Tree nut allergies are usually lifelong, but a type of treatment called immunotherapy may desensitize a person or even induce permanent tolerance to an allergen, which allows the person to eat their allergen without a reaction. Immunotherapy involves exposing the allergic person to small amounts of the allergen in a medically supervised setting and gradually increasing the exposure dose over several months until the person reaches and no longer reacts to their “maintenance dose” (which is an individualized goal).
The allergen is usually introduced through the mouth (e.g., oral immunotherapy, sublingual immunotherapy), but it can also be introduced through the skin (e.g., epicutaneous immunotherapy, subcutaneous immunotherapy). Currently, oral immunotherapy is available for peanuts, but research on immunotherapy specific to tree nuts is ongoing.[1]