Allergy
Immunotherapy, also Known as Allergy Shots
If
you suffer from severe allergies and allergy medications
do not work well for you, you may be asked to try allergy
shots or (allergy immunotherapy). While not intended to
cure allergy symptoms, allergy immunotherapy is designed
to lessen your sensitivity to the substances you are allergic
to.
In
some ways, allergy shots are similar to flu shots. When
you receive a flu shot, dead pieces of the flu virus are
injected into your body. Your immune system detects the
virus particles and creates cells to protect your body from
the flu virus in the future. Likewise, allergy immunotherapy
involves injecting your body with allergens, or particles
of substances to which you are allergic. Over time, it is
presumed that your immune system will become less sensitive
to these allergens, which would lessen your allergy symptoms.
Sounds
easy, right? Sadly, allergy immunotherapy is not as simple
as it seems on the surface. There are several drawbacks
to allergy immunotherapy, the most obvious being the needle
factor. In order to be effective, allergy shots must be
given in the upper arm with gradually increasing doses.
This means you would need allergy shots once or twice a
week for several months, and then once or twice a month
for up to 5 years. Few people—especially children—are
able to cope with receiving shots on such a consistent,
long-term basis, with no guarantee of success.
Another
drawback for allergy immunotherapy is the possibility of
adverse reactions. After a patient receives allergy shots,
it’s required that he or she remain in the doctor’s
office for about half an hour—especially if the patient
is a child. During a severe reaction to allergy immunotherapy,
called anaphylaxis, the patient may experience swollen lips
and tongue, hives, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting,
convulsions, and eventually unresponsiveness.
Even
if allergy shots begin to work, allergy immunotherapy is
not a cure for allergies. On the contrary, allergy immunotherapy
is one of several concurrent methods that people try to
reduce the symptoms of allergies. Allergy immunotherapy
always must be used in conjunction with allergen avoidance,
allergy medications, and other allergy control products.
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