Allergy Desensitization
Allergy desensitization is a treatment that trains your immune system to tolerate seasonal, environmental and food allergens. Allergic reactions occur when your body incorrectly believes allergens like pollen, dust mites, pet dander and various foods pose a threat. Chemicals are released to protect against the perceived threat, and this triggers a person’s allergy symptoms. Allergy desensitization aims to stop this process by helping the body build a tolerance over a period of months.
What Is Allergy Desensitization?
Main Types of Allergy Desensitization
Oral Immunotherapy Treatment
Desensitization can treat peanut allergies, milk allergies, tree nut allergies and allergies to various other foods. The OIT process requires patients to consume increasing doses of the target allergen. Initially, food is consumed under the supervision of your allergist. Subsequently, patients eat set amounts of the allergen until a maintenance dose is reached.
With the oral immunotherapy treatment process completed, individuals should maintain consumption of periodic doses of the particular food to ensure desensitization is ongoing. Typically, successful OIT patients will have significantly reduced the chance of allergic reactions. With your allergy doctor’s approval, it may even be possible to reintroduce the food into your diet.
Immunotherapy
immunotherapy is a similar process to OIT, but uses allergy shots to target seasonal allergies, insect bites and indoor allergy triggers. Allergy shots are used to treat allergies to pollen, dust mites, mold, pet dander and bee stings through delivering small doses of the allergen via injection. By administering incremental doses of an allergen, the immune system becomes desensitized to its presence in the body.
Though immunotherapy will require periodic visits to your allergist’s office, the treatment offers continued benefits to patients. Not only will an individual be able to reduce their reliance on medication, they can experience life without the persistent threat of allergic reactions
Am I a Good Candidate for Allergy Desensitization?
A consultation will allow one of our doctors to assess whether you are a good candidate for desensitization. Initially, we will perform a skin or blood test to precisely diagnose the allergy. After allergy testing and discussions with your doctor, factors such as the severity of reaction, reliance on medication and quality of life can determine if oral immunotherapy treatment or allergy shots will be beneficial.