First of all we would like to share a very valuable information with our patients
- That there is no scientifically proven single medicine or magical remedies existing in this universe to manage or cure allergy.
- Allergy is curable by Prevention and immunotherapy, not by drugs and one should learn to manage the preventive measures with the help of an allergy specialist
- Allergy can happen to anything under the sun including sun.
- Allergy can become fatal(anaphylaxis).
- Respiratory allergies with a long history may require medicine regularly even after successful completion of immunotherapy
- Allergen avoidance & immunotherapy have the potential to modify the natural course of disease Immunotherapy Prevents sensitization to new allergens in monosensitized patients.
- Nasal allergy(allergic rhinitis ) can progress to bronchial asthma if not treated properly. Allergen identification and immunotherapy at the earliest gives excellent results.
- Immunotherapy fails if done by an untrained physician or done in very young ( <5 yrs) and in elderly patients( >65 yrs)
- Patients on betablocker drugs and those who experienced severe reactions in prior immunotherapy should not be considered for immunotherapy.
- Environmental modification based on allergy testing plays an important role in management of allergic diseases(yes, very often we can manage the illness without much drugs)
- Drug used in immunotherapy is a natural product . no chemicals are there. For eg. If patient shows allergy to pollens of neem tree (azidirachta indica) in allergy testing, we prepare extract of neem pollen and we are treating the patient with that extract in different concentrations for a period of time.
- For food allergy presently avoidance is recommended . immunotherapy for food allergy is still under trial.