| How The Allergy Shots Can Help You? |
Immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, is a kind of therapy where a patient is given an injection of certain substance to increase ones immunity to allergens and to reduce respiratory, skin reactions, and gastro-intestinal symptoms caused by allergens like airborne substance, food, pollen, perfumes or any other substances to which a patient is allergic to.
For people who suffer from severe allergies symptoms and those who have frequent unpleasant experience of allergy symptoms every few months, immunotherapy is a better solution than taking the allergies medications regularly. Allergy shots can increase the body’s tolerance and immunity to the substances or allergens that induced allergic reactions.
Contradict to popular belief, allergy shots can not and do not cure the allergies conditions totally. Instead, they increase the body’s immunity and thus reduce the body’s reaction and sensitivity to the particular allergens and substances by injecting the same substance into body. The allergy shots treatment do not give immediate relief to allergy symptoms, but more aims to reduce the level of allergic of your body to particular allergen.
Depends on the level of severity of your allergic condition, you may receive allergy shots one or twice weekly and need to receive continuous shots regularly for few years to consistently strengthen your immunity to the allergens.
If after all the other ways of allergy treatment like the allergy medications, try to keep yourself in contact with the allergen and still not seen any significant improvement over the conditions, you may want to try undergo a continuous therapy of allergy shots. It is particularly effective for people who have hay fever, pollen allergies, bee-sting and other drug-related kind of allergies.
Pros And Cons Of Allergy Shots
Allergy shots work exactly the same principle of vaccinations, boosting our body’s immune system to better protect us from allergies. Immunotherapy is a very safe and yet effective treatment of allergies for all ages if performed by the well-trained health professionals.
Although allergy shots seems the perfect solution to all type of allergies symptoms, but patients with severe asthma or certain allergies may have their condition worsen. For patients who are under age of five, pregnant or lactating women, people who are currently taking beta-blockers because of heart disease, should be more cautions when receiving immunotherapy treatment, and should refrain from taking allergy shots treatment to avoid complications.
Before making the decision to take the allergy shots, always make sure that the allergy symptoms are severe and intolerable. Allergy shots can be a practical solution to the cases when you are allergic to the substances or allergens that can’t be avoid due to working or living environment. Always consult a doctor about your situation so that the doctor can analyze the pros and cons of taking allergy shots, and help you to make the right decision and to develop an effective plan for you.
Recommended Reading:
Allergy shots: An entry from Thomson Gale's Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence
Self-administered allergy shots don't increase risk.(Clinical ROunds): An article from: Family Practice News
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