Traditional Immunotherapy

Many individuals turn to immunotherapy when medication use and lifestyle changes are not enough to alleviate allergy symptoms. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (allergy shots) helps patients increase their immune system’s tolerance to allergens by administering increasing amounts of whatever triggers allergic symptoms. Results do not appear immediately, but the allergic symptom improvement lasts up to 15 years.

What is immunotherapy?

During an immunotherapy treatment, there are two phases that patients go through. The first phase is the build-up phase, where patients start at the lowest possible dose of their allergen and incrementally build-up over a period of time to reach their maintenance dose. This is when a patient will reach their second phase, the maintenance phase. During the maintenance phase, you will receive the same maximum dose of your allergen once every 2-4 weeks. Traditional immunotherapy is a long-established immunotherapy method that requires 1-2 allergy shot appointments once a week for about 6 months during the initial build-up phase. Once the maintenance phase is reached, you will receive that maximum dose once every 2-4 weeks. A newer shot schedule that Frontier Allergy Asthma and Immunology provides is Cluster Immunotherapy, in which patients receive 2-3 rounds of injections per office visit. This accelerated form of immunotherapy allows patients to achieve the maintenance phase in 6-8 weeks. Regardless of how you get to your maintenance phase, immunotherapy achieves results through a consistent maintenance schedule for the duration of 3-5 years. Although your allergy symptoms will likely improve within the first year of immunotherapy, long-term results that can last an additional 5-15 years requires adhering to the shot schedule your doctor prescribes.

Next steps

If you are interested in further discussion about your specific needs, Dr. Reshamwala is happy to see you and answer any questions you may have. Please call (512) 535-2655 or email clinic@frontierallergist.com to schedule an appointment today! Book an appointment