DOCTORS in Southampton have revealed eating peanuts at a young age could help prevent an allergy.

Their study is the first to prove eating is an effective strategy to prevent becoming allergic.

The Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) looked at the possibility that because the allergy develops early in life there may be a way to stop it.

Doctors worked with more than 600 children between 11-months and four-years-old who were considered at high risk of becoming allergic to peanuts because they already showed signs of egg allergies or eczema.

Currently the allergy affects one in 50 school age children in the UK and there is no cure for what can be a life-threatening reaction when sufferers have a severe bout of anaphylaxis - like rashes, swelling or nausea.

The results of this study have shown that less than one per cent of children who consumed peanuts during the research developed an allergy by the time they were five-years-old, compared to more than 17 per cent in the avoidance group.

Researcher, Professor Graham Roberts, a consultant in paediatric allergy and respiratory medicine at Southampton Children's Hospital, said: “For many years, guidelines and paediatricians have recommended that infants avoid peanut.

“However, this study shows that early, sustained consumption of peanut is safe and results in a substantial and significant reduction in the development of peanut allergy in high-risk infants by five years of age.

“As a result, this questions whether children should be deliberately avoiding peanut in the first year of life to prevent allergy.”

However, as the study excluded infants showing early strong signs of having already developed peanut allergy, Prof Gideon Lack of King's college London, who led the study has said the safety and effectiveness of early peanut consumption in this group remains unknown and requires further study.

He said: “Parents of infants and young children with eczema or egg allergy should consult with an allergist, paediatrician, or their general practitioner prior to feeding them peanut products.”

Doctors will now continue to monitor the hundreds of children who took part in the study who ate peanuts to see if they remain allergy free for the next 12 months.