For decades, some people who have severe reactions to common airborne allergens, such as pollen and pet dander, have found their only true relief comes from allergy injections that help change the body’s response to allergens. But while allergy shots work, it can take up to a year for a patient’s regimen to become fully effective.

Standard allergy shots, known clinically as “traditional allergen immunotherapy,” deliver very small doses of the allergen, which triggers an immune response without causing a full-blown allergic reaction. Over a period of months, the physician desensitizes the patient with gradually increasing doses of the allergen given one to three times per week. Symptoms decrease as the immune system become better at tolerating the allergen.

In addition to treating seasonal and indoor allergies, allergy shots can desensitize the body to insect sting reactions, although they are not currently used to treat food allergies. After the initial phase of increasing doses, patients usually receive a maintenance shot about once a month for at least five years. Some patients no longer need immunotherapy after a long treatment period, while others may require perpetual maintenance doses.

However, a type of treatment introduced about four years ago can provide much faster relief, says Dr. Rabya Mian, an allergist and immunologist with Gateway Asthma and Allergy Relief in O’Fallon and on staff at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West. Known as “cluster allergen immunotherapy,” the method involves giving the patient multiple injections over a short period of time in order to achieve efficacy more quickly.

“We administer several shots over the course of a few hours,” she says. “The patient becomes desensitized much faster, and symptoms abate within weeks instead of months.” This rapid desensitization has the benefit of avoiding the typically long period of increasing doses, however keeping the same safety profile as traditional allergen immunotherapy.

“We monitor patients closely during the cluster immunotherapy period and treat them before they begin with preventive medications to help avoid any reaction,” Dr. Mian says. “Cluster immunotherapy has been around long enough now that we are very good at avoiding any unpleasant reactions to the treatment.”

After the cluster immunotherapy, patients return within weeks to begin their maintenance regimen, Dr. Mian says. “For people who don’t respond or can’t take oral or nasal medications to control their allergies, this is a very good option. My close friends have had cluster allergen immunotherapy and are finally enjoying outdoor life and their pets without constant allergy problems.”

If this season’s hay fever or allergic rhinitis has driven you to distraction even though you take massive amounts of allergy medications, cluster immunotherapy may provide a permanent solution to your problem. Enjoy the spring – gesundheit!

Dr. Handler’s Medically Speaking column is available at www.ssmhealth.com/ssmsjhw. Click on the Healthy Living Guide apple icon for general health information and to view color photos and illustrations regarding a variety of medical procedures and conditions. You can also sign up to receive a free health e-newsletter.

Michael Handler, MD, is the medical director/chief medical officer for SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis. St. Joseph Hospital West is a state-designated Level III Trauma Center, Accredited  Chest Pain Center and Get with the GuidelinesTM Stroke Center, twice named one of the 100 Top Hospitals™ in the country as designated by Thomson-Reuters (formerly known as Solucient). In early 2009,

St. Joseph Hospital West was also recognized as one of the top 42 hospitals in the nation for electronic medical record implementation by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).