What is Immunotherapy, and Can It Cure My Allergies?

Itchy eyes, runny nose, hives, if you have allergies, you know the drill:  These and other annoying allergy symptoms are caused when you inhale, eat, or touch what, for most people, are harmless symptoms, but your body responds in full attack mode.

Your immune system triggers a series of responses that produce antibodies and powerful chemicals such as histamine to eradicate the substance (allergen) as if it were an infection or parasite. 

Immunotherapy is designed to stop the reaction and thus control or eliminate the symptoms.

Vijayalakshmi Raghu, MD, and Raghu Turebylu, MD, at Irving Coppell Primary Care and Pediatrics, are well-acquainted with the life-changing benefits of immunotherapy. If allergies are disrupting your life, immunotherapy may be the next best thing to a cure.

How immunotherapy works

Immunotherapy addresses the underlying cause of your allergies by slowly desensitizing or “vaccinating” your immune system against substances it mistakes for toxins. Over time, it can reduce your symptoms so you respond more like someone without allergies might, like someone with bee stings, pollen, dust, etc.

Without allergies, you may, for instance, produce a healthy sneeze to clear your nasal passages of excess dust or develop a red bump with localized swelling and pain after a bee sting. However, a bee sting can become a life-threatening emergency for individuals with bee venom allergies.     

At Irving Coppell Primary Care and Pediatrics, our priority is to treat the whole patient, which includes relieving your symptoms and providing treatment that helps ensure allergies don’t control your life. For many individuals, immunotherapy does just that.  

Immunotherapy is not for everyone

To determine if you’re a good candidate for immunotherapy, your doctor begins with a thorough evaluation that includes a detailed review of your allergy symptoms, overall health, and past response to treatment. A vital step in this evaluation is allergy testing to identify the substances that trigger your immune system accurately.

As a result of this evaluation, your allergist may recommend immunotherapy if:

• Your allergies are not well-controlled with oral medication
• Your symptoms significantly disrupt your daily life
• You can’t avoid the substances that trigger your allergy symptoms
• You prefer to treat the cause as well as the symptoms of your allergies
• You develop significant side effects with oral medications

Immunotherapy can be effective for both children and adults. It’s often recommended for individuals with severe reactions to bee venom and other allergens that are so common in most environments that they’re hard to avoid.

Types of immunotherapy

Doctors have treated allergy symptoms with immunotherapy for over a century, and it has further evolved with improved testing and administration.

However, this type of therapy must be closely supervised by a highly trained and experienced physician with the necessary skills to respond immediately to any adverse reactions you may experience.

For more information about immunotherapy and other highly effective allergy and asthma treatments, schedule an appointment with the Irving Coppell Primary Care and Pediatrics team.