Monthly Archives: August 2023

All About Allergy Shots and How to Reduce Your Reaction to Them

Allergen immunotherapy, often known as allergy shots, treats common allergies to pollen, dust mites, pet dander, and mold spores. They may also be beneficial if you are allergic to the venom of stinging insects such as bees, hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets.

As much as the shots are beneficial, some people have unpleasant reactions, which can be counterproductive. 

To shed more light on it, here is why this occurs, what to look for, and how you may be able to avoid allergic reactions to allergy shots.

How allergy shots work

Allergy shots are an allergy treatment that involves the allergy doctor injecting small amounts of allergens into your body. Depending on your allergies, your allergy doctor will create a customized cocktail of allergens in the shots for you.

The shots help reduce or even stop allergy symptoms from coming about.

You develop a tolerance to allergens by exposing your body to tiny amounts in the shots. Then, when you encounter allergens, such as during allergy season, your body does not react as strongly to them.

This treatment necessitates numerous doses, usually weekly, over several years. Your provider gradually increases the amount of allergens in the shot.

You’ll need to have the shots less frequently once you’ve reached the maintenance phase (the greatest dose).

Reason for allergy shot reaction

Your allergy doctor always begins with extremely low doses of the allergens. The idea is to sufficiently excite your immune system to recognize allergens without causing a severe reaction.

While this is the case, you should note that unpleasant reactions to allergy injections may occur on occasion.

This is because you are being given things you are allergic to, and there’s always that risk of an adverse reaction.

When administered correctly, allergy shots desensitize you to the allergen trigger. Unfortunately, your body may sometimes overreact to the allergens in the shot.

Reactions might range from mild swelling at the injection site to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Swelling at the injection site is the most common reaction to allergy injections. This swelling can range from a pea to a golf ball, but it usually goes away within 48 hours. Itching and/or hives may also occur over vast areas of your body.

Thankfully, severe reactions to allergy shots are less common — generally considered less than 1%.

While these are some of the common reactions that might come about, other less common but more significant reactions that can come about include:

  • Breathing difficulties include chest tightness, wheezing, and/or shortness of breath.
  • A decrease in blood pressure accompanied by dizziness and/or fainting.
  • Hives that appear on the injection site.

Who is prone to allergy shot reactions?

Asthmatics are more likely to have an allergic reaction to allergy injections.

If you have asthma, you must stay on your asthma meds and ensure your asthma is well-controlled before having these shots.

You should have a peak flow test before each shot to protect yourself. This test measures how quickly air exits your lungs when you exhale. This test determines whether or not your asthma is under control.

If you take beta-blockers or other blood pressure medications, you may also be more susceptible to a reaction, so be ultra cautious when going for it.

While these are the most common people to develop a reaction, anyone can develop a reaction to allergy shots. There’s no way to predict that, so you should always take precautions before you get the shots.

Ways to avoid allergy shot reactions

There are several things you can do to avoid allergy shot reactions. These things include:

Inform your healthcare practitioner if you have asthma. When giving your allergist your medical history, be detailed and exact. Mention any prior allergic reactions, medical conditions, or medications you are taking. This information will assist your allergist in determining the proper dosage and treatment plan.

Remember to take your meds as directed to keep your asthma under control.

If you have a cold or a respiratory infection, postpone getting your allergy shot until you feel better.

Avoid strenuous activities immediately after receiving an allergy injection. It’s even recommended that you avoid strenuous activities for an hour or two after injection. 

Follow your doctor’s advice and take an antihistamine before your shot. You also should follow the specified allergy shot injection regimen. Your allergist will begin with a build-up period when the dose gradually increases. This gradual escalation allows your body to develop tolerance to the allergen.

When the doctor tells you to do certain things and avoid others, obey their word.

Remember that once you’ve reached the maintenance phase in your course of allergy shots, your risk of a reaction decreases significantly.

When you are looking for an allergy specialist to administer a shot, ensure that you use an experienced one who knows what they are doing.

 Ensure a board-certified allergist or immunologist is treating you with allergy injections experience. They will carefully examine your allergies and provide a treatment plan tailored to your needs.

Don’t try to cut corners and hire a cheap allergist, as chances are that they won’t give you the service you want, and you will most likely be in more problems than you planned.

Take time to find an experienced professional. They might be a little expensive, but they will be worth it.

It’s a good idea to stay at the doctor’s office for at least 30 minutes after receiving an allergy shot. This allows medical professionals to keep an eye on you in case of an emergency. Serious responses are uncommon, but they might occur immediately after the injection.

Since you are already at the doctor’s office, you can get the medical attention you need if you react to the shot.

The success of allergy injections is dependent on consistency. Missing shots or delaying treatment might stymie your progress and increase your chance of adverse responses when you begin treatment.

So always be consistent with the allergy shots and get them at the right time as your allergist Germantown MD recommends.

Ways to Treat Your Kid’s Seasonal Allergies

asthma information

If your child experiences itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, or throat clearing as the seasons change, there’s a strong possibility they’re reacting to pollen, a typical cause of seasonal allergies.

Thankfully, you can treat seasonal allergies in several ways in your child. Some of the ways to do it include:

Use over-the-counter medications

The nearby drugstore aisle has first-line remedies for seasonal allergies. You can buy all of them over the counter.

Some medications you can go for include Antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays, and eye drops. For children with severe symptoms, you can combine antihistamines and intranasal steroids.

If your child needs daily treatment for chronic problems, try intranasal steroids.

Oral antihistamines

Antihistamines, whether liquid or tablet, can immediately relieve seasonal allergy symptoms. When in the market, look for cetirizine, levocetirizine, loratadine, and fexofenadine in brand-name and generic forms. They typically work in 30 minutes and do not cause drowsiness in children.

In terms of drowsiness, allergists do not recommend diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl) for youngsters due to sedation and other safety issues.

To stay safe, use one of the newer oral antihistamines with a lengthy track record of safety and effectiveness.

Nasal sprays

Steroid nasal sprays are highly effective at reducing nasal channel edema and irritation, which causes congestion. Fluticasone propionate, fluticasone furoate, and triamcinolone are among the pediatric versions you can go for.

The good side is that, unlike antihistamines, the effect does not occur immediately. You must give it to your child constantly for several days, sometimes up to two weeks before symptom alleviation occurs.

Azelastine, a nasal antihistamine available without a prescription, is another possibility. While it’s highly effective, you should note that the spray may induce drowsiness if you have a stuffy, runny, or itchy nose or sneezing, so use it in moderation.

Allergy shots

If over-the-counter medications aren’t alleviating a child’s problems, allergy shots may be the solution. While they are great, you should avoid giving them to children under five.

However, they can be an excellent solution for some school-aged children and teenagers. You should consider allergy shots if they’re on an antihistamine and a nasal steroid and still have a running nose and congestion.

Allergy shots are often administered in the doctor’s office every two to four weeks and operate by desensitizing how the immune system responds to an allergen.

So, you’re treating a child’s symptoms and modifying their allergy. A trace amount of the allergen is injected beneath the skin. The relief, however, is not immediate. In most cases, you may see symptom improvement after a year, so you should be patient.

Making lifestyle changes

Because pollen is airborne and can travel large distances, it is impossible to avoid it completely. Monitor pollen counts in your neighborhood to reduce your child’s exposure during peak times.

Consider varying your activities when the pollen counts are high. For example, instead of going to the park, you can go to the movies or stay indoors.

Keeping your windows closed can limit the amount of pollen in your home or car. Bathing or showering your child and changing into clean clothes after being outside will help to limit the spread of these allergens indoors.

Don’t forget about your pets. Your dog or cat’s fur may transport pollen into your home. Consider wiping their fur after going outside. You also should bathe the kids more frequently and keep the pollen out of your child’s room.

Under the tongue tablets

Sublingual immunotherapy, often known as under-the-tongue tablets, works in the same manner that allergy injections do.

The good side is that there will be no needles.

Each dose is administered by placing a dissolvable tablet under the child’s tongue. In the office, a doctor administers the initial dose and monitors for side effects. Following that, the child takes one tablet daily at home during allergy season.

Sublingual immunotherapy is currently approved for grass and ragweed allergies in the United States. It is unsuitable for youngsters allergic to tree pollen, one of the most prevalent spring allergens.

Seeing an allergist

Children with well-controlled symptoms may not require allergy testing. However, if over-the-counter drugs aren’t working and your child is unhappy, an allergist can help.

When you visit a pediatric allergist, they will guide your family through the treatment options and allergy testing procedure.

When a child’s allergic condition becomes difficult to treat or causes consequences, such as chronic ear or sinus infections, asthma episodes, or eczema flares, the allergist will help you control symptoms and offer additional prescription drugs.

Allergy testing gives you peace of mind and valuable information about the cause of your child’s sniffling and sneezing.

People sometimes attribute symptoms to pollen when caused by a dust mite or pet allergy, which may necessitate year-round medication and different management strategies.

Through testing, your doctor will tell you the best way to control the condition and the best medications to try.

Parting shot

Seasonal allergies affect about one in every five children, which is expected to rise as climate change causes longer pollen seasons and increased pollen production.

Pollen from oak, birch trees, and other plants are infamous for causing springtime allergy problems in different areas.

A child experiencing allergy symptoms throughout the summer may be allergic to grass pollen. Weed allergies become more prevalent in the fall.

Waiting until your child is unhappy from sneezing and sniffling may require considerably more medication to control symptoms, so it’s good to catch the problem before it develops.

One of the ways to do it is to change their lifestyle, where they spend most of their time indoors. If you do this and the kid still gets sick, don’t worry, as you can use plenty of medications to your advantage.

Besides the medications, also think about taking your child to an allergy specialist Manassas VA. The specialist will undertake a battery of tests to help you understand the nature of the allergy better and how to get over it.