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A new treatment for allergies is gaining popularity. Sublingual immunotherapy has the effect of taming the immune response, similar to vaccines against allergies.
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A new treatment for allergies is gaining popularity. Sublingual immunotherapy has the effect of taming the immune response, similar to vaccines against allergies.
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Sneezing, runny nose, congestion or irritated eyes? Yes, we hear you: the misery of seasonal allergies is real. Many of us find temporary relief with over-the-counter medications, but they do not treat the cause.
As we approach the grass pollen season in the coming months, here is an option to consider: Many allergists now prescribe immunotherapy tablets to some of their grass-allergic patients, who work the same way. way that injections against allergy.
But unlike allergy shots that require frequent visits to your doctor, you can take the tablets at home. "It's a small wafer that you put under your tongue and that dissolves in about 10 seconds," says allergist Mike Tankersley, who practices in Memphis, Tennessee.
The treatment, known as sublingual immunotherapy or SLIT, is more convenient than injections and has been shown to be safe. But that will not work for everyone. Each tablet only targets an allergy. There are four FDA approved tablets on the market to treat grass pollen and mites. and ragweed.
"I had several patients who were very happy to have something to take home," says Tankersley.
According to a recent study by the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 73% of allergists now prescribe these immunotherapy tablets to some of their patients. Since these products Tankersley said, "There has been a significant shift in practice in the United States," Tankersley said.
Tankersley, who is also vice president of the ACAAI's Immunotherapy and Diagnostics Committee, says he's still recommending the allergy vaccine to the majority of his patients because most of 39, they have multiple allergies. And vaccines can be formulated to target all allergies in one shot.
Tankersley says he's recommending this ACAAI questionnaire to patients who are trying to decide if injections or tablets are the best option for them.
Like allergy vaccines, tablets are a form of immunotherapy that can alter your immune system. It's a complex answer, but part of what happens when you take vaccines or tablets is that your body can produce regulatory cells that "suppress the immune response." explains Harold Nelson, allergist and immunologist at National Jewish Health in Denver. In other words, immunotherapy can stop the immune response and alleviate its symptoms.
According to Nelson, in the very long term, when immunotherapy works well, "the entire immune system is restored to find almost what is observed in non-allergic people."
The tablets are more effective if you only have one or two major allergies that bother you. For example, if your problem is grass pollen, there are two tablets available to control grass allergies.
"If you live in a place like Willamette Valley in Oregon or northern California, where the allergen is grass, and that's really bothering you, the pills are great," Nelson says. .
Ragweed pollen, found in many parts of the United States, causes allergy symptoms in approximately 23 million people. And it has been shown that the ragweed tablet is a safe and effective treatment. Similarly, according to research, mite allergies, which do not have a lot of seasonal reflux, can be effectively treated with the anti-mite tablet. Grass pollen tablets are approved for adults and children (ages 5 and up). Ragweed and dust mite tablets are approved for people 18 years of age and older.
Until now, there is no sublingual immunotherapy approved in the United States for tree pollen, which causes allergies in early spring. In Europe, there is a tablet developed to treat birch allergies, which, according to Nelson, could potentially be effective against certain allergies to oak. And in Japan, there is one tablet approved for Japanese cedar, which could be effective in treating certain cedar and juniper allergies observed in the United States. Mike Tankersley said that allergists were hoping that over the next few years, a tablet for some tree pollen allergies would be available in the country. WE
So what happens if you have two main allergies that bother you? For example, herbal allergies in late spring or summer and ragweed, often called hay fever, which tends to rise in mid-September. Can you take both tablets? "Yes, you can," says Harold Nelson, allergist and immunologist at Denver National Jewish Health.
Nelson explains that there is evidence of harmlessness and effectiveness for simultaneous intake of two immunotherapy tablets. But, in general, tablets start at different times, says Nelson. A disadvantage, some insurance plans do not cover two tablets at the same time. However, with tablets, you do not have the copay that can come with office visits.
Many people relieve their allergies with over-the-counter nasal steroids such as Flonase and Nasacort and antihistamines. And Tankersley says that they can be effective at treating the symptoms. But unlike vaccines against allergies and immunotherapy tablets, these drugs do not solve the root cause of the problem.
"That's the big advantage of immunotherapy," he says. "We are really looking for a cure."
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