Patient Resources
Allergy Injections
Allergy injections—or allergen immunotherapy—immunize you against the things you are allergic to.
Allergen immunotherapy works in several ways, one of which is to direct your immune system to produce ever-increasing amounts of “blocking antibodies” that hamper a step in allergic reactions.
A course of allergen immunotherapy is begun with an extremely small dose of vaccine. The volume and concentration are then very gradually increased every several days, aiming for an effective “maintenance dosage” and the duration between the injections is gradually lengthened.
Tiny needles are used to give injections in the upper arm. The injections usually cause some mild redness and itching about the size of a quarter.
Allergy injection vaccines should be custom formulated for each patient, based upon individual patterns of skin test reactions and exposures. They can be safely continued during pregnancy.