My Child Has Multiple Allergies. Is Immunotherapy Worth It?

You’ve watched your child struggle with allergies for most of their life. You’ve tried over-the-counter medications and even a few prescriptions, but nothing seems to work for long.

And now you’ve heard about a treatment called immunotherapy (or allergy shots), and you’re wondering if it can help your child. They’re not allergic to just one thing—they have multiple allergies to deal with—so is it worth it to commit to a long-term treatment plan such as immunotherapy, or will you just be wasting your time?

With offices in Georgetown, Round Rock, and Killeen, TX, the team at Allergy and Asthma Clinic of Central Texas specializes in treating patients through immunotherapy. Here’s our best advice on whether immunotherapy will work for your child.

What is immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy for allergies involves exposing your child to small, increasing amounts of an allergen over time. This helps their immune system build up a tolerance to an allergen, which reduces or even eliminates their symptoms.

Immunotherapy is usually in the form of allergy shots, which your child will receive once or twice a week during the build-up phase. This phase can last several months until the highest concentration of allergens is reached; at this point, they’ll enter a maintenance phase, in which shots are less frequent (up to a month apart). This phase can last 3-5 years. If your child is doing well at this point, their doctor may stop immunotherapy.

This treatment strategy usually comes after other options have been tried, such as medication and environmental controls. Results aren’t immediate; some patients see a decrease in symptoms during the build-up phase, but for others, it can take up to 12 months in the maintenance phase to see improvement.

How does immunotherapy work for multiple allergies?

If your child has multiple allergies, immunotherapy may be a great option because several different allergens can be combined into one injection to help build your child’s immunity and tolerance to all of the allergens at once. This reduces the number of treatments needed for your child and addresses all their needs at one time.

Your provider at Allergy and Asthma Clinic of Central Texas custom-designs allergy shots for each patient based on their unique situation, including what they’re allergic to, the severity of their symptoms, other medications they may be taking, the time available for treatment, and the cost of treatment.

Immunotherapy may also help prevent your child from developing new allergies and can help prevent current allergies from progressing to more serious conditions such as asthma.

Allergy shots often lead to a long-term reduction in symptoms for patients, but it’s possible for your child to lose their immunity to allergens, at which point you can resume their immunotherapy if you desire. 

If you’re interested in pursuing immunotherapy as a treatment option for your child, our team at Allergy and Asthma Clinic of Central Texas will be glad to help. Set up an appointment at the office nearest you by phone or request an appointment online today.