Allergies can prevent people from living life to the fullest. Some sufferers aren't able to pursue physical activities they love. Others are constantly bogged down by an uncomfortable haze. Now, however, doctors are finding innovative methods of allergy control that will leave patients clearheaded and happy.
According to the Daily Mail, physicians in Zurich have created a new method of minimizing allergies by testing 20 adults who were allergic to cat dander.
The study involved a form of immunotherapy, with doctors injecting patients with small amounts over an extended period of time. The strategy of immunotherapy is meant to increase the individual's tolerance of the allergen due to repeated exposure. The research in Zurich was made unique, however, by the fact that the doctors injected the allergen directly into the patient's lymph nodes, rather than simply under the skin.
Lymph nodes form a crucial part of the immune system, battling allergic reactions with a rich collection of white blood cells. So, direct administration of the allergen into one of the lymph nodes actually allowed doctors to administer greater amounts of cat dander without the risk of the patient experiencing an anaphylactic reaction. This increased allergen volume, in turn, shortened the subjects' required treatment time significantly.
The patients in the study only needed two months of treatment, as opposed to the three to five years typically required for traditional allergy shots to be effective. Scientists also found that the subjects' tolerance was 75 times greater at the end of the study than those patients who received placebo shots.
"This vaccination approach might, therefore, represent an attractive treatment option," said the Swiss researchers to the Daily Mail, "especially for all the allergic patients reluctant to undergo conventional treatment due to time constraints and the risk of allergic side-effects."
If you're interested in learning more, or in improving your quality of life with other allergy solutions, contact Allergy Be Gone today.
