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What is sublingual immunotherapy?
Unlike most allergy drugs – which treat only symptoms – sublingual immunotherapy addresses the underlying causes of allergies. Allergy drops are administered in gradually increasing dosages until the patient develops a tolerance to the allergy-causing substance.
What is an antigen?
An antigen is an allergy-causing substance. Examples include dust, pollen, mold, insect venom and specific foods such as fish, wheat, corn and eggs.
What kind of allergies can be treated with allergy drops?
The benefit of sublingual immunotherapy is that a broad range of allergies, including those caused by dust mites, pollen, mold, animals, foods and chemicals can be treated.
Is it safe and effective?
Sublingual immunotherapy has been used in various parts of the world for 60-plus years. More than 100 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals prove that sublingual treatment is both safe and effective.
What are advantages of allergy drops?
Compared to traditional injection therapy, allergy drop treatment is more convenient, requires fewer clinic visits and costs less. Most importantly allergy drops are a safe, effective treatment for young children, asthmatics, the highly reactive and those with underlying medical conditions that prevent them from being candidates for injection therapy.
Will my medical insurance cover the costs ?
Some insurance plans do cover the costs of allergy drops. However many do not, check with your carrier.
Can my child be treated?
Yes! Children from infancy on up can be treated with allergy drops. Because sublingual therapies use carefully measured frequent doses to treat allergic conditions effectively, they are able to treat children early on–enabling them to treat the root cause of the allergy before it develops into other related conditions.
Which allergies are treatable with sublingual immunotherapy?
Physicians have successfully treated a broad range of allergies, including those caused by dust, dust mites, pollen, mold, animals, insects, foods and chemicals.
What are the age parameters for patients?
All ages of allergy sufferers, from infants through the elderly, may benefit from sublingual immunotherapy. Medical research has shown that intervention early in life may reduce the risk of asthma and serious allergies.
What are the advantages of sublingual treatment?
Allergies which do not benefit from injection therapy — specifically those involving molds and foods — may be treated with SLIT. Patient populations who are not candidates for injection therapy — highly reactive, children, asthmatic and those who have failed injection therapy — may also benefit from SLIT. In addition, compared to injection therapy, it is less costly, and it requires fewer physician visits.
What is the typical course of treatment?
Typically, patients self-administer drops three times daily. The length of treatment is about the same as with injection therapy: three to five years.
Is there proof that it’s safe and effective?
Clinical experience with SLIT spans more than 60 years. In other parts of the world, especially in Europe, sublingual treatment has become increasingly commonplace. In 1998, the World Health Organization referred to it as a "viable alternative" to injection therapy. Favorable results with more than 50 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals (see research).
Are the allergy drops homeopathic?
No. The antigen doses are much higher. For single antigen therapy doses range from the same as injection to 200x injection. In fact, the same extracts used in injection therapy are used for SLIT.
Are medications used in conjunction with the antigens?
While no medications are added to the drops, they may be prescribed as a symptom-relieving adjunct. However, as the underlying causes of a person’s allergies are addressed, the need for medication usually decreases.
Why isn’t sublingual immunotherapy commonly used by allergists in the U.S.?
Unfortunately, despite the overwhelming evidence supporting sublingual treatment there continues to be prejudice against SLIT in the U.S. The political pressure is considerable. However, SLIT’s expanding use in Europe has sparked interest in the leadership of the professional allergy associations here in the U.S. |
