Allergies can leave you congested, itchy and unable to taste your favorite Thanksgiving treats from Southern Baked Pie Company. Luckily, some effective treatments can help manage your symptoms for clearer breathing and tastier dishes this holiday season. One of those effective treatments is sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).
What is Sublingual Immunotherapy?
SLIT is an allergy treatment administered as a series of tablets or drops placed under the tongue, which gradually exposes you to small amounts of the allergen you react to, thereby decreasing your sensitivity.
What Happens During the SLIT Process?
You’ll start SLIT at our office. Your allergist will administer a tablet or liquid and monitor for severe reactions. After the first visit, they’ll give you the tablets or liquid drops and a list of instructions on how to use them.
Instructions vary but typically include:
- Put the tablet or drops under your tongue
- If you’re using a tablet, let it dissolve and wait about two minutes before swallowing
- Resume regular eating and drinking after about 15 minutes
Depending on the allergen you’re treating, you may go through a period of dose escalation for a few weeks or months until you reach the maximum dose. If you’re doing dose escalation, your allergist may administer them in the office until you reach the maximum. They will also typically prescribe an EpiPen in the event of a severe allergic reaction.
Does SLIT Treat All Allergies?
The FDA has approved SLIT for treating ragweed pollen, grasses and house dust mites. If you have pet dander, stinging insects or mold allergies, your allergist may recommend allergy shots—an injectable form of immunotherapy that treats a broader range of allergens.
Allergy immunotherapy does not treat allergies to food, medication or latex.
What Amount of Symptom Reduction Can I Expect?
A small study of 164 patients across 33 study centers in Germany and Austria found that 62.4% of their patients achieved symptom control and 34.3% required no medication to control their symptoms after SLIT treatment. While the results vary by patient, you can expect to notice some symptom reduction within the first three months of starting the treatment. Because symptom relief doesn’t occur immediately, allergists recommend starting SLIT at least 12 weeks before hay fever season. You will need to continue taking SLIT for two to three years.
Starting SLIT
There’s no better time than now to begin your SLIT treatment. Contact ENT of Georgia North today to schedule your appointment with one of our trusted allergists.
