4 ms·

Normally when you go to the dr's office with allergies none is trying to find heavy metal poisoning. A lot of times they do not even perform regular blood work,

by hospes 10y ago

Normally when you go to the dr's office with allergies none is trying to find heavy metal poisoning. A lot of times they do not even perform regular blood work, they just do tests for allergies and prescribe meds to address symptoms (like antihistamines or steroids, or both). With certain types of airborne allergies (like dust mite allergies or pollen allergies) they can also offer immunotherapy (allergy shots) as a treatment. They inject gradually increasing doses of allergen which leads to development of immunity or tolerance to the allergen. Immunotherapy is the only available treatment for airborne allergies at this point, it is more than 100 years old and takes several years of injections to complete it and a lot of times it is not very effective.

douche 10y ago
Do allergy shots actually work in any measurable fashion? I had weekly shots for years as a child, to try to counter some crippling dust and pet allergies, but the only effect I ever experienced was feeling miserable for six days out of the week, and finally having the crap washed out of my system by the seventh day, just in time to get shot up again. On the other hand, after puberty and a serious illness in my late teens that basically rebooted my immune system, I haven't had any issues with allergies ever since.
- joveian 10y ago
  They worked well for me, not eliminating my allergic response but significantly reducing it for about a decade after 2-3 years of shots. Note that the same treatment can be given via drops, a much less expensive option (but still considered off label use in the US). I haven't tried them (yet) but it seems like the research performed so far shows them to be just as effective (I'd guess also just as ineffective if the shots don't work for you).
- hospes 10y ago
  There are studies that show that immunotherapy is effective and safe for certain airborne allergies (some of them are referenced here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy). Close friend of mine is going through immunotherapy for dust mite allergies for more than a year now, so far she had just a little improvement. To me surprising part is that immunotherapy is 100 years old treatment and we did not come up with anything better after a century of rapid advancements in science. Currently in US there are estimated 20 million people suffering from dust mite allergies alone and more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies overall. Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. with an annual cost in excess of $18 billion. One of new approaches for treatment of airborne allergies is what this company is doing http://www.circassia.com http://www.circassia.com. They are working on new kind of therapy, which is trying to "teach" your immune system to not identify certain harmless airborne allergens (dust mites, grass, ragweed,...) as harmful. Treatment consists of 4 injection during a year period. They are in trial phase right now (I am not related to them).
  - kingnothing 10y ago
    They're also working on a cure for cat allergies, which is currently in Phase 3 trials with results due this quarter. It's 4 treatments over 12 weeks. http://www.circassia.com/pipeline/product/cat-allergy/ http://www.circassia.com/pipeline/product/cat-allergy/

by hospes 10y ago

douche 10y ago

Do allergy shots actually work in any measurable fashion? I had weekly shots for years as a child, to try to counter some crippling dust and pet allergies, but the only effect I ever experienced was feeling miserable for six days out of the week, and finally having the crap washed out of my system by the seventh day, just in time to get shot up again. On the other hand, after puberty and a serious illness in my late teens that basically rebooted my immune system, I haven't had any issues with allergies ever since.

joveian 10y ago
They worked well for me, not eliminating my allergic response but significantly reducing it for about a decade after 2-3 years of shots. Note that the same treatment can be given via drops, a much less expensive option (but still considered off label use in the US). I haven't tried them (yet) but it seems like the research performed so far shows them to be just as effective (I'd guess also just as ineffective if the shots don't work for you).
hospes 10y ago
There are studies that show that immunotherapy is effective and safe for certain airborne allergies (some of them are referenced here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy). Close friend of mine is going through immunotherapy for dust mite allergies for more than a year now, so far she had just a little improvement. To me surprising part is that immunotherapy is 100 years old treatment and we did not come up with anything better after a century of rapid advancements in science. Currently in US there are estimated 20 million people suffering from dust mite allergies alone and more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies overall. Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. with an annual cost in excess of $18 billion. One of new approaches for treatment of airborne allergies is what this company is doing http://www.circassia.com http://www.circassia.com. They are working on new kind of therapy, which is trying to "teach" your immune system to not identify certain harmless airborne allergens (dust mites, grass, ragweed,...) as harmful. Treatment consists of 4 injection during a year period. They are in trial phase right now (I am not related to them).
- kingnothing 10y ago
  They're also working on a cure for cat allergies, which is currently in Phase 3 trials with results due this quarter. It's 4 treatments over 12 weeks. http://www.circassia.com/pipeline/product/cat-allergy/ http://www.circassia.com/pipeline/product/cat-allergy/