The effective maintenance dose depends on your level of allergen sensitivity and your response to the build-up phase. During the maintenance phase, there will be longer periods of time between treatments, ranging from two to four weeks. You may notice a decrease in symptoms during the build-up phase, but it may take as long as 12 months on the maintenance dose to notice an improvement. If allergy shots are successful, maintenance treatment is generally continued for three to five years.
How Effective Are Allergy Shots? Allergy shots have shown to decrease symptoms of many allergies. It can prevent the development of new allergies, and in children it can prevent the progression of allergic disease from allergic rhinitis to asthma.
The effectiveness of allergy shots appears to be related to the length of the treatment program as well as the dose of the allergen. Some people experience lasting relief from allergy symptoms, while others may relapse after discontinuing allergy shots. This type of treatment should be supervised by a specialized physician in a facility equipped with proper staff and equipment to identify and treat adverse reactions to allergy injections. Are There Risks? A typical reaction is redness and swelling at the injection site.
This can happen immediately or several hours after the treatment. If a local reaction lasts longer than 24 hours or happens often your allergist may change your allergy shot schedule. Most systemic reactions are mild and improve with treatment, but these reactions may become life threatening. If you experience a systemic reaction in the office tell a nurse right away.
You may need to be transported to the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department for further treatment and observation. If at any time during the course of your immunotherapy you develop a new medical condition, you become pregnant, or you start a new medication, please tell the nurse.
In particular, high blood pressure or heart medications and certain antidepressants cannot be taken with allergy shots. You should not get your allergy shot if you are have a fever, rash, asthma symptoms, or increased allergy symptoms.
Directory Departments Clinicians. Health Topics Coverage Topics. How long to I have to keep getting my allergy shots? There are two phases to allergy shot therapy: a build-up phase and a maintenance phase. Build-up phase: In this phase you will start with a low dose injection and build to a higher dose of allergens over time.
Allergy shots can be effective for people with hay fever and other seasonal allergies , but they can also work for year-round indoor allergies—like mold , dust mites , and animal dander—and allergies to insect bites or stings. Unfortunately, they don't seem to work for food allergies. Allergy shots are given in two phases.
In the "build-up" phase, you'll need a shot once or twice a week for about three to six months. After that, you'll enter the "maintenance" phase and receive them less often—about once or twice a month, for several years. Sticking to this schedule is important, for the shots' effectiveness and to reduce your chances of having a bad reaction. And while the shots themselves only take a minute, you probably will have to wait those 30 minutes in your doctor's office after each one.
Taking an oral antihistamine like Benadryl or Claritin before each shot can help reduce side effects and reactions. And if that's not enough reason to pop a pill beforehand, some research even suggests that pre-treatment with an antihistamine during the build-up phase of allergy shots can improve the shots' effectiveness too. Allergy shots aren't a quick fix: While some people may start to feel better during the build-up phase of their treatment, most people won't experience noticeable improvement until they've been in the maintenance phase for six to 18 months, says Dr.
In fact, a British study found that it took three full years for allergy shots for hay fever to be more effective than placebo shots. The maintenance phase for most allergy shots is usually continued for three to five years. Some patients experience long-lasting relief after that, and some may need continued treatment. Most adults—and children ages 5 and up—can get allergy shots.
But if you or your child has severe, uncontrolled asthma , your doctor may recommend against them. Women who become pregnant while in the maintenance phase of allergy shots can continue their treatment.
Research even suggests that immunotherapy before or during pregnancy may decrease babies' chances of developing allergies! But women shouldn't start allergy shots for the first time, or increase their dosage, while pregnant. Certain medicines, like beta blockers, can reduce the effectiveness of epinephrine—the lifesaving drug used to treat anaphylactic shock. Because anaphylaxis is a rare but serious risk for people getting allergy shots, they may not be recommended for people who take these drugs.
When people think of allergy symptoms, they generally think of itchy eyes and a stuffy or runny nose, or, in worse-case scenarios, anaphylactic shock. And while allergy shots can help prevent all of those, they can also help with related conditions, as well.
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