The Problem With Allergy Shots

While allergy immunotherapy has proven to be very effective for many people who suffer chronic allergy symptoms, many suffers still did not receive treatment. Immunotherapy is usually tailored to the patient and unfortunately involves frequent shots over a 3-5 year period and many trips to the doctors office. It is most effective if done early in ones life when a severe allergy is first recognised.

Now a new study out of Switzerland has found that direct shots to the lymph node may greatly reduce both the number of shots and the amount of times they are needed. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences studied 100 hay fever suffers and divided them into two groups, one received traditional allergy shots and the other lymph node shots.

Those who had traditional shots received 54 shots over a 3 year period, while the lymph node group only received 3 shots over a 2 month period. Researchers found that the lymph node group had less side effects to the shots and held up as well as traditional shots. The group also had fewer fall back allergy symptoms requiring medication. Though lymph node shots may sound more painful, the lymph node actually contains no nerves and most participants report less pain. Lymph nodes play a key role in the function of the bodies immune system and the shots attack allergies more directly. This more direct approach lead to a 1000 fold reduction in the amount of allergen that was needed to be injected into the participants.

The results could improve the lifestyle of those who suffer severe allergies and have a positive economic impact on society. Fewer doctors visits means lower healthcare expenses as well as less frequent sick days by those who suffer from severe allergies. More study is however needed to validate the study and prove longer term effectiveness of lymph node shots.