Allergy Drops vs shots

[egishere]

Has anyone tried allergy drops (SLIT) instead of shots and did you have good results? 

DD has bad allergies but mostly allergic to animals.  We do have a dog and she is the dog's favorite of course!  Took her back to the allergy Dr yesterday and he said since she only has a few things she's allergic to the drops are an option instead of the shots.  Pros are we can do them at home instead of having to go to the office for shots.  Still a multi year commitment just like the shots.  The drops are not covered under insurance but our insurance has a high deducible plan so we would also be paying quite a bit out of pocket for shots as well.  The drops are $260 every three months.  

[devonpow]

DS1 did them years ago - our allergist said they were less likely to be effective but it was still a high chance of effectiveness (something like 85% vs 90%), plus we had to pay out of pocket (they weren’t overly pricey though). We unfortunately had to stop after a year because he had s crazy skin reaction come up and they couldn’t figure out if it was from the drops or not, so I can’t tell you effectiveness. We didn’t notice anything in that first year h but that’s not unexpected.

We picked the drops because he was nervous about getting shots. In retrospect I wish we had just done the shots and gotten through because his allergies (mostly various plants/trees plus horribly allergic to cats) really affect him. Everyone I know who has done the shots had great results. At this point he’s about to go to college so it would be hard to keep up with shots so he has to wait a while still if he decides to ho through with it

[starburst]

My H is doing them now. He's allergic to all types of trees, grasses, weeds, etc. He started them last summer, so it's too early to tell if they're working. We're hoping spring allergy season won't be as bad this year.

[mrsGreeko]

I took my oldest to an allergist to get SLIT, but she was allergic to way too many things so she had to do shots instead. I did shots with her because I had to be there anyway and I am also allergic to a bunch of stuff. We did shots for 4 years. Before shots my DD was miserable for most months of the year, including rubbing her eyes so much and hard that they swelled shut on multiple occasions. After shots she rarely needs allergy meds. In fact she now works at a doggy daycare and pet (dog and cat) boarding place. She was allergic to both dogs and cats. She does take allergy meds sometimes before going to work, but for the most part she is fine. Before, going in a house with a cat or multiple dogs had her eyes swelling shut.

My dog does allergy drops. Because he’s allergic to. Bunch of stuff and gets skin and ear infections from scratching. It seems to help quite a bit because he gets less infections now. IMO it is a huge PITA to do the drops daily though compared to going to get the shots where I had it built into the weekly schedule.

[sadlebred]

I did it about 10 years ago and am so glad I did! It worked great for me.

[acr]

DS (14) has been on drops from his allergist for the past 2 years. While he still has a runny nose and some sneezing during his heavy allergy season, it's sooooo much better than it was before.

[k3am]

DS is allergic to the world. We ended up not doing anything, since the shots involved just too much in office time. (Arrive 30 mins early to find parking so we can be 15 minutes early to appt per their request, they always seem to be running late, have to wait 30 mins after to see if there's a reaction, etc - would easily lead to us needing to devote multiple hours a week for a LONG time). They said he wasn't candidate for sublingual because the number of allergens they could treat with sublingual was too small relative to his number of allergies.

mrsGreeko , we just started our dog on allergy shots for the same reason. It's been a breeze. Best part is, we do them at home, so no drive to the office. It was a terrifying prospect, but it's really so dang easy. We are down to weekly shots, and can potentially get him down to once every 2-3 weeks.

[egishere]

Apr 2, 2024 15:25:39 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

I did it about 10 years ago and am so glad I did! It worked great for me.

Great to hear!  Was there a weird taste or were they tolerable?  

[picksthemusic]

No experience with drops, but my mom and brother both had allergy shots and they work well for them.

[sadlebred]

Apr 2, 2024 17:22:22 GMT -5 egishere said:

Apr 2, 2024 15:25:39 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

I did it about 10 years ago and am so glad I did! It worked great for me.

Great to hear!  Was there a weird taste or were they tolerable?  

I don't recall any taste. I put 2-3 drops under my tongue for about a minute daily. If I recall, no eating/drinking for about 30 minutes. So much better than having to go to a doctor's appt. weekly and the hassle of it.

[felicity]

I did shots for a long time and honestly not sure if they made much of a difference. I still have terrible allergies. It was a huge time commitment too, having to wait around afterward in case of a serious reaction, and my arms were always really swollen and itchy from it for a day or two.

I would personally try the drops first if the allergist thinks they might help, but I don't have any experience with them.

[starburst604]

Our allergy patients have a good success rate with SLIT and you really can’t beat the convenience of not having to go weekly for shots.