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t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 32 Outgrowing an Allergy With food allergies on the rise, a simple test brings conclusive answers B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r F or as long as she could remember, Carolyn Parmer, now 16, had to bring her own cake to birthday parties. She was allergic to nuts and sesame seeds, and her mother was worried that even the slightest contamination could trigger an allergic reaction. "When I had allergies, we wouldn't really eat out a lot because of contami- nation risk, and if I'd do summer camp or something, I'd have to have my own meal," Parmer said. She carried an epinephrine autoin- jector with her everywhere and dutifully asked about ingredients in snacks and at sleepovers. Over the years she was monitored by her allergist, Carla Davis, M.D., director of the Food Allergy Program at Texas Children's Hospital. At one point during a routine checkup, Davis noticed that Parmer did not have a reaction to her skin prick test. Davis tried it again: nothing. Parmer was in fifth grade when she underwent an oral food challenge, a test in which a patient is given increasing amounts of the offending food and monitored to see if an allergic reaction occurs. A medical professional stands by with oxygen, epinephrine, albuterol and antihistamines in case it does. Parmer said the quantity was tiny at first—mere milligrams—and she grad- ually worked up to nearly a spoonful of peanut butter and tahini paste during the test. Still, no reaction; she had out- grown her allergy, and her life became easier in an instant. Parmer's experience is not uncom- mon. A recent study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology journal examined reaction rates of mostly low-risk adults and children who under- went food challenges in five different allergy and immunology centers across the country. The individuals were identified as low-risk because of several factors, including the lack of a recent reaction and a history of tolerance to ingestion. The revelatory study found that 84 percent of the approximately 6,300 participants passed their oral food challenges without having any reaction, 14 percent had a mild to mod- erate reaction, and 2 percent experi- enced severe anaphylaxis, underscoring Photo illustration