WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – Food allergies can cause life-threatening reactions.
At age 6, Sean Skuratowicz of Kalamazoo, Mich., already knows how to use an epinephrine injector for emergencies.
"Put it in your leg, I mean your thigh, for 10 seconds, take it out and make sure someone calls 911," said Sean.
That's because Sean has been allergic to peanuts for as long as he can remember.
"He came down with hives from head to toe," said Ginger Skuratowicz, Sean's mother. "He was about 14 months old."
Traditionally, food allergies have been treated by having people avoid the food that triggers a reaction. But experts say childhood allergies to many common foods seem to be on the rise, and simply staying away from those foods is almost impossible, leaving affected kids and families frustrated.
Sean's mom did the only thing she could do -- she kept him away from peanuts. But it hasn't been easy.
"As he started to get a little older, we realized it was going to be more of a challenge than just reading labels," said Ginger. "He can't go to friends' houses and just have a snack, whenever they go, they have to take their own food."
"I can't go to many restaurants," said Sean. "Can't eat lots of school lunch things."
Sean also began to realize his allergy was affecting his whole family.
"As he started to get older, he started to figure out, 'Well, we can't go to the ice cream parlor and we can't go to restaurants because of me,'" said Ginger.
About a year ago came the final straw for Ginger. Sean ate a donut that had touched a peanut donut.
"It was just a powdered donut, and he ate it and he ended up in welts. He still has two or three on his feet that permanently scarred, a couple on his shoulder," said Ginger. "I just got frustrated and Googled 'fix my son's peanut allergy.'"
That's how this mother from Kalamazoo found West Bloomfield allergist Dr. Chad Mayer at the Allergy & Asthma Institute of South East Michigan.
"The recommendation for decades for food allergies has been strict avoidance of the food, and no therapy available," said Mayer.
But Mayer offers a different option called oral immunotherapy. The idea is to feed tiny, tiny amounts of the allergen to the patient, under strict medical supervision.
"We're about 250,000th of a peanut that we start off with," said Mayer.
From there, Mayer gradually increases the dose, under a strictly supervised protocol until the patient's body no longer reacts.
"From day one to graduation day, it takes anywhere from four to six months, depending on how many weeks need to be missed in the middle," said Mayer.
Ginger, who is also a nurse, did her homework and carefully looked into the somewhat controversial procedure.
"We went back to our allergist back in Kalamazoo and told them we were thinking about trying it, and they told us they didn't recommend it because it wasn't FDA-approved," said Ginger.
That reaction didn't surprise Mayer.
"To convince your own allergist to do this is going to be quite difficult," said Mayer. "We're utilizing food that's available in the grocery store. There is no medicine for the oral immune therapy that can be FDA-approved. It's just peanuts and peanut flour."
"We just felt the theory behind it would work, and we took a risk on it, and it paid off big," said Ginger.
Sean started oral immunotherapy in November 2012, eating basically a speck of peanut dust twice a day, then gradually increasing the amount over 11 weeks until he could eventually eat one peanut.
All of the therapy is done at home, and there were some nervous moments.
"His right eye would itch to the point that I thought it was going to fall out," said Ginger.
But they stuck with it and say it was all worth it.
After five months, Sean reached his "graduation day."
For his last test, he had to eat the equivalent of 24 peanuts without a reaction. He did it.
Experts stress, this treatment is not something that can be done without medical supervision, because there is a risk of suffering a life-threatening reaction.
The therapy can cost up to $3,000 to $5,000, although some insurances will cover it. The treatment has also been used for other food allergies including milk, eggs, wheat and shellfish. Experts said oral immunotherapy can be used in adults too.
Mayer said to remain desensitized, patients have to eat the food they were allergic to every day indefinitely.
Sean doesn't like plain peanuts, so he will eat peanut M & M's instead.
So what's he most looking forward to eating now that he's desensitized to peanuts?
"A Butterfinger blizzard," said Sean.
Note: This treatment is controversial. Some experts have raised serious questions about its safety and effectiveness, especially outside of research protocols.
To visit Dr. Mayer's website and learn more about oral immunotherapy, click here.