Food Allergies
Your first step to getting relief from your allergies is finding the right allergy specialist. As one of the leading centers for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, asthma, and food allergy, we help our patients feel their best every day. Tanner Clinic Allergy is a specialty clinic and one of the leading centers for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, asthma and food allergies. Get relief for your allergies with treatment from our allergy specialists who are on-hand and ready to help. Schedule an appointment at our Layton or Murray locations today at 801.773.4840.
WHY SEE A FOOD ALLERGIST?
Moreover, seeing a food allergist is paramount for individuals grappling with food allergies, as these specialists offer expertise and comprehensive care tailored to managing and improving the quality of life for those affected. Furthermore, here are compelling reasons why consulting a food allergist is essential:
1. Accurate Diagnosis: Food allergists are trained to conduct thorough evaluations and precise diagnostic tests to confirm or rule out food allergies. Accurate diagnosis is crucial to avoid unnecessary dietary restrictions or allergenic exposure.
2. Identifying Allergens: Food allergists excel in identifying specific allergens that trigger adverse reactions. This knowledge is vital for personalized management and avoidance strategies.
3. Customized Treatment Plans: Food allergists create tailored treatment plans based on the type and severity of allergies. These plans encompass dietary guidance, emergency response plans, and guidance on allergen avoidance.
4. Allergy Testing: Food allergists employ a range of testing methods, including skin tests and blood tests, to pinpoint allergenic triggers. These tests guide treatment decisions and may help predict future allergic reactions.
5. Desensitization Therapies: Some food allergists offer innovative therapies like oral immunotherapy (OIT) to desensitize individuals to specific food allergens, enabling them to safely consume small amounts of the allergen over time.
6. Preventing Severe Reactions: Food allergists educate patients on recognizing early signs of allergic reactions and the importance of prompt intervention. This knowledge can be life-saving in preventing severe reactions.
7. Emergency Preparedness: Food allergists guide patients in creating personalized emergency action plans, including the use of epinephrine auto-injectors (e.g., EpiPen), ensuring they are prepared to handle allergic reactions effectively.
8. Dietary Guidance: Managing food allergies involves making informed dietary choices. Food allergists provide expert guidance to ensure patients maintain a balanced diet while avoiding allergens.
9. Support and Counseling: Coping with food allergies can be emotionally challenging. Food allergists offer emotional support and strategies, addressing both physical and psychological aspects.
10. Staying Informed: Food allergists stay updated on the latest research, treatments, and guidelines related to food allergies. Additionally, this ensures patients receive the most current and effective care.
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT
Consulting a food allergist is crucial for individuals with food allergies. Moreover, our specialists offer accurate diagnosis, personalized treatment plans, and ongoing support to help patients manage their condition, prevent severe reactions, and improve their overall quality of life. Further, seeking the expertise of a food allergist is a proactive step towards effectively navigating the challenges of food allergies.
UNPRECEDENTED PATIENT RESULTS
People with asthma or allergies need to see a doctor who’s an expert in treating asthma and allergies. Our board-certified allergists Dr. Douglas Jones, Dr. Ray Firszt and Dr. Loida Viera-Hutchins are known throughout the country for their allergy treatments and therapy. As one of the leading centers for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, asthma, and food allergies, RMA at Tanner Clinic is dedicated to finding you a treatment plan that works. Our specialists have years of experience treating patients from over 20 states in the USA and multiple countries around the world.
GROUNDBREAKING FOOD ALLERGY TREATMENT
Allergic reactions to food are not just a source of discomfort and hassle; they can be life-threatening. That’s why our specialists now offer a breakthrough treatment program to people with food allergies: Oral Immunotherapy (OIT).
OIT provides a long-term solution for milk, egg, soy, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, and wheat allergic patients—the most prevalent food allergies in the world. This treatment program provides significant relief for peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, and wheat allergies and usually takes less than six months. In fact, at the end of the program, most patients can consume the foods that once threatened their health with no allergic reaction.
Introducing minute doses of milk, egg, soy, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, or wheat solution form for about six months, this treatment is one of the leading allergy treatments in the country. However, there are also other treatment plans offered through RMA. Working with your specialist, we’ll help you determine which route provides the most promising results of relief. A solution to your food allergies can mean an entirely improved life.
DR. DOUGLAS JONES ORAL IMMUNOTHERAPY
Dr. Douglas Jones brings expertise in providing quality care for allergy, asthma, and immunologic disorders to both pediatric and adult patients at Tanner Clinic in Layton, Utah. While Dr. Jones is well-known among his peers for his groundbreaking treatments and innovative programs, it is the work he performs with the patients one-on-one that makes him a healthcare hero through and through.
Over a decade ago, Dr. Jones founded Rocky Mountain Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, an internationally recognized treatment center known for its innovative food allergy treatment program involving a desensitization process called oral immunotherapy (OIT). He brought his practice to the Tanner Clinic in 2016 to offer patients a complete health care solution.
Dr. Jones and his team are one of the few practices offering this breakthrough treatment program that alleviates the fear and burden of food allergies, which is so prevalent in the healthcare system today. OIT provides a long-term solution for those suffering from a variety of debilitating food allergies, including milk, egg, wheat, peanut, corn, soy, and treat nuts. He has recently added treatment for additional allergies, including chicken, shrimp, and sesame.
Before OIT, those suffering from food allergies had few places to turn for relief. In fact, most of those suffering must take tremendous efforts avoiding the foods that their body can’t consume properly. Fortunately, that all changed thanks to the efforts of Dr. Jones. Those working with Dr. Jones are usually able to eat the foods that once threatened their health, in unlimited amounts, with no allergic reactions.
Due to the success of the program, Dr. Jones has treated more than 1,000 patients traveling from all over the U.S. and several other countries for treatment, including 30+ families just from Australia.
Not only has Dr. Jones dedicated his life to improving the health of those he works with, but he also is the co-founder and current president of a non-profit organization, Food Allergy Support Team (FAST). He also advocates for other rare diseases such as primary immunodeficiency disorders and hereditary angioedema. His work with FAST and accompanying efforts helped make Dr. Jones an established leader in the medical community.
Dr. Jones is board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. He attended the University of Utah where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology, and then earned his medical degree from Penn State University College of Medicine in 2003. Following medical school, Dr. Jones completed a residency program in internal medicine and sub-specialty training in allergy, asthma, and immunology at Creighton University Medical Center. Dr. Jones has received numerous awards, including: Who’s Who Top Doctors Honors Edition, Most Compassionate Doctor, Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) Allies Award Winner, America’s Top Physicians, and Patient’s Choice Award.
OIT FAQS
How long will the entire process take?
The first day procedure will take about 4 hours. If there are no reactions during the oral immunotherapy, your child will be eating a full serving of the allergenic food about 6 months. This time may vary as patients are different and have different needs.
Should routine allergy medications be stopped before the first day procedure?
No.
What is the timeline for the months after the first day?
Exactly how it will go depends on each individual child. If everything goes well, some amount of the whole food will be ingested during the second-third month and a whole serving of the allergenic food may be ingested by the fourth month.
How often can the dose be increased?
Doses are generally increased weekly, but there are also some individualized changes that may occur.
What time of day should home doses be given?
Dosages should be given daily in the mornings, usually 22-26 hours apart. Some patients require different schedules based off of their needs, though.
What about home dosing on the day of an office visit for dose increase?
Patients should not dose at home on the day of the office visit for a dose increase. Dosing will be done in clinic that day.
If there is a reaction at home, what should we do?
Follow the home emergency reaction plan provided in clinic.
What if we are flying when the dose is due?
This will be discussed in clinic to make proper flight and dosing arrangements.
Can whole eggs be substituted for egg white powder?
Egg white powder should be used for all dose increases and maintenance dosing. When the child is on the maintenance dose of 1 tablespoon of egg white powder per day, then other forms of egg may be added to the diet. Whole egg should never be used in place of egg white powder for the daily egg dose.
Can Egg Beaters be used for dosing in egg OIT?
No. Egg Beaters are NOT permitted because they are not complete eggs.
At what point can the milk product be varied?
When the oral immunotherapy is complete, if everything goes well, maintenance doses may be given with either 2% or whole milk and any brand of cow’s milk may be used.
Does the food solution need refrigeration?
There are no preservatives in the food solution. It MUST be kept cold.
What do I do if refrigeration is not maintained or if it smells or tastes different?
If the sample sits out for more than 30 minutes or if it appears to have spoiled, the solution must be replaced. Please call the office. If replacement is made during regular office hours, there is no charge. If replacement must be made at night or on a weekend or holiday there will be a charge of $100. This fee cannot be charged to your insurance.
What if I need additional doses and I am out of town?
We are NOT able to ship any solution or capsules. Preparations and every effort will need to be made to prevent this situation. Call the office as soon as you know there is a problem.
What if my child is sick and can’t take the doses on schedule?
The clinic will provide you with dosing instructions based off of your child’s circumstance.
What about masking the taste of the food solution?
Taste is personal; experiment. Try drink powder (Kool-Aide, Crystal Light), chocolate or another beverage. Small volumes could be mixed with a semi-solid food such as apple sauce or mashed potato but it is important that the entire dose of oral immunotherapy mixture be taken. If the total amount gets too large, it will be hard to get it all down.
When can foods containing the allergic food be introduced into the regular diet?
Foods containing the allergenic food may be introduced into the diet at the end of the oral immunotherapy escalation process.
What is the goal of this process?
The number one goal is safety; to allow the patient to ingest the allergenic food and foods that contain the allergenic food without thinking about it.
Does my child need to avoid exercise during OIT?
Exercise should be avoided for at least 30 min prior to dosing and two hours after dosing. Doses should not be given immediately following exercise. Exercise around the time of dosing increases the chance of a reaction. Exercise restriction applies to both escalation and maintenance dosing throughout escalation process and after graduation.
Can two immunotherapy foods, one on maintenance dose and one on increasing dose, be given at the same time?
Yes.
How soon after completion of OIT can a food challenge be done for another food?
You may do a food challenge for a different food one week after completing oral immunotherapy.
If my child is allergic to multiple foods, will completing OIT for one food group help treat other food allergies?
Each Food OIT Program is food specific. Completing one program does not treat other food allergies. Ask your provider for more specific information for treating multiple food allergies.
How is OIT billed and what does it cost?
The procedure is separate from office visits. The day one procedure is billed as desensitization. Subsequent doses are billed as an office visit. The actual reimbursement varies by insurance plan.
Our specialty clinic is one of the leading centers for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, asthma and food allergy. We are now accepting new patients at our Layton and Murray locations.
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