Treatment when you are not seven years old

Case-by-case, by the public record. Latitude's materials center on children, but a 36-year-old peanut-allergic adult publicly described being accepted even though, in his words, the clinic said it doesn't normally treat adults, after meeting a peanut component-IgE threshold of 2.0 or greater cited in that account. He reached maintenance within the 6–12 month window Latitude publishes; the clinic's stated average is about 8.4 months. Latitude runs roughly 12 offices across California and New York, so call the specific location with your allergen and lab numbers. Expect an individualized answer rather than a published adult policy.

Two buckets. Diagnostics and visits are 'typically covered' in-network per Latitude's own FAQ, which lists Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and others across its NorCal, SoCal, and New York regions. The OIT program itself carries a one-time fee Latitude calls a non-covered service and does not publish; patients report it at more than $4,000 in the Bay Area and over $5,000 in New York, so treat $4,000–$5,000+ as the working range by region and date. Payment plans exist and the fee is FSA/HSA eligible. Get the current figure in writing before enrolling — the published numbers for each provider are collected at [clinics compared](/learn/food-allergy-clinics-compared).

Yes, and it is the only major program with an explicit age ceiling in print: 15 months to 50 years. Adult subscription pricing is $979 per month for ages 18–25 and $1,079 per month for ages 26–50, with a 6-month minimum; FAI's own cost page estimates the first year at roughly $11,748 on the cash path and $15,425 on the insurance path. The program typically runs 2.5–4 years with 4–6 in-person visits per year in Southern California, though a New Jersey clinic — its first outside SoCal — opens September 15, 2026. Patient threads include teens and adults saving money specifically to attend. The full cost picture is at [Food Allergy Institute cost](/learn/food-allergy-institute-cost).

The published literature skews heavily pediatric, and adult studies generally show desensitization is achievable but with lower response rates and more dropouts than in children. Even the head-to-head numbers on this page — OIT raising peanut reaction thresholds about 141-fold at 12 months versus about 22-fold for SLIT — come from a study in children, so apply them to adults with care. That is a reason for calibrated expectations and clinician-led candidacy decisions, not a reason adults should assume the answer is no. Treating earlier in life works better; treating later still works. The honest phrase, for every program including ours, is 'may be a candidate.'

Published OIT protocols ask for the dose at the same time every day, taken with food; no strenuous exercise or hot showers for roughly 2–3 hours afterward; alcohol caution for adults; holding doses during fever or illness; and a call to the clinic if more than 3 days are missed. Latitude patients likewise mention avoiding strenuous activity and alcohol for several hours after dosing. A 36-year-old with a gym habit, evening plans, and work travel feels these rules more than a 7-year-old does — and they run for the duration of treatment, then into maintenance. What each protocol asks of an ordinary week is laid out at [daily life on food immunotherapy](/learn/food-immunotherapy-daily-life).

For many adults it is a reasonable choice, and since Palforzia's withdrawal on July 31, 2026 it is the only FDA-approved food allergy medication — approved February 2024, ages 1 and up, with no upper age bound. In the OUtMATCH trial, per FDA figures, 68% of Xolair patients tolerated at least 600mg of peanut protein versus 6% on placebo; egg came in at 67% versus 0%, milk 66% versus 11%, cashew 42% versus 3%. But 17% saw no significant change, and Xolair does not desensitize — it reduces reaction severity on accidental exposure while strict avoidance continues, via regular injections through a local allergist. It manages risk; it does not modify the disease the way immunotherapy does.

Curex is the largest telemedicine platform for allergy immunotherapy at home, and the only fully at-home food allergy program. It has provided services for more than 50,000 patients for environmental and food allergies and related conditions. It takes adults as a matter of course: testing through local labs, at-home phlebotomy, or self-collection kits; doctors by video visit or text; and a licensed compounding pharmacy shipping the drops to your door, on a $199-a-month plan with environmental allergy plans from $79 a month. Food SLIT uses much smaller, precise doses — typically no more than 4mg of protein per allergen — held under the tongue for 1–2 minutes, with generally no rest window around exercise, and typically only the first dose taken in an office. It is more gentle and generally a bit slower than clinic OIT, and more patients finish it because side effects rarely force dropout. Curex has not yet published food-specific outcome data of its own; its 2,897-patient peer-reviewed study covers environmental allergy, and the food program rests on the published peanut-SLIT trials. Candidacy is still clinical: a history of anaphylaxis or severe, poorly controlled asthma routes to in-person assessment first, and food challenges happen in clinic on every protocol, including for Curex patients. How the process works is at [how Curex works](/learn/how-curex-works).

Yes — Allergy Associates of La Crosse in Onalaska, Wisconsin, the third leader in food allergy treatment and the oldest. It has treated food and environmental allergy with sublingual drops since 1970, has treated more than 275,000 patients by its own account, treats infants through adults, and explicitly takes patients with a history of anaphylaxis or uncontrolled asthma in person. The first visit is in Onalaska ($750–850 typical, $1,000–1,400 for complex cases), food drops run about $2.20 a day patient-pay, rechecks every 3–6 months can be virtual, and a course runs 3–5 years. Its physicians wrote the La Crosse Method; it is the same kind of treatment as the at-home route, with a physician in the room for the start.