Peanut Allergies May Be Reduced With This New Toothpaste

A new toothpaste may help people who are allergic to peanuts to lessen their symptoms, a new study finds.

A small clinical trial of 32 adults tested the toothpaste, which contains trace amounts of peanut protein, every day for almost a year. None of the participants experienced severe allergic reactions, researchers said Thursday when they presented their findings at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California.

More trials are needed to understand if the toothpaste will help to prevent severe allergic reactions, but the scientists hope that over time, people with severe peanut allergies would adapt and their reactions would become milder.

Allergist William Berger, M.D., the study’s lead author, said that there are few treatments for people with severe peanut allergies, and those that exist tend to be injections.

“People don’t like injecting themselves,” Dr. Berger said, according to NBC. “Patients do not have to do anything other than brush their teeth. We think it will provide better protection because the patient will be taking their treatment on a regular basis without any interruptions.”

Researchers slowly added a larger concentration of peanuts to the toothpaste over the eleven months of the trial, until it contained about one-third of a peanut kernel. Study subjects would brush for two minutes, and then spit it out, but the peanut protein would still absorb into the mouth.

Some participants experienced agitation and itchiness in their mouths and lips, but reactions were mild enough that the trial had a very low dropout rate.

A “peanut patch” for toddlers has also been developed, scientists announced in May, that also showed promising results.

About 4.6 million adults have peanut allergies, with about 800,000 of those adults developing the allergy after age 18. At least 1.2 million children have peanut allergies, which can often be life-threatening if the adult or child experiences anaphylaxis, a swelling of the throat that can make it difficult to breathe.