Colorado Springs doctor pioneering treatment for food allergies

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- An allergist based in Colorado Springs is working on new strategies to help people get a head start against food allergies.

Dr. Daniel Soteres of Asthma & Allergy Associates has been a pioneer in developing treatments to help children and adults manage food allergies. He's now working with children who are allergic to egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts, and other triggers. 

Peanut allergies are not only on the rise--they're among the most dangerous of children's food allergies, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Soteres works with Oral Immunotherapy (OIT), a process that trains a person’s body to tolerate exposures to their food allergens. The process involves introducing tiny amounts of the food allergen to the diet and slowly training the body to tolerate higher and higher amounts, according to Asthma & Allergy Associates.

"We started doing a process called Oral Immunotherapy where we train kids and and adults with food allergies to tolerate their allergen," he said.

But to be clear, it's not a cure -- the process aims at helping people manage their food allergies.

"Take a nut flower and use that and mix it with apple juice or distilled water. We mix it in a high concentration. We dilute this 2 or 3 more times so that it less and less strong," he said.

This trial is supported by the FDA right now. Just last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a pill version of a treatment with a similar exposure theory.