The Nonlinear Library LW - Environmental allergies are curable? (Sublingual immunotherapy) by Chipmonk
Dec 27, 2023
02:04
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Environmental allergies are curable? (Sublingual immunotherapy), published by Chipmonk on December 27, 2023 on LessWrong.
I used to have severe environmental allergies to cats, dogs, and the outdoors. As I kid, I woke up crying most mornings because of my allergies, and I would occasionally wake up with croup and difficulty breathing. I even had to be taken the hospital once.
Anyways, I cried enough that my mother found and enrolled me in a study for an experimental treatment called sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). For the next two years I took under-the-tongue drops, and I presume the drops were formulated with small amounts of the allergens I was reactive to.
My allergies have been nearly non-existent since then.
I'm sharing this post because I keep telling people about sublingual immunotherapy and they're very surprised. No one seems to know about this treatment! I'm mad about this.
Maybe my improvement was unusual? I don't know. A few random studies. Please share additional information in the comments.
To be clear, I still have a few mild symptoms:
If I pet a dog and then rub my eyes, my eyes get slightly itchy.
If a dog licks me, I get mild hives in that area.
But that's all! (And I haven't observed any side effects, either.)
FWIW, I might also go back on sublingual immunotherapy at some point so I can pet dogs without worry. (Because maybe my treatment was stopped too soon?)
Other details:
My mother says the particular drops I took costed $25 a week. They weren't FDA approved, but they were still available for purchase.
From a quick brief search, I found a few that sell sublingual immunotherapy in the US: Wyndly, Curex, and Quello. I looked a few months ago and I couldn't find any significant reason to prefer one brand over the others. Please comment you have a recommendation.
Note: SLIT has been available for longer in Europe than in the US, so the European brands might be better if you have access to them.
Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org
I used to have severe environmental allergies to cats, dogs, and the outdoors. As I kid, I woke up crying most mornings because of my allergies, and I would occasionally wake up with croup and difficulty breathing. I even had to be taken the hospital once.
Anyways, I cried enough that my mother found and enrolled me in a study for an experimental treatment called sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). For the next two years I took under-the-tongue drops, and I presume the drops were formulated with small amounts of the allergens I was reactive to.
My allergies have been nearly non-existent since then.
I'm sharing this post because I keep telling people about sublingual immunotherapy and they're very surprised. No one seems to know about this treatment! I'm mad about this.
Maybe my improvement was unusual? I don't know. A few random studies. Please share additional information in the comments.
To be clear, I still have a few mild symptoms:
If I pet a dog and then rub my eyes, my eyes get slightly itchy.
If a dog licks me, I get mild hives in that area.
But that's all! (And I haven't observed any side effects, either.)
FWIW, I might also go back on sublingual immunotherapy at some point so I can pet dogs without worry. (Because maybe my treatment was stopped too soon?)
Other details:
My mother says the particular drops I took costed $25 a week. They weren't FDA approved, but they were still available for purchase.
From a quick brief search, I found a few that sell sublingual immunotherapy in the US: Wyndly, Curex, and Quello. I looked a few months ago and I couldn't find any significant reason to prefer one brand over the others. Please comment you have a recommendation.
Note: SLIT has been available for longer in Europe than in the US, so the European brands might be better if you have access to them.
Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org