Everything you need to know about allergy immunotherapy

Allergy immunotherapy is another term for allergy shots. HealthMaker Alkis Togias, MD, Asthma and Inflammation Section Chief at the NIAID provides a quick look at the history of allergy immunotherapy and why it's a key treatment.

Transcript

00:00

Allergy immunotherapy is a form of therapy where the intent is to either desensitize or polarize

00:10

a patient against the allergens that he or she is allergic to.

00:22

It goes back more than a century. That's when it started. And it's been a treatment that has been

00:29

applied for many, many decades. We are at a crossroad of trying to improve

00:35

this form of treatment, but we do know that it works. And it's a very interesting treatment also from the immunologic standpoint,

00:43

understanding the immune system.

00:50

Allergy shots or immunotherapy or allergy injections, it's a vaccine. It's the closest thing we have to a cure.

00:56

Basically, they cause a state of tolerance and reduce symptoms until they dissipate and go away. Even after treatment, they have long-lasting benefits.

01:05

The great news is that allergy shots are covered by your insurance. Within several months of build up, you'll develop an immunity or a tolerance

01:12

to the allergens, less symptoms, and you'll go on a maintenance schedule, which is once a month for several years. Bottom line, when you stop the treatment,

01:20

we expect long-lasting improvement to stay. So it's a long-term solution, and that's what I love about it. My patients get great results.

01:31

Allergy injections are wonderful when people really suffer. They have seasonal symptoms, not just for a couple of weeks, but maybe three to six months at a time

01:38

due to longer allergy seasons. There are people with allergic asthma, people with pet allergies, indoor allergies.

01:45

They're all great candidates for allergy shots. Bottom line is we can reduce medications, get you feeling better during the daytime, sleeping better

01:53

with allergy injection therapy. [AUDIO LOGO]