LONDON — An experimental therapy that fed children with peanut allergies small amounts of peanut flour has helped more than 80 percent of them safely eat a handful of the previously worrisome nuts.

Although experts say the results of the carefully monitored study are encouraging, they warn it isn’t something that parents should try at home.

Peanut allergies are on the rise globally and affect about 1 in 50 children, mostly in high-income countries. The consequences can be life-threatening — peanuts are the most common cause of fatal food allergy reactions. There is no way to avoid a reaction other than just avoiding peanuts. Allergy shots used for environmental triggers like pollen are too risky.

The intention of the treatment isn’t to help kids eat large amounts of peanuts but to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction in case they accidentally eat trace amounts.

Dr. Andrew Clark, who led the research, said the treatment works by retraining the patients’ immune systems so they can gradually build up a tolerance to peanuts, though he guessed they might need to keep taking it for several years.