NFT: Allergy Shots - Do they work?

systemic poison ivy with breaking out all over my body...this from grass, as it turned out.

Allergy shots helped so much that now I can mow my big lawn routinely after playing golf in the AM (right after the course has been mowed) without sneezing or any reactions.

It took some time, but the shots really worked for me.

and for adolescents sometimes so does time. He may outgrow some of the allergies, with help from the shots.

allergic to everything under the sun as a teenager, did shots for several months and didn't notice any difference. Eventually outgrew them, but then they came back. Claritin during the bad pollen season and watch what you eat.

Work for allergies for dogs/cats too?

Allergic to pretty much every grass, tree, and weed. Also cats and dogs.

I get shots for all and it helps. It's a commitment though, couple times a week for 4 months or so to get up to maintenance level, then monthly.

his immune system I believe. My son eventually "outgrew" his
allergies.

50% of people. For me they have been life changing. As for my mother and brother, and pretty much anyone else i know that's tried them.

They are a commitment. There's a build-up, which took me about 2 years of weekly / bi-weekly shots, and monthly maintenance for... potentially forever. I had also done them for about 5-6 years prior to this new allergist, but got lazy on my maintenance shots.

I'm allergic to cat and dog dander, cockroaches (thanks Newark dorm rooms), dust mites, lots of tree pollen and grass. But amazingly not any sort of mold. I still use preventative zyrtec and nasal spray during peak allergy season - but since the shots i rarely if ever get an allergy attack.

I highly highly highly recommend giving it a shot if you suffer severely from allergies that lead to infections (sinus, respiratory, etc.) and keep you out of work.

Your immune system can respond to the prick itself rather than he allergen

My college roommate had same thing where he was allergic to 50 things, one of which was pine and he cane from Oregon, the pine tree state. That made us a bit skeptical

My gf supposedly had a corn allergy and three I showed her how many foods she had been eating her whole life with no ill effects had corn syrup in them

So my advice would be to go to a reputable immunologist. Who will give you the proper guidance

The commitment is long term as mentioned. I think the years' long routine of shots, at first every week then eventually once monthly seemed to have a positive effect on me over the long run, but a lot of reactions came back when I was a chef in my early 20s, only then it was more focused as a skin reaction on my hands and fingers, or sometimes toes. Funny the skin issues seemed to like rotating to different areas of my body.

Now for the weird part: what truly ended my allergies was practicing a system of Martial Arts (Kuk Sool Won) that included yoga in its warm up, and then breathing meditation with a set of varying poses after the first year. I don't recall if it was 1-2 years into a discipline I practiced rigorously (at least 3 hours every day except Sundays), but at some point during this practice, which emphasized breathing control and really changed so many things about me I can hardly count them all, all my allergies had simply and totally disappeared. No more running nose or clogged sinuses, no more eczema outbreaks anywhere.

I would recommend Yoga or a serious MA if you have the time and one available near you. Tai Chi too.

Had the shots for 9 years as a kid in NY then NY. Problem solved- no issues for years.

Alas, then I joined the Army and after discharge moved to Northern California. A whole new world of West Coast weeds and allergens upon which my prior shots had no effect on whatsoever.

Bottom line- May and June, while glorious months to be in Calfornia are miserable for me. Claritan City!,!

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including chocolate (of all things to be allergic to as a kid), that I had to go twice a week for the shots. And that lasted about 1 to 1 1/2 years. The shots helped somewhat, but I was such an active kid that the allergies never slowed me down anyways; I think the symptoms bugged my parents more than they did me.

Thankfully, I grew out of all my allergies.

I did it for 5-6 years and have been off of them for 2 years. My allergies have been a lot better since.

when I was a kid in elementary school and confirmed a number of allergies that included dust, mold and others. I received shots for a number of years up until my high school years. I was re-tested and was negative for everything.

In comment 14490216 CRinCA said:

Quote:

Had the shots for 9 years as a kid in NY then NY. Problem solved- no issues for years. Alas, then I joined the Army and after discharge moved to Northern California. A whole new world of West Coast weeds and allergens upon which my prior shots had no effect on whatsoever. Bottom line- May and June, while glorious months to be in Calfornia are miserable for me. Claritan City!,!

This past late Spring was the worst one for allergies to flowers and grasses in Norther California, at least in the wider Sacramento area, than any other in the past 20 years or so. All that rain made the flowering season incredibly intense and diverse. First time I've suffered from seasonal allergies in about 35 years...

and they unlocked my mutant genome.

Re-took them for several years. It’s amazing how refined the shots are. I think in the old days they literally ground up stuff you were allergic to and injected you. Heck, they didn’t even know what *caused* allergies at that time. Now they can used very well-defined and refined material.

Alas for me, the effects were very modest and I’m still a sufferer with daily Flonase and advair.

It’s more re fI a science but still much an art. And nothing is guaranteed.

Yes. I had them for years and stopped in my twenties. Since then, 4 sinus surgeries and daily misery.