ALLERGIES

“It’s terrifying, honestly, to hear that the treatment is ‘We’re going to give your son a dose of what could kill him,’” Misty Baum said. “It sounds insane when you look at it that way.”

But she was the one who sought out the treatment at Premier Allergy & Asthma, the only central Ohio location to offer it.

She did so because she was the one who was scarred by the events of April 1, 2014.

On that day, Misty Baum was with 15-month-old Saban in their Centerburg home. She fed the toddler his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“He got a little red bump on his lip after he took his first bite,” she recalled, “but food allergy is not in my family, so I didn’t think anything of it.”

After a minute, though, little Saban’s eyes started swelling shut. Misty panicked, Saban Baum, 6, sits with his mom, Misty, after he ate 12 peanuts as part of oral immunotherapy treatment, in which patients with food allergies are actually given small (though increasing) amounts of the food that causes the allergies. The Baums were waiting at Premier Allergy & Asthma to see if he had a reaction to the peanuts. There was none.

putting him in the bathtub and calling Kevin, who works for a financial services company in New Albany. She then called 911. “By the time the paramedics got there, his face had swelled up so much that he was struggling to breathe,” she said. “It was like he was drowning but there was no water. It was as traumatic as you can imagine.”

Treated with epinephrine and taken to the hospital, Saban recovered.

But that began fourplus years of the Baums exercising extreme caution with Saban — reading every food label and calling every family that invited him to a birthday party to check on what would be served.

In preschool two years ago and again in

kindergarten last year, Saban had to be in a peanut-free classroom. During snack times, he could not sit with anyone eating peanut products.

“I was the crazy mom who was discreetly wiping every surface at the park before my toddler could get to it,” Misty said. “I compare food allergies to having a cobra going around the room that only has eyes for your child.”

Then Misty heard about immunotherapy treatment.

The practice has been around for about 10 years, but because it was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, only about 100 doctors nationwide offer it, according to Dr. Summit Shah, the lead allergist at Premier’s Dublin location.

Shah introduced the treatment this year, and Saban was the office’s first patient. There are now more than a dozen. So far, the treatment is only offered for peanut allergies.

Andy Dang is Saban’s doctor.

“I see OIT as another tool to put in the toolbox,” Dang said. “I like the idea of having another option to offer besides avoidance, which is basically telling patients, ‘Carry an Epipen and good luck.’”

Patients start by ingesting a miniscule amount of peanut protein: .001 of a milligram, Dang said.

The dose is given in the doctor’s office and Dr. Andrew Dang checks a spot on Saban’s face to see if he had a reaction to eating peanuts.

the patient is closely monitored for at least an hour. Provided there is no reaction, patients take their dosages at home daily and then return weekly to test a higher dosage.

Several clinical studies have shown that about 20% of OIT patients have reactions severe enough to stop treatment.

Dr. Mitch Grayson is chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is not against OIT but wants to make sure parents and patients understand its pros and cons.

“At some point in the buildup phases, almost everyone has some sort of side effect,” Grayson said. “So it’s critical to understand that they may suffer in the process.

“And some people seem to think it’s a cure, which it absolutely is not.”

Indeed, even successful patients must take their “maintenance doses” of peanut protein or peanuts daily in order to maintain the therapy’s effectiveness.

Grayson added that should the FDA approve an OIT drug, he expected that Children’s Hospital would at some point begin offering the

therapy.

On Feb. 13, an FDA committee recommended approval of Palforzia, an OIT drug for peanut allergies. The drug contains a specific dose of peanut flour that could be increased over time.

Saban built up from the initial amount of protein to two peanuts, which is considered the threshold at which he is safe from accidental exposure, to eight, which means he now can perhaps occasionally eat something that contains peanut butter.

He went to 12 in preparation for the “24 peanut challenge,” which is the ultimate test. But even if he passes, eight peanuts will remain his maintenance dose afterward.

What it means for Saban is the firstgrader now does not have to be segregated at his own lunch table. He will be able to trickor-treat freely this Halloween for the first time and not be concerned with touching the wrappers of candy containing peanuts.

And for his parents, it means peace of mind.

“I could cry talking about it,” Misty Baum said. “He can just live a normal life.”