Patients who are dealing with allergies can benefit from immunotherapy treatment. This treatment is available to people in San Marcos, Texas, and the rest of Central Texas with the help of the doctors and practitioners at San Marcos Family Medicine. Immunotherapy gives the body the tools it needs to stop the allergic reaction for good, helping many patients reduce symptoms and medication dependence.
"I always feel I’ve been taken care of very well by my provider, Erin Burge. I leave informed, questions answered and know I am in good hands. She goes above and beyond to take care of me."
Immunotherapy Q & A
What is immunotherapy?
People suffer allergic reactions when the body is subjected to an allergen and the immune system mistakenly creates antibodies to a substance that poses no real risk. Immunotherapy seeks to trick the body into making the antibodies that block these allergy symptoms by exposing it in a precise way to the allergen. Over time, this helps the body build a natural defense against the effects of pollen, mold spores, animal dander, dust mites, insect venom, and other common allergens.
What forms of immunotherapy does San Marcos Family Medicine offer?
San Marcos Family Medicine offers immunotherapy shots placed under the skin and sublingual (under the tongue) applications.
Who needs allergy shots or other immunotherapy treatment?
Patients are good candidates for immunotherapy when they:
- Can’t control symptoms with allergy medications
- Have side effects from allergy medications
- Wish to stop using allergy medications
- Have severe allergic reactions
- Have triggers that aren’t avoidable
- Want a long-term solution to allergies
- Have additional symptoms like eczema or atopic dermatitis
Patients who think they’re good candidates for this treatment and are looking for a more permanent solution to allergy trouble need to contact the caring doctors at San Marcos Family Medicine.
How effective is immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is 90% effective when delivered in the proper way to patients. It helps decrease allergy symptoms, reduce medicine use, prevent new allergies, and reduce the flare-ups of asthma in patients who have it.
Do children need allergy shots?
Children with allergies can benefit from immunotherapy and allergy shots. In fact, this treatment may help prevent the chance of the child developing asthma as a result of the allergies. San Marcos Family Medicine typically only treats children age 5 and older with immunotherapy.
Is this treatment safe?
Injecting an allergen under the skin or placing it under the tongue does sound dangerous, but immunotherapy has proven to be highly effective. It may cause some localized reactions, like swelling and itching at the injection site, but severe reactions are relatively rare. Since serious reactions will occur within 30 minutes, if they do, the doctors at San Marcos Family Medicine will keep patients for monitoring for the first half hour after treatment.