Feeding pureed peanut products regularly to babies before their first birthday could reduce their risk of developing peanut allergies later on, doctors advise. In a practice guide for health care providers published in CMAJ, a team of pediatricians and allergy specialists encourage introducing peanuts in pureed or powdered form as early as age 4 months for most babies, and making sure the babies continue to get exposure to "substantial" amounts of peanut products in their first years of life, however, the allergy status of the baby should be checked with a doctor in advance, said one of the guide's authors, Dr George du Toit of King's College London in the UK.

He added that at-home introduction of peanut products is best suited for infants who do not have eczema or have only a mild form of skin disorder. The hardest part of implementing the current guidelines regarding peanut exposure for babies is that they "are a complete reversal from the prior practice of delaying peanut exposure," said Dr Ruchi Gupta of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, a pediatrician and food allergy researcher who wasn't involved in the practice guide.

"There's also resistance from parents because they're fearful about doing this at home with their infants and what may happen," she told Reuters Health in a phone interview. Peanut allergies typically develop before age 2. These allergies are a constant worry for parents, who need to closely monitor everything their kids eat inside and outside the home.



Copyright Reuters, 2019