know...driving.

  29. Is Remmission, not cure by williamyf · · Score: 1

    If the alergies go away for a While, be it four years, be it longer, then the treatment does not CURE the Alergies.

    The alegies are on Remission. Is slightly different.

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!