If you suffer from hay fever and other types of allergies, living with symptoms can be tiresome, particularly when these symptoms interfere with daily living. Immunotherapy may be the answer to build your body’s resilience against these immune system irregularities.
The team at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates in Lawrence and Ottawa specialize in allergy testing and provide walk-in allergy shot services from Monday to Friday. Visit us when you want to learn more about allergy immunotherapy.
Allergies occur when normally harmless substances cause an overreaction of your body’s immune system. When you’re allergic to certain types of plant pollen, for example, these won’t harm your body.
Instead, they cause your immune system to respond as though they are a threat to your health. Allergy symptoms aren’t caused by the allergens, but by your own body.
Allergy immunotherapy gradually introduces small doses of specific allergens, increasing over time, to desensitize your immune system to these substances. Eventually, the immune system reaction to the treated allergens reduces in severity.
Allergy immunotherapy won’t cure your allergies, but it can reduce your dependence on allergy medications and make it easier to function through reduced symptoms.
Allergy shots, or subcutaneous (under the skin) immunotherapy (SCIT) is perhaps the best known form of allergy immunotherapy delivery. The allergen formula determined for you based on allergy testing is injected under the skin, usually in the upper arm, following a predetermined schedule.
Sublingual (under the tongue) immunotherapy (SLIT) takes the form of drops or tablets held under the tongue for absorption into the body. This is a newer option that’s now available for certain allergens. SLIT may not require an office visit for administration.
There are other, less common methods of delivery, including oral immunotherapy using a powdered allergen mix, and epicutaneous immunotherapy, which uses a patch applied to the skin. Intranasal and intralymphatic delivery methods are also currently in development.
Allergy shots are the most commonly used method of allergy immunotherapy, with a long history of research and development as well as a proven track record. SCIT is also the only immunotherapy method that may prevent new allergies from developing.
On the down side, the risk of severe allergic reaction, though small, requires that allergy shots be given in a medical setting, such as our offices. Allergy shot injections also carry a slight risk of infection, the same as any treatment involving piercing the skin.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves only tablet-based SLIT, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (ACAAI). While allergy drops are commonly used, these are off-label and not approved by the FDA. Talk to us about what this means in terms of your treatment.
SLIT is usually daily and can be administered at home once it’s clear that you won’t react to the tablets or drops. This frees you from regular office visits, but it does require a commitment to a daily medication routine.
Learn more about your allergy immunotherapy options by contacting Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates. Book an appointment for allergy testing online or by phone today.
