14 DAY TRIAL // Over the past couple of decades, the incidence of allergy cases in the United States and around the world has increased considerably. Due to unhealthy diets, excessive hygiene habits, stress and other factors, immune systems become weaker and have nothing to exercise their functions on. As such, they begin attacking proteins in milk and nuts, for example, causing allergic reaction. One method of getting rid of the symptoms is immunotherapy, in which shots or vaccines are used to alleviate the condition, LiveScience reports.
But this approach does not necessarily function on all patients. It only works for a limited number of allergies, as well as for a certain subgroup of the general population. One good example for this is the advice doctors give to people with high blood pressure, or other heart problems. For these individuals, who treat their conditions using drugs that contain beta blockers, undergoing immunotherapy may not be the best thing to do, healthcare experts say. Additionally, general practitioners should not be the ones to consult when deciding whether to get a series of allergy shots or not. You should definitely see a good allergist beforehand, who can guide you through the rest of the process.
Another aspect to consider is that immunotherapy is a long-duration effort. For three to six months, you will need to get one or two shots per week, and then continue taking one shot per month for the next three to five years. The treatment works best for curing allergies to the venom of stinging insects, such as bees and hornets, or against allergic rhinitis and asthma. On the other hand, the method does little to prevent symptoms generally associated with food allergies. The way this treatment works is very straightforward – doctors first need to conduct skin tests to test for allergens.
What this means is that sections of your skins are exposed to various common allergens – the active substances in whatever you're allergic to – so that allergists can see what triggers a response reaction. Whenever swelling and redness appear, that's a clear indicator that the body is sensitive to those substances. The doctors will then include small amounts of those allergens in the shots. The results will be most clearly visible by the second year of treatment. Generally, after three years, most people's immune systems are desensitized from the effects of the allergens.