Do Food Allergies Go Away, And, If Not, Are They Curable With Treatment?

Fortunately, many of the food allergies that occur in infancy and early childhood resolve spontaneously between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Prominent examples of these foods include milk, soy, and eggs. However, peanut allergy, which usually also occurs in early life, has a very low chance of going away as the patient grows older. Food allergies that develop later in life, such as fish and shellfish, also have a very low rate of spontaneous resolution. Currently, no treatment exists to cure persistent food allergies.

A number of specialized clinical centers are actively at work to develop oral challenge protocols that will help induce food tolerance. Until this becomes an established clinical procedure, we do not recommend that patients undergo any form of food desensitization, whether it be by injection, pill, or liquid that is either swallowed or instilled under the tongue.