Allergy Drops Save Childhood for Arizona Boy

Before taking allergy drops, Jackson’s allergies made life outdoors almost unbearable.

In this post, our second in a series on allergies from the patient’s point of view, the mother of a boy with extensive allergies to the the outdoors recounts her son’s difficulties — and relief. 

Our son Jackson began showing the signs of allergies when he was almost three years old. If he would play outside in grass, climb trees or play with a dog or cat, within a few minutes, he would begin to show signs. His eyes would get puffy, his nose would clog and the rest of the day he would be miserable. As he got older, we hoped that his body would grow out of this but, unfortunately, it only got worse. His allergies were so severe, anytime he was exposed to anything outside you could guarantee a long night of Jackson getting up constantly to blow his nose or complain that he felt terrible. It breaks your heart to hear your son say he hates his allergies and doesn’t want to go outside ever again.

We met our allergist through his regular pediatrician, at Desert Sun Pediatrics, and she mentioned the drops as an alternative. He was given an allergy test and showed that he was allergic to most grass, many different types of trees and shrubs and, of course, animal dander. We agreed to try Jackson on the drops.

The results were almost immediate and close to too good to be true. Within a few days of taking the drops, we would take him out to roll and play in the grass. Nothing. No runny nose. No puffy eyes. It was like he’d never had allergies in his life! It was an amazing thing to see a young boy to be able to run outside and play like a normal kid without having to worry about his health.

The drops themselves are very easy to administer and we’ve found something very interesting. On very rare occasions during the last year or so, we would forget to give him his medicine. As soon as he’d be near grass or animals, it was just like it had been in the past. The extent was not as severe, but you could totally see the difference in how his body reacted without taking the drops.

My husband and I were both very skeptical about administering these drops. We did some research before and there wasn’t a lot of positive or negative things on line. Once we committed, it was one of the best things we’ve ever done for our children. I would highly recommend these drops to anyone who has a child that is suffering or even an adult that has had to suffer with allergies. They work!

Stephanie S., Arizona

[Editor’s Note: Most patients begin to experience the benefit of drops within six months, not necessarily as quickly as in this case.] 

Groundhog Day is Excellent Time to Start Allergy Immunotherapy

Whether Groundhog Day reveals that spring is here or not, there’s not a moment to lose in preparing to fight spring allergies.

By the time you read this, Punxsutawney Phil will be out of the hole and we’ll know what’s in store for the next six weeks. Whether he saw his shadow and scampered back to take cover for more Winter or stayed above ground to enjoy the start of Spring, there is no time like NOW to start sublingual immunotherapy! If spring starts in six weeks, you have time to build up your immunity to pollens that get in the way of enjoying beautiful spring days. If it starts today, you’ll still feel better before the season hits full stride. How and why Phil makes his prediction is one of the mysteries of the universe but how and why immunotherapy treats allergies so effectively is no mystery at all…

If you have allergies, your immune system misinterprets something that’s normal in the environment as an enemy. As a result of this misunderstanding, it builds up a defense network to respond every time it sees that element (also called an antigen or allergen). That internal process is called sensitization, and the most common culprits are pollens from grasses, trees and weeds; pet dander; molds; and insect/inhalants like cockroach and dust mites. The next time your body sees that antigen, let’s use olive tree pollen as an example, it calls in the defense force for protection. All of the mucous, swelling and tearing you experience is your immune system doing a superb job of building a wall to keep the olive pollen out of your body. Scientifically speaking, your body is releasing histamine. Unfortunately, it’s not only unnecessary, since olive pollen isn’t actually an enemy, it’s extremely unpleasant! Fortunately there are solutions.

One solution is to use medications — typically antihistamines — that block your body’s misguided immune response. They create a constant battle within your body, wherein the allergen stimulates a response and tries to release histamine and the drug basically performs a block and tackle on your natural response. The result is that you usually feel better than the allergy but you often experience side effects. There are several other drugs that help with the symptoms but, in general, there is always at least a little downside to taking medication.

Luckily, there’s an alternative. We can teach the immune system that allergens aren’t enemies – this is the purpose of immunotherapy. It’s accomplished by gently and carefully introducing small amounts of the antigens to which your body is sensitized. Your immune system gets re-familiarized with these little particles. Little by little, we build up the levels of the antigen until your immune system is so used to it that it tolerates the normal amounts of environmental exposure. It takes a few months to get to that highest concentration – AllerVision calls it the maintenance level – which is why Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction is important to you.

Once you reach the maintenance dose, your tolerance will be greatly improved and your symptoms will hopefully disappear. Studies tell us that the body needs about four years of the constant exposure provided by immunotherapy for the so-called-enemy to be consistently ignored.

Immunotherapy can be delivered in shots – usually administered weekly in the doctor’s office – or sublingual (under the tongue) drops – at home on a daily basis. Many AllerVision providers offer both options, though most prefer the drops because they have very little risk for severe allergic reaction and they are so much more convenient for patients.

Whether Phil says yay or nay to an early Spring, get to your provider as soon as possible for an allergy test so he/she can find your allergic triggers and order an immunotherapy set designed specifically for you. There is plenty of stuff out there that your immune system SHOULD fight; take away the distraction of battling the normal environment and your system can focus all of its resources on keeping you healthy! (Click here to find a doctor who offers allergy testing and immunotherapy if your doctor does not.)

Happy Groundhog Day!