New medication helps 5-year-old with severe allergies and her family feel safe

Eating a cup of ice cream in a shop may sound pretty normal for a 5-year-old girl. But for Charley Burke and her family, the taste of finally enjoying that childhood tradition has been sweeter than a scoop of cookies and cream.

“We've gotten ice cream probably like 10 times,” her mother, Chelsea Burke, said.

The worry that Charley’s ice cream might be contaminated by peanuts from a reused scoop, causing her to go into anaphylactic shock – a common concern for families dealing with severe peanut allergies – has eased since she started a new medication called Xolair. So have fears about other possible sources of exposure.

 

Charley’s allergist at MUSC Children’s Health, Maria Streck, M.D., is thrilled to see the change. “It's so gratifying to see the patients and the family have more reassurance of being able to do things.”

Xolair is the first medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for people with more than one food allergy –  people like Charley, who is not only allergic to peanuts but also sesame. As a toddler, she was rushed to the Emergency Department with a life-threatening reaction to hummus.

When Charley started getting Xolair shots, the Burkes were happy knowing that it could help prevent anaphylaxis. But her mom wanted confirmation. “I was like, ‘Listen, we'll do Xolair if we can challenge her allergies and make sure that it's working. Because we don't want to do more shots each month if we don't know if it's working.”

So after Charley got her fourth dose of Xolair, Streck tested its effectiveness, as Charley’s mom watched. “For her first challenge, she ate an eighth of a tablespoon of peanut butter. And then for the following challenge, she did the same with hummus, which has sesame in it. And she passed both peanut butter and sesame,” Chelsea Burke said. 

“She didn't have any reaction. It was unbelievable.”

Streck said the main drawback for most people is the fact that they don’t like getting shots. “Long-term studies are very reassuring as far as any risks from taking the medication. They even have studies during pregnancy, where it's shown to be safe with no detrimental effects to the developing fetus.” 

 

The company that makes Xolair says the most common side effects are injection site reactions and a fever. People taking it still have to avoid foods they’re allergic to. It just reduces the risk that they’ll have severe reactions.

That reduced risk helped make the Burkes’ recent trip to Ireland a lot less stressful. They were much less worried about an in-flight emergency for Charley and were able to enjoy their family time, including in restaurants. 

“When we were in Ireland, my husband ordered a cheeseburger at a restaurant. They gave him his dinner and the bun was covered in sesame seeds. Before, we would've panicked. But this time we looked at each other and we're like, ‘She's OK.’” 

And she was. “I would say that it just gives an extra layer of protection that, as parents, is so important to us. Our No. 1 job is to keep our kids safe. And I feel like Xolair helps us do that.”

It also helped Charley get more ice cream in Ireland. “We felt comfortable,” her mom said.