How to get rid of allergies for life? Turns out it’s easier than you thought

– Is the allergy really that incurable? Turns out it can be cured?

– I will say a simple French proverb: ‘it is possible to love it’. I mean, these days, if we want to have a puppy or a kitten, but we sneeze, we can apply a treatment with our own allergens and stop crying. Do you like to walk in the meadows, enjoy the sun, but cannot go out because you sneeze, drowning? It is possible to change that. If your allergist identifies a specific allergen and applies a specific treatment, you will be able to enjoy nature for the long term.

– We are talking about immunotherapy. What is it? Basically, is it taming the body to a particular stimulus? How is the hardening, the body training?

– I totally agree that we can really train our T lymphocytes, grow our own cells to suppress allergies. It is a long and meticulous job, the treatment with the allergens themselves. They are completely different, different for each person, but once discovered and precisely identified, we can nourish our immune systems.

– When we detect an allergen, is a person given a small amount at a time and thus train the immune response? Isn’t that how immunotherapy works?

– The principle is yes. A safe dose must be found to start and then increase or maintain, depending on the drug. In 3-5 years, instead of chemicals, but the allergens themselves, the body can form a group of cells that will protect against the symptoms of allergies.

– Can this treatment be available to everyone or is there only a select few?

– I’m glad, because the vast majority of them are chosen. It does not apply to children under the age of 4, but can be used later. It may not be very appropriate to do this at an age older than 60 to 70 years.

– Does immunotherapy only work for inhaled or perhaps ingested allergens? Does it matter how the allergen enters the body?

– Access is important. Immunotherapy for inhaled allergens, namely pollen, house dust mites, dog and cat allergens, has been better studied. More recently, mold allergen preparations have appeared. But if a person is at risk for atopic dermatitis, there is still not enough evidence to treat skin problems with immunotherapy. If a food allergy is caused by cross-allergic reactions between pollen and food, for example, a person is allergic to birch pollen and cannot eat carrots, apples, walnuts, immunotherapy for a birch allergen can help. Young children are allergic to eggs. Immunotherapy for young children with food is possible but not very successful. If the product is vital, so be it. But the child must eat the same product almost daily. This is debatable.

– Is it necessary to have a severe form of the disease to receive immunotherapy? Because I have heard opinions that due to a weak allergy they do not apply.

– The sooner we start, the sooner we will get rid of various diseases, also allergies. It is proven at the beginning that a person is allergic to a group or very few allergens. Over time, if we don’t try, that group will expand. Example: I went outside, sneezing and sneezing, in March and April. In a year, it will be the same in May. After a few more days, I sneeze and sneeze all summer, I can’t go out when the sun is shining. After a few more years, I sneeze, sneeze, choke, can’t work. This is a classic example of how allergic diseases develop. If the allergen is only one, immunotherapy will be simpler, you will not need as much medication. The longer you wait, the more preparations you will need.

– What are the forms of immunotherapy?

– There are many of them. The classical, simpler and older immunotherapy is allowed. If a person is neat and does not forget to take the prescribed medicine, in this case an allergen, drip the drops before meals that he himself can, at home. There are also tablets that are enough to take twice a week, but it depends on who the person is allergic to and whether or not to forget to take the medication. The American literature says that more important and better is immunotherapy. European literature is more conducive to drops or pills at home. After scientific studies, it was concluded that the allowed therapy is negligible.

– How long does immunotherapy last? How many times have you mentioned it over the years?

– Yes, it will take several years.

– And for how long can we expect improvements? How long does the effect last after 3-5 years?

– Very different. After 1 year, we analyze if the effect is there and if it is necessary to continue immunotherapy or change something. But research shows that allergies are delayed for at least 7 years. Some enjoy the effect for a lifetime. A small part does not achieve the desired effect. But that part is really small and we can really help more.

– What should be done for our readers and viewers who have not yet received immunotherapy counseling and have not assessed their risk? Looking for allergists?

– Really so.

– Thanks for the conversation. Therefore, no allergy is a completely absolute sentence for life. And, dear children, the fact that Daddy sneezes from a kitten is still not a reason not to have a kitten. Only dad will need a small expense and you have patience.