--- title: Peanut Allergy Skin Patch: A New Way To Protect Discovered description: A skin patch applied to patients with peanut allergies appears to safely and effectively protect against the condition. canonical: https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-23T14:13:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:37:30.039Z article:section: Health og:title: This 'Peanut Patch' Could Protect Against Peanut Allergies og:description: Half of those who used the largest patch saw their peanut tolerance increase 10-fold og:url: https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6bd7ac0b330c04b/698780813c163959cb451e76/peanuts1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Peanuts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This 'Peanut Patch' Could Protect Against Peanut Allergies twitter:description: Half of those who used the largest patch saw their peanut tolerance increase 10-fold twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6bd7ac0b330c04b/698780813c163959cb451e76/peanuts1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This 'Peanut Patch' Could Protect Against Peanut Allergies ## Video: Should I Eat Tofu? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Tofu?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/f6ht1pjJ.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2015-02-18. Should you eat tofu? 4 out of 5 experts told us yes. Here's why_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 23, 2015 2:13 PM UTC  Heap of peanuts, close-up Heap of peanuts, close-upGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 23, 2015 2:13 PM UTC A small skin patch applied to patients with peanut allergies appears to safely and effectively protect against the sometimes life-threatening condition, researchers [said](http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/news-releases/peanut-patch.aspx) Sunday “This is exciting news for families who suffer with peanut allergies because Viaskin represents a new treatment option for patients and physicians,” study author Hugh A. Sampson, a doctor at Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai, said in a statement. The patch exposed patients to a small dose of peanut protein, ranging from 50 to 250 micrograms, for the course of the study. The study, which evaluated more than 200 patients with peanut allergies for a year, found that the treatment worked, particularly for patients who used the 250-microgram patch. Half of those who used the largest patch saw their peanut tolerance increase 10-fold. Tolerance increased 19-fold for some children treated with the 250-microgram patch. The researchers, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, reported no serious side effects to the treatment. “EPIT appears safe, well tolerated and effective,” Sampson said. “That’s good news for families who suffer from food allergies.” _Read next:_ [_5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Gluten_](http://time.com/3701734/gluten-definition-celiac/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/"},"headline":"This 'Peanut Patch' Could Protect Against Peanut Allergies","datePublished":"2015-02-23T14:13:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:37:30.039Z","description":"Half of those who used the largest patch saw their peanut tolerance increase 10-fold","url":"https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/","keywords":["Research","Peanuts","allergies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6bd7ac0b330c04b/698780813c163959cb451e76/peanuts1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6bd7ac0b330c04b/698780813c163959cb451e76/peanuts1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Peanuts","caption":"peanuts","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3718529/peanut-patch-allergy/","name":"This 'Peanut Patch' Could Protect Against Peanut Allergies"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Tofu?","description":"Should you eat tofu? 4 out of 5 experts told us yes. 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