Immunotherapy Side Effects

One of the most common reasons people are worried about undergoing immunotherapy is due to the possible side effects. In actual fact, some people experience absolutely no side effects at all. For...

One of the most common reasons people are worried about undergoing immunotherapy is due to the possible side effects. In actual fact, some people experience absolutely no side effects at all. For example, my partner has been doing allergy immunotherapy for 6 months now and he has never had an immunotherapy side effect.

Whether or not you experience side effects to your immunotherapy will depend on your body as well as the dosage given to you by your doctor. This is why doctors stagger the dosages out – so they can test the tolerance of your body and any possible reactions you may have. This is also why they ask you to wait at the surgery for around half an hour after your injection.

Some common immunotherapy side effects include itches and irritation around the injection area. Almost all people will get some sort of lump in this area which may be itchy; it generally goes away in a short amount of time. If you begin having severe reactions, the doctor will usually lower the dosage of your shot.

Some other less common immunotherapy side effects are major swelling, bruising, cold, asthma or hay fever symptoms in the hours after the injection and increased tiredness in the proceeding days after you have had the injection.

There are some serious immunotherapy side effects which occur in a very small minority. These include swelling of the throat, dizziness and lowered blood pressure as well as asthma symptoms such as severe wheezing. It is these side effects that doctors are most concerned with when they ask you to stick around for thirty minutes after your injection. This may seem like an inconvenience, but it could potentially save your life if were one of the small number of people who suffered from one or all of these serious immunotherapy side effects.

Many doctors ask their patients to take an antihistamine pill prior to getting their allergy immunotherapy shot. That has been known to immunize side effects in some patients.

Immunotherapy side effects should not deter you from undergoing immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is an excellent method to fight allergies and other symptoms and the relatively small risk of having serious immunotherapy side effects should not outweigh the benefits you receive from this excellent treatment option.

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One Responseto “Immunotherapy Side Effects”

1. mike says:

   September 16, 2010 at 4:50 am

   My third injection on my final vial for my allergy shots sucked. It induced anaphylaxis which then caused an anxiety disorder which i am currently suffering with. Pretty much ruined my life since that day. I recommend immunotherapy it worked out in my favor…