Allergen Immunotherapy for Asthma

Allergen immunotherapy for asthma begins with allergen evaluation (testing) for sensitivity to specific allergens before beginning allergens immunotherapy treatment. The 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines recently released recommends allergy shots for people who have allergic asthma and whose symptoms worsen after exposure to certain allergens.

Allergen Immunotherapy: Treatment

If you suffer from allergic asthma, immunotherapy may make your body less sensitive to allergens. This is accomplished by receiving a small dose of your offending allergen which build ups your ability to be exposed to these substances without experiencing an allergic reaction.

A gradual repeated administration of allergy shots is required to build your tolerance to your allergens. It’s important not to miss appointments for allergy shot administration. If you miss the periodic treatments, you risk losing the gains that have been made in building up that tolerance.

Timelines for Allergen Immunotherapy

Increasing your allergen tolerance through a routine of allergy shots (or drops) requires up to three years for symptoms to lessen or disappear. A regular maintenance dose schedule, however, will achieve a quicker recognized tolerance resulting in a lack of symptoms when exposed to the allergen.

Hay fever treatment

Immunotherapy is a path towards reducing allergen sensitivity for those with hay fever, and allergies to grass and weeds. It could reduce the risk of experiencing an asthma flare-up as a result of exposure to the allergen. Research suggests that allergy shots may offer a small improvement in quality of life, symptom control, and can even reduce the amount of asthma medications required.

Where does DailyBreath Fit?

The DailyBreath mobile app tracks your symptoms. When you track a symptom, DailyBreath records the allergen that may have contributed to your symptom. By tracking these allergens, you will have the evidence you need to bring to your care provider to suggest that you may want to undergo an allergen evaluation. Once you have been allergy tested, you will know what are your actual allergens, so when you use DailyBreath and you see that allergen displayed with a high pollen count, you will know you are at higher risk and follow the recommendations provided within the app.