UNDATED (CBS) -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine is offering hope to people with egg allergies. Researchers gave children very small amounts of egg, curing many of their allergies.
Davide Hallac, 10, has to be careful about what he eats. He says, "Right now I'm allergic to peanuts, sesame, and dairy."
One food he no longer has to worry about is eggs. Davide took aprt in an "oral immunotherapy" study. Doctors gave children with egg allergies tiny amounts of the food every day over a two year periso. At the end, 75 percent of the children were able to tolerate a lot more egg than when they started. Twenty-eight percent, including Davide, were able to get rid of their egg allergy completely.
Davide says, "I love eggs now!"
Egg is a very common food allergy. Most children outgrow it by age 5, but some can have it all their lives. Having an egg allergy can be difficult because eggs are in so many other foods like breads and desserts. Davide's mother Carole says, "The first thing he had was French toast, he loved it. He had no reaction so it was a big celebration."
But researchers warn parents not to try this without medical supervision. Dr. Scott Sicherer, study author with Mount Sinai Medical Center says, "We need to do more to find out who is this right for? What is the right regimen? And can we move this to a regular clinical practice."
Davide had to endure blood work and IVs throughout the study but says it was worth it. He says, "It wasn't cool, but it really paid off at the end."
And his mom hopes the research will lead to cures for her son's other allergies.
Oral Immunotherapy didn't work for all the patients; 15 percent of participants had to stop because of significant reactions.