Allergy Shots
Medical Author:
Javed Sheikh, MD
Coauthor:
Kathryn L Hale, MS, PA-C
Medical Editor:
Jeffrey Lee Kishiyama, MD
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Stephen C Dreskin, MD, PhD
Allergy Shots OverviewSome allergens are simply impossible to avoid. You cannot live a normal life and completely avoid pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and certain other common triggers of allergic reactions. Many allergy sufferers use medications such as antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays to suppress their symptoms, and these medications are very effective in most. For people with very severe symptoms, and those who cannot take allergy medications, immunotherapy is an alternative. Immunotherapy is the name for a treatment used by allergy specialists (allergists) to reduce sensitivity to allergens. This therapy is particularly useful for people with allergic rhinitis (sometimes called hay fever). Immunotherapy involves a series of injections (shots) given regularly for several years. In the past, this was called a serum, but this is an incorrect name. Most allergists now call this mixture an allergy extract. The first shots contain very tiny amounts of the antigen or antigens to which you are allergic. With progressively increasing dosages over time, your body will adjust to the antigen and become less sensitive to it. This process is called desensitization. Immunotherapy is the only available treatment that can modify the natural course of the allergic disease. This means that a 3- to 5-year regimen of injections may result in long-term benefits that extend well beyond the completion of the regimen. Immunotherapy does not work for everyone and is only partly effective in some people, but it offers allergy sufferers the chance of eventually stopping medication or reducing the amount they have to take. |
Allergies & Asthma
Improve treatments & prevent attacks.
From WebMD
Allergies Resources
Featured Centers
- Ask the Nutritionist: Weight Loss Tips
- Which Drugstore Tooth Whiteners Work Best?
- Gout: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Allergy Shots
Food Allergy Overview
For someone with a food allergy, eating or swallowing even a tiny amount of a particular food can cause symptoms such as skin rash, nausea, vomiting, cramping, and diarrhea. Because the body is reacting to something that is otherwise harmless, this type of allergic reaction is often called a hypersensitivity reaction. Rarely, a severe allergic reaction can cause a life-threatening set of symptoms called anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock.
Although about 25% of people believe they have a food allergy, only about 2.5% of adults and about 6-8% of children, mainly younger than 6 years, have true food allergies. The rest have what is known as food intolerance—an undesirable reaction to a food that does not involve the immune system.
It is easy to confuse food intolerance with food allergy because they can have similar symptoms. With food intolerance, however, you usually get only mild symptoms such as an upset stomach.
- ...
Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape
Rhinitis, Allergic »
Rhinitis is defined as inflammation of the nasal membranes1 and is characterized by a symptom complex that consists of any combination of the following: sneezing, nasal congestion, nasal itching, and rhinorrhea.
Featured Topics
Medical Dictionary
Pill Identifier on RxList
- quick,
easy,
pill identification
Find a Local Pharmacy
- including
24 hour
pharmacies
