Allergy Shots for Eczema Prevention?

In children allergies are the most common reason for chronic nasal congestion. An estimated one third of all American citizens suffer from one form of allergy or another. Some people turn to allergy shots as an option for effectively managing their eczema flare-ups. A general practitioner will often refer a patient with eczema to an allergist. An allergist is a doctor who is trained to help pinpoint the source of a patient’s allergy and then help the person to treat the symptoms, thereby reducing how often flare-ups occur.

Allergy shots are “a form of allergy and asthma treatment in which increasing, controlled doses of an allergen are injected into a patient over a period of time.” The goal behind the use of allergy shots is to increase a patient’s ability to tolerate a particular allergen while at the same time, decreasing the symptoms that come about as a result of an allergic reaction.

Allergy shots (also known as allergen immunotherapy) can be compared to a vaccination. They serve to increase the ability of the immune system to do its job properly and therefore the stronger it is, the easier it will be to block an allergic reaction taking place. An allergic reaction takes place when “the body mistakes a common, harmless substance for an ‘invader’. When the body is exposed to this ‘invader’, it carries out a series of chemical reactions to protect itself.” As long as the person administering them is trained and knows exactly what they are doing, allergy shots can be both effective as well as safe and can often be successfully used on young children of four or five years of age.

Allergy Eczema