Childhood allergies can be distressing and uncomfortable, leaving children with symptoms that affect their daily lives. Fortunately, innovative solutions exist that transcend traditional symptom-focused treatments.
Enter allergy drops, a form of sublingual immunotherapy showing promising results in alleviating allergies in children. In this blog, we’ll explore allergies, their effects on children, and the potential of allergy drops in managing them.
Understanding Childhood Allergies
To understand the role of allergy immunotherapy, it’s important to have a baseline understanding of childhood allergies. In simple terms, an allergy is the immune system’s response to a substance that’s typically harmless, such as bee venom, pet dander, or pollen.
Allergies in children, much like those in adults, can trigger various symptoms. When the child is exposed to the allergen, their bodies trigger an immune response, causing the symptoms, which may include:
- Skin rashes
- Hives
- Difficulty breathing
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Runny nose
- Itchy eyes
- Stomach upset
The Role of Allergy Immunotherapy
Allergies in children can be tricky to deal with, leaving them with pesky symptoms that make them feel uncomfortable and potentially upset. Most treatments available on the market are designed to treat the allergy, not the symptoms.
However, with allergy immunotherapy (AIT), the focus shifts to the allergy, skipping over the symptoms to hone in on the root cause of the issue. This treatment, which has been around for over a century, focuses on “training” the body to become less sensitive to a particular allergen.
It achieves such results by reducing the production of the “blocking” antibodies that trigger the reaction. Every dose of the treatment contains a minuscule, incrementally increasing dose of the allergen.
With time and continual administration, this exposure whittles away at the body’s reactivity to the allergen, allowing people to be exposed to those allergens with little to no reaction. Of course, everybody is different, so how your child’s body responds and the time it takes to achieve such a result varies.
Sublingual Immunotherapy: Allergy Drops
Allergy drops fall under sublingual immunotherapy, a type of immunotherapy administered under the tongue. This is one of two categories of allergy immunotherapy, with the second being subcutaneous (under the skin) immunotherapy.
Allergy drops are one of two types of sublingual immunotherapy, falling alongside allergy tablets. Both types are given under the tongue, allowing the allergy contained in the liquid or tablet to do its work.
Sublingual immunotherapy is a popular choice for kids because, unlike subcutaneous immunotherapy, it doesn’t involve injections. While subcutaneous immunotherapy presents a higher risk of adverse reactions, sublingual immunotherapy has a very low risk of adverse reactions.
Because of this, allergy drops and tablets can be administered at home without a doctor's supervision. This makes it easy for busy families, eliminating the need for frequent doctor visits for injections. Plus, if your kids are squeamish about needles, the lack thereof with sublingual immunotherapy makes for a perfect alternative.
Do Allergy Drops Actually Work?
Although allergy immunotherapy is unfamiliar to many people, it’s nothing new. This treatment has been around since 1911, so researchers have had plenty of time to investigate its details and learn more about its efficacy.
In the years since its introduction, researchers and medical professionals alike have delved into its specifics, uncovering the truth of its remarkable efficacy in achieving an allergen-specific tolerance. These studies have evaluated numerous allergies in people from all walks of life, creating a broad spectrum of research that covers the bases.
For instance, consider this study, which evaluated existing evidence to determine the long-term effects of allergy immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis. The study discovered that both types of immunotherapy are effective in treating allergic rhinitis, offering clinical benefits and immunological changes consistent with an allergen-specific tolerance.
The research is remarkable and ever-growing, with new studies emerging every year. If you’re curious to learn more about the studies behind this impressive solution, there’s no shortage of trials and studies to sift through.
Wrapping Up
Sublingual immunotherapy, or allergy drops, is a promising treatment for childhood allergies. It eliminates the need for frequent doctor visits for injections and presents a low risk of adverse reactions. With numerous studies demonstrating its efficacy in achieving an allergen-specific tolerance, the future of allergy immunotherapy looks bright.
If you’re considering allergy immunotherapy for you or your child, talk to your healthcare provider. They can help you determine whether this treatment is the right fit based on your child’s needs and medical history.
Leave a Reply