Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a form of allergy immunotherapy that involves putting drops of allergen extracts under the tongue. I began using “allergy drops” about three weeks ago after undergoing scratch testing. In that period of time, I have learned that listening to your body will help you decide how quickly to increase your dosage as you make your way to a maintenance dose.

In a nutshell, SLIT treats allergies by administering small doses of the substances the patient is allergic to in gradually increasing dosages until the patient builds immunity to them. Allergy shots or injections were the main method of immunotherapy in the past. Now, an allergy sufferer has the option of choosing sublingual immunotherapy where drops are placed under the tongue.

I opted for SLIT because it is more convenient with no travel or waiting in a doctor’s office. Sublingual drops can be administered at home in contrast to allergy shots that require a weekly trip to the doctor’s office, sometimes for years, where the patient is monitored for possible adverse reactions for 30 minutes following the injection.

When I received by vials of allergy drops, I was given instructions and a recommended dosing schedule. Basically, you start with one drop of the lowest concentration of allergy drops and work up to five drops before moving to the next level of concentrated drops. You continue this process until you reach your maintenance dose. If all goes according to schedule, you should reach your maintenance dose in 14 days. After about four months on the maintenance dose, you should receive a reduction in symptoms.

Of course, nothing ever goes according to a schedule, especially when it involves the human body and allergies. I started off gung ho with my drops and got all the way up to four drops when I had a bad reaction. After a bad reaction, you go all the way back three steps which put me back at one drop.

As I look back, I see I should have advanced more slowly and listened my carefully to my body. From the beginning, my stomach did not respond well to the drops but I wanted to follow the schedule and kept plowing ahead. The result was I had to start all over again.

The gastrointestinal side effects I experienced are less common than others such as itching or mild swelling of the month, lips or tongue. Other mild-moderate symptoms include eye itching, runny nose, sneezing, congestion, mild itching or hives.

Knowing your own body and allergic sensitivity should help you decide how rapidly to move through the drops. After three weeks with the drops, I have finally gotten back to where I was when I experienced my bad reaction and dropped back.

I decided to stay at each step much longer before plowing ahead. I’ve also made some other modifications to decrease future reactions. I hold the drops under my tongue for two minutes and then spit them out rather than swallowing the drops. I also take a natural antihistamine one hour before taking the drops. This seems to be working for me.





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