HOME

ABOUT US

LOCATIONS

CONDITIONS &
TREATMENTS

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Sinus Disease

RESEARCH

VISITING OUR OFFICE

Allergy Drops—Too Good to be True?

Get the Facts!

 Enrique Quintero, M. D., FAAAAI

The physicians of Allergy & Asthma Associates believe that our patients should have accurate facts about treatment options for allergies and asthma prior to making decisions about their healthcare. An increasing number of advertisements in the media have appeared regarding the use of “allergy drops” (or oral immunotherapy) as a substitute for allergy injections. These drops are not approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not offered by Allergy & Asthma Associates as a form of treatment at this time.

Frequently these misleading advertisements are produced by nonallergists or non-board certified allergy immunology providers. These practitioners usually have a limited amount of specialty training and even less experience in treating allergic or immunologic disorders. Many of them attend a weekend course or a few lectures and self designate themselves as allergists! Commonly they will offer allergy and asthma treatments including anti-aging and wellness products, hair removal, bioidentical hormone therapy and cosmetic surgery procedures.

So what are allergy drops? Allergy drops are oral drops of allergens that are placed underneath the tongue. This method of allergy treatment is often referred to as sublingual oral immunotherapy or SLIT. SLIT, a relatively new treatment compared to subcutaneous allergy injections (or allergy shots), has been used in Europe for several years. The scientific studies performed show mixed results ranging from good to disappointing to potentially life threatening. The bottom line is that the vast majority of experts in the field of allergy do not advocate the use of these drops until more scientific data is available and FDA approval is obtained.

Your allergist at Allergy & Asthma Associates is a board certified allergist- immunologist. After medical school, he or she had an additional 5 years of postgraduate specialty training. Three of these years were as a primary care specialist, a pediatrician or an internist, with the remaining 2 to 3 years spent in an accredited graduate specialty program dedicated to allergy and immunology. Your board certified allergists-immunologists is a member of a group of physicians who nationally amount to no more than a few thousand and who have the highest level of expertise in the field of allergy.

Based on the information available, Allergy & Asthma Associates does not recommend the use of allergy drop therapy prior to the completion of well conducted scientific studies. Until the results of these studies are available and reviewed, allergy shots are the preferred way to desensitize an allergic patient in the United States.

Here are some tips to help you and your loved ones make the right choice in treating your allergies:

·        Make sure the treatment method you use is approved by the FDA .

·        Verify with your insurance provider that your plan covers the tests and treatment.

·        Obtain a list of all of the services provided by the clinic. Do they specialize in allergy and asthma treatment or do they offer several types of services with specialties in none?

·        Most importantly, check the credentials of the physician. He or she should be certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. Ask your provider what credentials and experience make him or her qualified to treat allergies and asthma. If you are seeking care for a child, is the provider experienced with kids?

Knowing what to ask will help ensure that you receive quality care from a board certified professional who knows best how to provide you with specialized care for your allergy or asthma disease.