Comments on: DOCTOR IS IN: Surviving allergy season

By: D'Almert

D'Almert — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:08:26 +0000

Damn, that sound’s so easy if you think about it.

By: Ray From Connecticut

Ray From Connecticut — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:27:57 +0000

I was a SLIT patient in Conn. for about a year, and it did help me. However, the cost $1200/year was too damn expensive. I know it can work because I was better able to cope with the symptoms.
I think the big hurdle to it in the USA is the FDA. Had it been approved by the FDA, my insurance would have picked it up, but why should the FDA approve it especially when they are controlled by the pharmaceutical companies who make tremendous profits from their pills. To me, that is corruption!
If anyone knows of a reasonable cost supplier of SLIT (for Tree Pollen), please let me know!
radpublishing@yahoo.com

By: Princess Runny

Princess Runny — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:50:16 +0000

The literature supporting allergy drops is very impressive. There are more than 400 citations in Pub Med including 100 double blind studies and four meta-analysis. That sublingual immunotherapy works and is safe and cost effective is undeniable. There are important benefits such as a four-fold decrease in asthma as reported by Novembre et al. There is no medication that can do this. Sublingual immunotherapy has equivalent efficacy to injection therapy yet is safer, has better compliance and costs less.

The limitation on the use of sublingual immunotherapy is a lack of expertise. Tucker et al reported that less than 6% of Allergists have any experience with this form of immunotherapy. There are more ENTs prescribing allergy drops than Allergists and this gap in expertise will continue to grow. The Allergist’s approach of prescribing medications as first line treatment rather than prescribing a safe form of immunotherapy means that patients will go where they can get help.

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:57:33 +0000

Leave it to the ENTs to claim that sublingual immunotherapy is as effective as traditional injection immunotherapy. If it were indeed equally good, safer, and more convenient, wouldn’t the FDA have approved a sublingual product for use in the US? Wouldn’t every allergist offer it in his/her office? The fact is, most sublingual studies have been conducted in Europe, where there are different populations with different genes exposed to different pollens, and study designs have used widely varying doses and in some cases no or poorly chosen controls. Not surprisingly there have been mixed and irreproducible results. There is a lack of data from rigorously designed clinical trials in US populations and until then it is irresponsible to claim that this therapy is equally efficacious.

But this is what you get when you see a surgeon for a medical problem. Dr. Patel’s profile on emoryhealthcare.org includes on his list of clinical interests epilepsy, facial paralysis, neck pain, parathyroid surgery, tongue malignancies, and trauma among many others. Consulting a physician like this for allergies is like taking your broken lawnmower to an auto mechanic.

Bottom line – if you are one of the many millions who suffer from allergic disease, you are far better off seeing a board certified allergist who spent 3 years in subspecialty training to actually understand how the immune system works.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:13:41 +0000

I have terrible seasonal allergies, but this year I beat them. I started taking Zyrtek and Flonaise (spray) all through the winter. I also tried allergy shots for over three years and I believe that this helped me tremendously.

By: mrstarmoney@yahoo.com

mrstarmoney@yahoo.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:07:04 +0000

Tyler:

Interesting article! You might try a shower at night if your allergies get bad!

Love
Dad

By: Mike Edwards

Mike Edwards — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:24:58 +0000

Alpen, you doubtless keep up to date with allergy medication and air purification; have you seen a new development called a liquid Ioniser? It clears the air, even in remote corners of the room by spraying partially charged liquidions. It doesn’t need to move the air with a noisey fan and is as effective as many fan based air purifiers. One real benefit from the technology is that once it has knocked the allergen from the air it locks it out for good so it doesn’t re-enter the airspace even if you disturb the furnishings in your room. This also means that there is no need to carry our a major refit of your home to rid it of carpets and curtains.