How long allergy shots take to work

SCIT is a long-term treatment designed to reduce the severity of symptoms for allergy sufferers. For some, their allergies may even stop completely. During the appointments, you receive an injection s filled with your specific allergen s.

Your allergist uses a very limited dose of the allergen at first, then increases it slowly over time. The goal of the treatment is to create an immunity or desensitization to the allergen. You will eventually reach a maintenance dose, which is the maximum dose and concentration for your allergens that is considered optimal for therapeutic response. This maintenance phase usually lasts for three to five years as deemed appropriate by your allergist for the best therapeutic benefit and long-term relief of your symptoms.

There are several benefits for patients who get allergy shots and they include:. As with all types of medical procedures and treatments, allergy desensitization has some drawbacks.

Following are some of the more common disadvantages of allergy shots:. They are also beneficial for molds, house dust mites, cockroaches and pet dander. If you have general insect allergies, including an allergy to yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, bees or fire ant, allergy shots could also be a good option. If you struggle with seasonal allergies, talk to your doctor or allergist about immunotherapy injections. As early as ages 3, kids can begin to develop seasonal allergies, leaving many parents wondering what is the best treatment?

We also get asked often are allergy shots safe for children. Yes, they are, but this is something that needs to be discussed with your allergist. Children, like adults, sometimes develop a minor reaction near the site of the injection immediately after the allergy shot is given.

Simply applying ice to the area and administering an antihistamine can reduce the swelling. There are rare cases where children can have a more severe reaction, including hives, itching across the body, or difficulty breathing.

These are less common but can occur. After an allergy shot, the timing of when a patient sees improvements in allergy symptoms largely depends on the individual. However, it can take anywhere from six to 12 months to see a significant reduction in symptoms. To treat allergic symptoms, many people get allergy shots. These are regular injections administered over time that help reduce symptoms and attacks. But how long does it take allergy shots to work?

To answer that, we need to look at why allergy shots are so different from taking allergy medicine and what makes the shots so effective. Hint: It's not like taking the injection form of Allegra. Allergy shots work in a completely different manner compared to over-the-counter or prescription allergy medication. These shots don't mask symptoms or temporarily block immune responses; they can actually fix the cause of your allergies, training your immune system to more effectively manage its response to that allergen.

Unlike medications, immunotherapy is, therefore, completely personalized to your unique allergy. Similar to a vaccine, an allergy shot exposes your immune system to a very small amount of the substance, or substances, to which you're allergic.

Your immune system responds by learning how to handle that allergen without overreacting. It's this over-reaction of the immune system to "harmless" substances that causes what we call allergies. An allergy-prone immune system is not unlike trying to bug bomb your whole house because of a single housefly instead of simply getting a flyswatter or catching the fly to let it outside. Allergy shots are effective for many kinds of allergic rhino-conjunctivitis, which mostly impact the nose and eyes.

They include:. They can also be used to treat other types of allergies like those that cause hives, anaphylaxis, and allergic asthma such as:.

They may also help with some forms of dermatitis, in which the skin responds to being touched by an allergen. Allergy shots are a very precise science that involves a thorough test to determine to which specific substances you have an allergic reaction. You may need to be transported to the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department for further treatment and observation. If at any time during the course of your immunotherapy you develop a new medical condition, you become pregnant, or you start a new medication, please tell the nurse.

In particular, high blood pressure or heart medications and certain antidepressants cannot be taken with allergy shots. You should not get your allergy shot if you are have a fever, rash, asthma symptoms, or increased allergy symptoms. Directory Departments Clinicians. Health Topics Coverage Topics.

How long to I have to keep getting my allergy shots? There are two phases to allergy shot therapy: a build-up phase and a maintenance phase. Build-up phase: In this phase you will start with a low dose injection and build to a higher dose of allergens over time. For typical immunotherapy this phase lasts from 6 to 10 months, depending on how often you get your shots and how well you tolerate them.

The build-up phase for venom therapy generally lasts for 10 weeks. During this phase you receive your allergy shots less often, usually every 3 to 4 weeks.