Immunotherapy can provide relief for allergy symptoms.Immunotherapy treatments are provided by Allergy Partners, P.A. at 22 nation-wide office locations.

Immunotherapy ("allergy shots").

Allergy shots have been used since 1911. This time-tested therapy decreases a patient's sensitivity by introducing increasingly larger doses of the substances to which the patient is allergic. The treatment is a method for increasing the allergic patient's natural resistance to the things that are triggering the allergic reactions.

Allergy shots are a time-tested treatment for allergy related symptoms.The immunization procedure begins with injections of small amounts of purified "extracts" of the substances that are causing allergic reactions. For example, the extracts may be derived from pollens, mold spores, animal dander, dust mites or insect venom. They are approved for this use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and over the years they have been improved considerably.

Allergy shots stimulate the immune system to fight allergies safely, effectively and naturally. Beginning with small doses and increasing them gradually on a weekly or biweekly basis, the therapy continues until a maintenance level is achieved. Then, a maintenance dose is injected every few weeks.

Immunity does not occur immediately, but patients do begin to feel better quickly. In some patients, immunity is maintained and treatment can be discontinued after several years. For others, treatment may be needed for longer periods of time.

Immunotherapy treatments are closely monitored to assure quality control and the best possible patient care.With the immune system restored to good health, few or no medications may be needed. Work or school days are no longer missed. The burden of allergies is lifted, and allergies become something you just don't think about any more.

Candidates for immunotherapy include patients of all ages. (Normally children under the age of two are not prescribed immunotherapy injections.) Pregnant patients should continue treatment started prior to pregnancy.

Allergy shots are always given under medical supervision at a location where medical staff and medications are available to handle any serious reaction. Although rare, systemic reactions can occur for allergy shots because the treatment involves the substances to which the patient is known to be allergic.

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How allergy shots can help control increasing asthma rates

  • Asthma, a chronic inflammation of the lung airways characterized by wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, affects 17 million Americans.
  • Since 1980, asthma has increased by 160 percent among children age 4 and younger.
  • Approximately 80 percent of all asthma in children and half of all asthma in adults is caused by allergy.
  • An international conference, "Immunotherapy in Allergic Asthma," hosted by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) in 2000, concluded that immunotherapy (allergy shots) is an effective treatment for allergic asthma, and can prevent the onset of asthma in children with allergic rhinitis.
  • The Preventive Allergy Treatment (PAT) study, published in the February 2002 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), confirms the ACAAI conference conclusions. The study documents that immunotherapy reduces the risk of developing asthma and reduces lung airway inflammation in children with hay fever, a condition that predisposes them to asthma.
  • The study followed 205 patients ages 6 to 14 from six pediatric centers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Austria and Germany; a total of 191 patients completed the study. The children all had proven allergies to birch or grass pollen or both. Before the start of immunotherapy, more than 20 percent (40 of 191) children had asthma symptoms during pollen season, even though they initially reported no history of asthma; 151 children had no asthma symptoms.
  • The children were randomly assigned to receive either medications alone to control their symptoms or those medications and allergy shots that treated their allergic condition; they were tested for symptoms of asthma after three years of treatment. Among those who had no asthma prior to treatment, only 24 percent of those receiving allergy shots (19 of 79) developed asthma, compared to 44 percent of those who did not receive shots (32 of 72).

Allergy Partners, P.A. specializes in providing Immunotherapy treatments for wide range of allergens. Allergy Partners, P.A. also blends and controls purified extracts for Immunotherapy treatments in-house to assure the highest levels of purity and quality control.

Click here to locate an Allergy Partners Office in your region.

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