Sustained unresponsiveness means that the introduction of large, infrequent doses of an allergen will no longer elicit a response from your child’s immune system. Where the exposure to allergens previously produced an allergic reaction — regardless of the severity of symptoms — with sustained unresponsiveness, your child’s immune system will remain in a state of clinical unresponsiveness regardless of amount or kind of allergen consumed.
For example — for a boy who was previously allergic to pistachios — on day 1 he would eat ½ cup of pistachios. On days 2 through 7, he would eat no pistachios and/or have no exposure to pistachios. On day 8, he would eat another ½ cup of pistachios. In this example, with sustained unresponsiveness, there would be no clinical reaction after seven days of zero exposure to the allergen followed by a large dose of the allergen.
At the Food Allergy Institute, our goal is to not only achieve seven days of sustained unresponsiveness- but up to 30 days of sustained unresponsiveness. During that 30-day period, your child could eat whatever they want without restriction or limitation.