If you have a serious allergy condition, then it is wise to seek out advice from an allergist. The professional can help to provide you with treatments that include immunotherapy to help reduce your symptoms over time. And, there are some things that you will need to do to make sure that your treatments are as effective as possible.
Keep All Appointments
To ensure that your immunotherapy is working effectively, you will need to go through a build-up phase. This is where you will receive a serum with concentrations of the allergens that you are allergic to. Every injection will contain a little bit more of the allergen to train your body to get used to it. And, the training will need to occur on a regular schedule for it to be effective.
So, you want to be sure to keep all of your scheduled appointments. They will occur either once or twice a week depending on what is decided by your allergist.
If you do skip an appointment, then your allergy doctor will need to go backward in the shot progression by one week. This will extend the build-up period and you may be more likely to develop an adverse reaction like a rash or breathing issues when you do receive your shot.
Watch Closely For Adverse Reactions
When you start receiving the injections at full concentration, you will be given one injection once every three to four weeks. And, you must wait inside the office for about 30 minutes afterward. During this time and also in the hours following, you should pay close attention to any potential adverse effects that occur. These can include shortness of breath, chest tightness, increased respiration, itchiness, rash, redness of the skin, and the development of hives. If any of these things happen, then inform your allergist right away who will provide you with breathing treatments, injections, and topical creams.
Not only will paying attention to how you feel help to alert the doctor of a problem, but it will also assist the professional in figuring out if you are receiving the correct dose of the allergen.
Injection concentrations may need to be reduced or you may need to receive injections every three weeks instead of four. However, the allergy treatment will rarely need to be stopped completely, meaning that you can continue with the immunotherapy even if you develop an adverse reaction.
If you want to know more about treatments to help reduce your allergy symptoms, speak with an allergist.
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