Trees and flowers have begun releasing pollen, and grass pollen will be flying in the next few weeks, which is when seasonal allergies will hit their sniffly peak. If you’re one of the 25% of Americans1 who suffer from seasonal allergies, you’ve probably already started taking your daily antihistamine and stocked up on allergy meds. One thing you might want to consider is starting immunotherapy; now is the perfect time.
What Are Allergies?
Allergies are basically a case of mistaken identity. Pollen, just like any other substance that can trigger allergic reactions, is actually completely harmless to the body: it doesn’t cause illness, injury or damage to your cells. However, your immune system mistakes it for a threat and deploys an all-out offensive to destroy it. It is the immune system’s response that causes your worst symptoms: inflammation, mucus production and itchiness are all methods it uses to remove the perceived threat from the body.
What Is Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is a long-term allergy management solution that desensitizes your immune system to the perceived threat. We introduce small doses of the triggering substance into the body, gradually increasing the dosage, with the goal of training your immune system to recognize the substance as harmless and reducing its tendency to overreact to its presence.
Immunotherapy can be administered as an injection, commonly called “allergy shots,” or orally, commonly called “allergy drops.” Both of these are highly effective and work in the same way as described above; the main difference is the delivery method.
Why Is Now the Best Time to Start Immunotherapy?
Grass pollen allergies are one of the most common allergies in America, and grass will start releasing its pollen in the next few weeks, meaning that allergy symptoms will kick into high gear.
Immunotherapy has a buildup phase before entering a maintenance phase. An immunotherapy regimen starts with a very small dosage size and builds up to the maximum dose as your immune system develops a tolerance. Starting now means that you can cover much of that buildup phase before grass pollen explodes, giving you a head start on the worst of it.
How Do I Start?
Your first step is to have an allergy test administered so you and your allergist know exactly what substance to use in your immunotherapy. Allergy shots target one allergen at a time, so this knowledge is critical for starting out. Call North Alabama ENT Associates today to schedule an allergy test and discuss starting immunotherapy!
Learn More
1 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, February 21). FastStats: Allergies. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/allergies.htm