Sublingual Immunotherapy

Treat Allergies Once and For All

Millions of people struggle with sneezing, coughing, and wheezing due to seasonal allergies, while some struggle with these symptoms all year round. For many, allergies are more than slightly irritating, they can be downright debilitating. In a lot of cases, sublingual immunotherapy can help. Sublingual immunotherapy or SLIT is the use of specially formulated allergy drops that desensitize your system and offer significant relief without the use of injections or antihistamine medications.

We’ve found sublingual immunotherapy to be very effective in our patients who struggle with chronic allergies. A major benefit of sublingual immunotherapy is that sometimes the effects of the treatment are long-lasting.

What is Sublingual Immunotherapy? What to Expect

Sublingual immunotherapy has been used in other countries for many years. In fact, this is often the preferred way to treat allergies over injections. Sublingual immunotherapy drops are created specifically for your individual allergies in a compounding pharmacy that specializes in SLIT. SLIT treatments have an excellent safety and efficacy record. Sublingual immunotherapy is often preferred over injectable shots because of their ease of use and convenience.1

If you are struggling with allergies and think sublingual immunotherapy might be useful to you, we’ll first perform an allergy test to confirm your sensitivities and specific allergies. After an allergy test, you are prescribed sublingual immunotherapy with compounded drops. Drops are simply applied under your tongue where they are absorbed. SLIT is administered daily versus weekly for injections.¹

Drops are most commonly administered at home three times daily. How treatment needs to continue is dependent on your individual degree of allergic response and is determined on an individual basis. Some of our patients repeat this therapy only for a year, while others need it for several years.

The good news is there are no injections and sublingual immunotherapy is easy and effective.

Benefits of Sublingual Immunotherapy

This therapy is effective for people with allergic rhinitis, asthma, and other related conditions. Sublingual immunotherapy has been used for decades to alleviate common allergy symptoms associated with ¹

Grass
Pet Dander
Dust Mites
Pollen
Ragweed

In our office, we are also seeing the benefits of sublingual immunotherapy in people with other related conditions, including food allergies. We are also finding sublingual immunotherapy is effective for allergy-related skin conditions such as mild eczema.

Sublingual immunotherapy can help alleviate common symptoms of allergies, including:

Red, itchy eyes
Sneezing
Wheezing
Flushing
A runny nose
Stuffy nose
Difficulty breathing
Rashes and skin conditions
Fatigue
Digestive issues

Another major benefit of SLIT is it can help reduce your allergy symptoms permanently. Some people use SLIT to reduce acute symptoms, but it may also make your reaction to a particular allergen less significant over time.

This is why we use sublingual immunotherapy at Vine Healthcare – because we are always looking for treatment solutions that have a lasting impact by addressing the root cause. In the case of allergies, we can potentially address the underlying reaction of your overactive immune system by building up your body’s tolerance to an allergen.

Sublingual Immunotherapy vs. Allergy Shots

Both sublingual immunotherapy and allergy shots are considered to be effective in treating allergies. How well they work for an individual depends on that person’s immune system. Both sublingual immunotherapy and allergy shots have been shown to improve allergic reactions and symptoms long after the treatment is administered, and in some people, they can have long-lasting effects.

Keep in mind both treatments are only effective against the allergen that’s contained in either the shot or the drops. Allergy treatment is prescribed to specifically address your personal allergy test profile. Both the shot and the oral forms are not meant to be used in treating all allergies.

Sublingual immunotherapy has a more favorable safety record than allergy shots. It is extremely unlikely to have an anaphylactic reaction to SLIT but this is not true of shots. This is likely due to the fact that the drops are absorbed through the mucous membranes as opposed to injected directly into the bloodstream.

Severe allergic reactions are a relative risk of all allergy treatments, which is why you should always perform your first SLIT treatments in the presence of a doctor who has a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector on hand.

Finding a Sublingual Immunotherapy Doctor in Carmel or Indianapolis, Indiana And Surrounding Areas

Dr. Scott Antoine and Dr. Ellen Antoine are experts in Functional and Integrative Medicine. This makes them uniquely qualified to find and treat the root cause of illness. If you are interested in sublingual immunotherapy in the Carmel, Indiana, please call Call (317) 989-8463 or click here to request a consultation.

Is Sublingual Immunotherapy Safe?

Though sublingual immunotherapy therapy is considered generally safe – because you are dealing with an allergen, there’s always the chance of triggering a severe reaction.

Other less significant side effects are also rare and usually mild and occur immediately after the treatment.

Sublingual immunotherapy side effects can include itching in the mouth and sometimes digestive discomfort. While allergic reactions are extremely rare it is important to remain vigilant and always be prepared for a potential overreaction by the immune system.

Your doctor will brief you on what to expect during your first SLIT treatment and as you continue with your therapy course, you’ll find that any symptoms you experience should become less over time.

Finding a Sublingual Immunotherapy Doctor

When it comes to sublingual immunotherapy, you should be sure to find a physician with significant experience in treating allergies. Because treating allergies differs so greatly from person to person and can be somewhat unpredictable, finding an experienced doctor is extremely important and you should take the time to thoroughly research your options.

Resources:

https://www.aaaai.org/Aaaai/media/MediaLibrary/PDF%20Documents/Practice%20and%20Parameters/Sublingual-Immunotherapy-2017.pdf

Finding a Sublingual Immunotherapy Doctor in Carmel or Indianapolis, Indiana And Surrounding Areas

Sublingual Immunotherapy - Treat Allergies Once and For All

The-Institute-for-Functional-Medicine-Certified-Practitioner

Make a Sublingual Immunotherapy Inquiry

Sublingual Immunotherapy Tablets
Sublingual Immunotherapy Side Effects
Sublingual Immunotherapy vs. Allergy Shots
Sublingual Immunotherapy FDA Approval

What We Treat

Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)/Mold Illness

CIRS occurs when there is widespread inflammation caused by a biotoxin in the body that leads to immune system (and often hormonal) dysfunction. “Mold illness” is a subcategory of CIRS but this inflammatory process can also be caused by exposure to other biotoxins including Lyme disease, additional tick-borne organisms and certain spider bites – such as brown recluse spiders. Dr. Ellen and Dr. Scott are known as experts in treating patients with environmentally acquired illnesses.

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Mast cell activation syndrome (or MCAS) is a troubling chronic condition that’s caused by overactive mast cells. Mast cells are white blood cells in your body that function as part of your immune system. When you have mast cell activation syndrome, you’ll usually experience symptoms that wax and wane throughout your life. These symptoms often look like allergies. It’s estimated that mast cell activation syndrome takes an average of 10 years to diagnose, and some people may go their entire lives without knowing they have it.

PANDAS/PANS

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS), is a disorder seen in children after they experience a group A strep infection. In PANDAS, while fighting a strep infection, your child’s immune system begins to attack his or her brain, confusing the brain tissues for foreign bacteria. PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. PANS shares many of the same symptoms and markers as PANDAS — the key difference is that PANS doesn’t come from a prior strep infection. In fact, it is often difficult to narrow down the infection or event that triggered the autoimmune response which results in PANS. PANS is more of an umbrella term for a similar syndrome caused by another organism or trigger.

Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system attacks healthy tissue throughout the body. The type of tissue that is attacked determines what kind of autoimmune disease develops. There are many different kinds of autoimmune disease, some without specific names.

What causes the immune system to run rampant and attack your healthy tissues is different from person to person, though there are commonalities. Because of the complex nature of autoimmune disease and how the underlying causes are specific and unique to each person, it requires an individualized diagnostic approach and a personalized treatment plan.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

POTS describes a set of symptoms related to autonomic nervous dysfunction, including nausea, dizziness, increased heart rate, exercise intolerance and more. Patients with the “partial dysautonomic” (PD) form don’t respond to gravity/postural changes well (moving between laying down and sitting up, standing for long periods of time, etc).

Complex Medical Conditions and Medical Mysteries

If you’re struggling with complex medical issues, you’ll need an approach that takes a step back and examines the body as a whole. A Functional Medicine approach looks at the entire body and the environment surrounding it. In fact, Drs. Ellen and Scott Antoine are both experts in Emergency Medicine as well as Functional-Integrative Medicine and have developed a proprietary process called Fully Functional® that specifically helps patients who are dealing with complex health conditions, difficult diagnoses, and medical mysteries.

Thyroid Diseases

Thyroid diseases are fairly common and are believed to impact hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Thyroid diseases lie on a spectrum – ranging from conditions where the thyroid makes too much hormone, to those where the thyroid doesn’t make enough. Symptoms can be very mild and about half of all people with thyroid conditions don’t realize they have a problem. Furthermore, thyroid conditions can be asymptomatic when they are extremely low level.

Adrenal Dysfunction

Adrenal glands do much more than produce adrenaline. They are responsible for the fine tuning many of your body’s processes, fueling the fight or flight response, and regulating your sex hormones. If they fail to work correctly, there is a direct effect on your well being.

Chronic Fatigue and Mitochondrial Diseases

Overwhelming chronic fatigue is one of the biggest complaints our patients have when they come see us for care. The fatigue we often hear about is not just inconvenient – it can be so debilitating that it interrupts one’s ability to complete even small tasks even to the point of being able to get through the day.

Yeast overgrowth

Your body is truly amazing. It is home to trillions of microbes that live in and on your body, including a wide variety of bacteria – some good, some bad, and some plain ugly. It’s also home to yeast, though this yeast is nothing like the stuff used to make bread. Although everyone has some yeast in their body, occasionally the yeast can increase in numbers (called a “yeast overgrowth”).

Reactivated Epstein Barr Virus

Approximately 95 percent of us carry a pathogen called the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). For many, this virus is caught in early childhood and largely goes unnoticed. EBV isn’t like most infections that are ‘conquered’ by our immune system but rather it ‘retreats and hides out’ in part of our immune system. Unfortunately, there are many factors at play in our modern toxic environment that are contributing to reactivation of this virus. Like so many other chronic illnesses that are on the rise in America, we are seeing an increase incidence of reactivated or chronic Epstein-Barr virus in our practice.

Lyme Disease and Tick Borne Infections

Lyme disease, a relatively new discovery only identified about 50 years ago, is a condition caused by a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme is known to be transmitted to humans by infected deer ticks. Common symptoms include chronic fatigue, joint pain, weakness, brain fog, and rash. Nearly half of all Lyme disease patients also have other tick borne infections, and some estimates are as high as 80 percent.

Allergies

Environmental and Food – Allergies and the management of their symptoms can be irritating at best – and downright dangerous at worst. You’re concerned about your new allergy symptoms, or worried about a family member who always seems to be sneezing – you’re not alone. Allergies (both environmental and food) are on the rise and affecting more people than ever.

Menopause/Andropause

Menopause and the male equivalent, andropause, are normal processes of aging, however, the symptoms associated with either are often frustrating, confusing, and often depressing. In women, the symptoms tend to be more overt and can greatly impact one’s quality of life. When hormones are out of balance, it’s surprising how much it affects everything.

Gut Conditions

Often an unhealthy gut goes unnoticed because the symptoms seem completely unrelated such as a skin condition, a neurologic symptoms, immune dysfunction, etc., however, sometimes the symptoms are undeniably due to an issue within the GI tract. We treat intestinal permeability (leaky gut), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), autoimmune disorders, infections, reflux, and others.

Chronic Infections

The term chronic infections encompasses many different conditions. Infections are caused by any type of pathogen (bacteria, virus, fungus or other organism) that invades the body and negatively impacts organs and ultimately causes harm to the body. Of the different types of pathogens that exist, bacterial infections typically attract the most attention because they can cause epidemics.

Anxiety/Depression

Depression and anxiety disorders are different, but people with depression often experience symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder, such as nervousness, irritability, and problems sleeping and concentrating.

Cancer Adjunctive Care

Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and destroy body tissue. Our Cancer Adjunctive Care help you whilst you battle this disease.

Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome

Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Detoxification

Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver.

Fertility Issues

Fertility Issues may include inadequate levels of certain hormones in both men and women, and trouble with ovulation in women.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a common and complex chronic pain disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness to touch that may occur body-wide or migrate over the body.

Headaches & Migraines

Migraines and other types of headaches, such as a tension headache and sinus headache, are painful. Migraine symptoms include a pounding headache, nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity.

Heart Health

A healthy lifestyle, especially when started at a young age, goes a long way to preventing cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle changes and supplements can heal heart-harming trends, like high blood pressure or high cholesterol

Insomnia

Most cases of insomnia are related to poor sleep habits, depression, anxiety, lack of exercise, chronic illness, or certain medications.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Nutritional Deficiencies occur when the body doesn’t get enough nutrients. Causes include a poor diet, digestive conditions, or another disease.

ADHD

A chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

Athletic Performance

Physical performance is mainly a function of an individuals’s size, shape, sex, and age, but not entirely so. Success in sport at whatever level also depends on fitness. It is assumed, of course, that implicit in any definition of fitness is the absence of acute or chronic illness.

Asthma

A condition in which a person’s airways become inflamed, narrow and swell, and produce extra mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe.

Skin Disorders

Skin disorders vary greatly in symptoms and severity. They can be temporary or permanent and may be painless or painful. Some have situational causes, while others may be genetic. Some skin conditions are minor, and others can be life-threatening.

Heavy Metal Toxicity

Heavy metal toxicity is the accumulation of heavy metals, in toxic amounts, in the body. Heavy metals either get excreted or ‘take home’ in the fat, tissues and bones of the body. The heavy metals most commonly associated with poisoning of humans are lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium but there are many others.

Hormonal Imbalance

An important aspect of your personalized healthcare program includes the restoration of hormonal balance and function, normal brain chemistry, and intracellular biochemical processes.