Are the Days of Peanut Allergies Over?

Business Insider reports that inside each patch from DBV Technologies is a sprayed-on sample of peanut protein. Once the patch is applied, the protein makes its way into the immune system through the skin. Since it's delivered this way, the allergen never makes it to the bloodstream, which would cause the allergic reaction the user is trying to avoid. 

In data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology conference the company showed that 83 percent of children ages 6 to 11 who took part in the trial could eat 1,000 milligrams of peanuts without having an allergic reaction after wearing a patch for three years. 

Typically, the only way to lessen an allergic reaction is through "desensitization," a process in which you gradually introduce small amounts of the allergen into your body, otr by treating the symptoms by using antihistamines like Benadryl, or shots of epinephrine in extreme cases. 

Allergies are the sixth-leading cause of chronic disease in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 4 percent to 6 percent of children in the United States have food allergies, with peanuts being one of the worst offenders. 

DBV is a company to watch, since it's also developing patches for milk and egg allergies as well as for Crohn's disease, celiac disease and type 1 diabetes, that use the same immunotherapy technology.