Drink your allergy shots

Allergies continue to be a growing problem in Arizona, forcing more residents to grapple with allergy treatment options.

by Dr. Paul Stallone — 

Are you suffering with allergies, asthma, eczema or other allergy related symptoms? Do sinus infections haunt you on a regular basis? Does the thought of injections keep you away from your physician? Now you can sip your allergy serum with sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).

While injection therapy requires frequent, time-consuming trips to the doctor for shots, SLIT provides a pleasant and effective alternative — all in the comfort of your own home.

Developed in the 1980s, SLIT has been endorsed by the World Health Organization, and its safety and effectiveness have been confirmed in more than 50 scientific studies. Many allergy sufferers prefer sublingual allergy therapy because they can take the serum more frequently than injections and receive rapid results. Serum is dosed as drops under the tongue, which absorbs into the bloodstream through tiny capillaries in the mouth.

It has been well documented that with SLIT, 80 percent of patients experience relief in less than three months. Injection therapy, on the other hand, commonly requires a year or two to produce results. SLIT success rates are even higher for asthma problems, with 90 percent of asthmatics achieving symptom relief in just a few months.

Patients share their experiences and often relate that, prior to SLIT, the first traces of the spring season would stir up allergy symptoms, causing them relentless hay fever and asthma. Many tried to combat symptoms with expensive prescription allergy and asthma medications that never got to the source of the problem. Some tried allergy shots but found them both time-consuming and pricey. This led many patients to address their allergies with SLIT.

The therapy starts with a brief allergy test and a vial of serum to protect the person from the country’s major allergens. Patients utilizing SLIT have found that now when spring rolls around, they are able to weather the season without any significant allergy or asthma flare-ups, and they continue to swear by the program.

SLIT works well for a number of groups not often helped by traditional allergy and asthma treatment programs including allergy shots. Many allergists do not treat children until about age 7 because of the regular regimen of shots. With sublingual administration, the physician can test and treat even young toddlers. Frequent travelers and winter visitors also benefit thanks to the portable serum.

Allergies continue to be a growing problem in Arizona, forcing more residents to grapple with allergy treatment options. Once heralded as a refuge from allergies due to its warm, dry climate, Arizona has fallen from its lofty status at the hands of its burgeoning population. As newcomers have poured into the state, they have imported their favorite trees and grasses, many of which have turned Arizona into an allergy hotbed.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) ranked the general Metro Phoenix area the 18th most challenging place to live with allergic asthma in 2006. And the AAFA consistently ranks Phoenix among the country’s top 100 allergy capitals. Fortunately, SLIT provides a viable option for Arizonans suffering from allergies and asthma.

Dr. Paul Stallone, a naturopathic medical doctor, founded the Arizona Integrative Medical Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. He uses Allergyeasy (SLIT) and combines natural, alternative and conventional treatments to best fit and benefit each patient’s needs. www.drstallone.com or 480-214-3922.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 26, Number 2, April/May 2007.