Allergy shots, or immunotherapy, involve gradually introducing small amounts of an allergen into a patient’s body to reduce sensitivity. The process can take up to five years and is not recommended for those with heart problems or severe asthma. Allergy shots can be life-saving for those with severe allergies and are not effective for food allergies. Patients must be monitored for adverse reactions after each injection.
Allergy shots are a series of injections given to reduce someone’s sensitivity to an allergen. A full course of allergy injections can take up to five years to complete, making it a serious commitment, but it can dramatically improve your quality of life. For patients with very severe allergies, allergy shots can even be life-saving, as they allow the patient to be exposed to the source of an allergy without developing fatal symptoms.
Also known as immunotherapy, allergy shots involve introducing very small amounts of an antigen into a patient’s body. In the accumulation phase, where injections are given one to three times a week for three to seven months, the amount of antigen is gradually increased with each injection. The goal is to expose the body without triggering an allergic reaction, allowing the patient’s body to recalibrate so that it no longer recognizes the allergen as a threat. In the maintenance phase, which requires one injection per month for two to five years, the patient is given regular doses to continue desensitization.
When allergy shots are given, it is usually because a patient has very severe allergies or experiences allergic reactions more than three times a year. Patients who find it difficult to avoid an allergen may also benefit from injections, as can patients who have tried other means of allergy control which have proved unsuccessful. Immunotherapy is not recommended for people with heart problems or severe asthma, or for pregnant women.
Insect allergies, seasonal allergies to things like ragweed, and indoor allergies can all be treated with allergy shots. Food allergies can’t. Before offering allergy shots to a patient, a doctor will usually conduct an interview to gather information about the patient’s history and current medications, to make sure he or she is a good candidate for shots. In some cases, a doctor may recommend emergency immunotherapy, in which the patient receives increasingly large doses every few hours in a controlled setting such as a hospital for rapid desensitization.
Typically, patients are asked not to exercise for at least two hours before and after allergy shots. They will also need to stay for monitoring for at least 30 minutes after an injection to confirm that no adverse reactions are occurring. Allergy shots are not without risk, and patients can sometimes develop allergic and other serious reactions, which makes this monitoring period important. If a patient begins to feel strange after an injection, they should report the feeling immediately so that health care providers can take action.
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