What are the Different Types of Allergy Treatments?
Allergy shots and pills placed under your tongue are two popular types of allergy treatment. In this video, HealthMaker Alkis Togias, MD, Asthma and Inflammation Section Chief at the NIAID, discusses what they're used for and how well they work.
Transcript
So the major types of treatments exist for [INAUDIBLE] allergy--
allergic rhinitis asthma. And those can be-- there are two categories of it, at least
those that are approved. One is injection of the allergen subcutaneously, starting at very, very low doses and building it
up over weeks or months. And the other, which is new, at least in the United States,
is sublingual tablets containing the allergen in question placed under the tongue,
dissolving under the tongue and exposing our immune system-- our oral immune system-- to these allergen
on a daily basis. Both have proven to be effective. The US FDA has approved at least two forms of tablets--
one containing grass allergens and one containing ragweed allergens--
and is in the process of reviewing studies for other allergens, such as dust mite.
The injection is the form of treatment that's been there for decades. And it can include any pollen, dust mite, cat, dog,
cockroaches, molds, et cetera. We do not have enough evidence of efficacy for all of these.
But for most, the major ones, there have been studies. And so the evidence is good that they
can be used as treatment for allergic rhinitis and for some of them for asthma.
allergies
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