“Allergy shots” refers to the vaccines administered by injections, for the treatment of the allergic conditions.

 

Treatment consists in preparing an allergy vaccine with all the allergens the patient reacted to during allergy testing. A custom serum is prepared. Small amounts of this mix will be injected weekly and the dose will slowly increase over the course of treatment.

 

“Weekly” does not mean that the patient needs to come exactly the same day every week, rather that the patient needs to come once, every week at an interval of 5-9 days.

 

The allergy test used in our office is so patient-specific, a patient receiving immunotherapy should start to feel better within a few months of beginning treatment.

 

Immunotherapy treatment will provide symptom-relief for a long period of time. How long depends on the duration of the treatment. Allergy guidelines advise administering immunotherapy treatment for 3-5 years. It is the experience of Dr. Saporta that when a patient complies for only 2-3 years, these patients often develop a relapse of their symptoms 3-7 years after discontinuation. On the other hand, when a patient complies with this treatment for 5-6 years it is extremely rare to find a patient that relapses and requires further treatment.

 

In our office safety is a priority. Taking appropriate precautions, Immunotherapy is a very safe therapy but it is extremely important for any patient undergoing allergy vaccines to understand that although small, there is a risk of a reaction during treatment.