Health News

By Sora Song Sunday, July 13, 2003
    • Peanut Allergies: Outgrowable?
    Until recently, most doctors believed that peanut allergies, which affect some 1.5 million Americans and can be deadly, were a lifelong affliction. Now it turns out that some people outgrow them. As part of an ongoing study of peanut intolerance, Johns Hopkins researchers gave 80 allergic children a "peanut challenge"--that is, they made them eat peanuts. More than half the kids passed the test, suffering none of the common allergy symptoms, such as hives, vomiting or swelling of the face and lips. The study, published in this month's Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, looked at children with low levels (5 kilounits or less per liter of blood) of peanut-specific IgE — the antibodies that cause allergic reactions — and found that the lower the levels, the more likely the children were to outgrow their peanut sensitivities. These antibodies can be measured with widely available blood tests, and the study's authors recommend that peanut-intolerant kids get tested every year or so. Researchers also say children may be given peanut challenges starting at about age 4, but only under a doctor's supervision.

    Baby's Got A Flat Head
    Since 1992, when the American Academy of Pediatrics launched its Back to Sleep campaign, U.S. rates of sudden infant death syndrome have dropped 40%. But doctors have also seen an increase in flattened heads, a side effect of sleeping on one's back. Prevention is easy, with a few precautions taken in the baby's first few months of life. Doctors suggest alternating the position of the head nightly, to left or right, when putting the infant to bed. Changing the crib's location helps too, so that the baby isn't always peering out the same side. A stretch of "tummy time" while the baby is awake — also good for arm strength — helps, as long as the child is returned to his or her back by sleepy time.