SEATTLE — Preventive strategies can help patients with a food allergies reduce the risk for a reaction in a restaurant, according to research presented here at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting.

A survey designed to determine which of 25 strategies people used to prevent a reaction, and whether those strategies changed after a person experienced an allergic reaction, was completed by 39 members of the Northeast Ohio Food Allergy Network advocacy group.

The 20 families with a food-allergic person who had not experienced an allergic reaction in a restaurant used, on average, more preventive strategies than the 19 families with a food-allergic person who reported experiencing a reaction (15 vs 6; P < .0001).

After a reaction in a restaurant, though, those 19 families increased the number of strategies they used to 15, matching the average number used by the 20 families with a member who had not experienced a reaction.


Justine Ade

This research shows that "the more time and effort you put into trying to prevent an allergic reaction," the less likely you are to experience one, said researcher Justine Ade, MD, from the Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland.

And after a reaction, "people increased the number of strategies they used," she told Medscape Medical News.

Ade said she was surprised to see that families were using such a large number of strategies, and suggested that this illustrates the anxiety food allergies cause.

Although the number of preventive strategies might seem intimidating, many of them take very little time, she added.

Ade and her coauthors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting: Poster P301. Presented November 16, 2018.