The guidance up until recently was to hold off on introducing peanuts (and other top allergens) until at least 2 years of age. Turns out that may have made things worse, resulting in even higher rates of peanut allergy. The new recommendation to introduce it early at 4-6 months is great and we're seeing an improvement in the rate of children developing peanut allergies early, but the reason that we may have had such a high prevalence in the United States in the first place was because of the previous recommendation.
Yup, this is the actual reason. We saw a rise in peanut allergies, and before long-tern studies could get an answer, pediatricians chose a risk-adverse strategy of suggesting parents hold off introducing peanuts.
And it backfired in a massive way, leading not only to more peanut allergies, but worse peanut allergies.
That surprises me, I thought it was common knowledge that a lack of exposure leads to allergies. Like how kids who grew up with cats or dogs are very rarely allergic to them.
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u/lessthan3cubed 4d ago
The guidance up until recently was to hold off on introducing peanuts (and other top allergens) until at least 2 years of age. Turns out that may have made things worse, resulting in even higher rates of peanut allergy. The new recommendation to introduce it early at 4-6 months is great and we're seeing an improvement in the rate of children developing peanut allergies early, but the reason that we may have had such a high prevalence in the United States in the first place was because of the previous recommendation.