Читать книгу Allergy-Proof Your Life - Michelle Schoffro Cook - Страница 17

Allergy shots, or allergy vaccines or allergen immunotherapy as they are also known, are usually administered by vaccine once or twice a week. They are intended to desensitize the body to specific allergens. Each shot contains a minute amount of specific pollens, mold, dust, dander, bee venom, or other common allergen and is injected into the upper arm. Not only do they involve a significant time commitment to get a full course of treatment, but they can also be costly for those who do not have health care coverage for these treatments. Worse than that, they are painful and can cause serious reactions. This is particularly true for those people who tend to have life-threatening allergies, such as to bee venom. In some cases, allergy shots can cause the same allergic reactions they are used to treat. Allergy shots are intended to gradually increase your body’s tolerance to allergens. Some of the side effects of allergy shots include redness or swelling at the site of the vaccine, sneezing, nasal congestion, hives, throat swelling, wheezing, chest tightness, and anaphylactic shock; the latter is rare but a potentially life-threatening reaction to the vaccines used in allergy shots.13