Where would you expect to have more children affected by allergies, a developing country such as Haiti or America? Despite expectations, in America, peanut and tree nut allergies encompass almost 90% of all food allergies, and the occurrence of peanut allergies in children has increased 21% since 2010 and is projected to increase in the future (American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, 2017). One explanation for this is the Hygiene Hypothesis; the idea that children in developing countries are exposed to more allergens in their environment, and are therefore able to develop more resistance to allergens, while American children are not exposed to many allergens (A. ElHag, personal communication, March 19, 2018). The environment and lifestyle …show more content…
In 2015 the NIH funded a study done by LEAP (Learning Early about Peanut Allergy) using over a hundred infants under a year old, with a high risk of developing a peanut allergy, were regularly given a small amount of peanut butter. At the conclusion of the experiment, researchers saw that early exposure to peanuts allowed the children to remain allergy-free after a year of avoiding peanuts. Thus, the NIH concluded that early exposure to peanuts, during the critical period of four to six months of age, could prevent the future development of an allergy (Collins, 2017). Although this is an option for infants who are not already predisposed to a peanut allergy, it is important that an infant get tested for an allergy before any allergen exposure, as depending on the severity of the allergy, exposure could be life threatening (Prescott, 2008). By exposing children to potential allergens, parents will be able to prevent the development of a certain food allergy. Through this method of early exposure, and introducing allergens to a child’s environment, children are able to build a tolerance to food