At Spire Cardiff Hospital we understand that any type of allergy can affect your quality of life. Therefore, we have developed an allergy desensitisation service to allow our patients access to a leading specialist in allergy, Dr Tariq El-Shanawany, who is able to offer a quick diagnosis and treatment plan, ensuring that you can receive the best treatment option for your individual needs.
Treatment
There are a number of different treatments for allergies, but most work by treating the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. Desensitisation immunotherapy is a treatment which offers the possibility of curing your allergy. The treatment involves carefully controlled repeated exposure to the allergen which can switch off the allergic immune response. Currently, this is available for aeroallergens (such as house dust mite, grass pollens, tree pollens, cat, dog and horse) and bee and wasp venom.
When will I feel the benefits?
Benefit from treatment can begin within months. Maximum clinical benefit is obtained by 3 years of treatment with aeroallergen immunotherapy, and by 5 years of treatment with venom immunotherapy. Continuing treatment beyond this does not lead to any additional benefit and therefore these treatments are stopped after 3 years and 5 years respectively. The treatment works best in patients who are allergic to one or a few allergens, and has the added benefit that successful treatment can reduce the risk of developing other allergies later in life, preventing a process known as the ‘allergic march’.
How is the treatment administered?
Desensitisation immunotherapy can be administered either by injections into the arm (subcutaneous) or by dissolvable tablets or drops placed under the tongue (sublingual). Both options are available for aeroallergens but bee and wasp venom desensitisation is only available by injection.
Injection Therapy
For injection immunotherapy, every injection has to be administered in hospital and the patient has to remain for an hour post-injection to ensure there is not an adverse reaction.
Tablet Therapy
The first dose of sublingual immunotherapy must be given in hospital to ensure it is tolerated, but subsequent doses can be administered at home. The patient must remain in hospital for one hour following the first dose. This is to ensure you do not have a reaction to the therapy.
Schedules of treatment
The schedules vary according to the allergen and the administration route and are detailed below:
Pollens:
- Sublingual tablet:
1st dose administered in hospital
Followed by daily administration at home for 3 years
Must be started outside the pollen season but can be continued through the season.
- or Subcutaneous injection:
4 doses, each a week apart given outside of the hayfever season
Repeated at years 2 and 3 (ie 3 sets of 4 injections)
House dust mite, cat, dog or horse:
- Sublingual drops:
1st dose administered in hospital
Followed by daily administration at home for 3 years
- or Subcutaneous injection:
Weekly injections for 6 weeks (updosing phase)
Followed by injections every 4-6 weeks for 3 years
Bee/wasp venom:
- Subcutaneous injection:
12 weekly doses (updosing phase)
Followed by an injection after 2 weeks
Followed by injections every 4 weeks until 2 years
Followed by injections every 6 weeks for a further 3 years (ie 5 years in total)
For further information or to book an initial consultation call our Customer Services team on 029 2054 2509 or complete our online enquiry form.