Lasting Allergy Relief in Brevard County!

Allergy Shots in Melbourne, FL

Dr. Pavana Beerelli is a board-certified allergist in Melbourne, FL hat provides allergy shots to help you and your children thrive over allergies. Conventional and accelerated injection schedules available. Review our allergy shots schedule.

“I have been a patient of Dr. Beerelli’s for about three years now. She has made a huge difference in my allergies — no more sinus infections or itchy eyes. Super nice, too.”

– Michelle C, July 2018

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Allergy Shots Overview

Who Benefits from Allergy Shots?

Allergy shots are typically recommended for patients who have failed more conservative therapies including oral or topical antihistamines and corticosteroids. These patients tend to have extremely severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis in response to a bee sting. Allergy shots can also serve as an alternative treatment for individuals who cannot tolerate other medical therapies. Patients of many different ages can safely tolerate allergy shots. However, you should always check with your doctor, especially if you are pregnant, on beta blockers, have a poorly controlled autoimmune disease, or severe asthma.

Allergy patient receiving allergy shots at Melbourne Allergy & Asthma in Brevard County, FL

Allergy shots are not for everyone. While they can be used to help individuals suffering from allergies to pollen, mold spores, dust mites, pet dander, and insect stings, they cannot be used to treat allergies to medicines, food, or latex.

What Is An Allergy Shot?

What an allergy shot contains varies for each person. It can include anything from tiny amounts of pollen and mold to small quantities of venom from insect stings. During an allergy shot, a syringe is used to inject a small dose of the allergen under your skin into tissue. This is done to alter your immune system’s response to the allergen. Allergy shots are known as subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT). The allergen dose is gradually increased over time until the shot has reached full strength. Symptoms usually keep improving over the first couple of years while you are getting the allergy shots.

Benefits of Allergy Shots

Allergy shots can help decrease the severity of your allergic reaction when you are exposed to a specific trigger in the future. In addition to helping manage asthma symptoms down the line, allergy shots can also be preventative. For example, children with nasal allergies may benefit from allergy shots, as they can help prevent asthma later in life.

How do Allergy Shots Work?

Allergy shot immunotherapy works by changing the response of your immune system toward an allergen. Exposure to incrementally increased doses of the allergen gives the immune system time to produce antibodies that help block the symptoms of allergy and reduce inflammation.

Most people take an antihistamine, such as Zyrtec, Claritin or Allegra, before an allergy shot visit. Prior to receiving an allergy shot, you will be evaluated to make sure you are healthy enough and feeling well to receive treatment. You may receive 1 or multiple shots depending on how many allergies you are being treated for.

Allergy Shot Side Effects

After getting an allergy shot, you’ll need to be monitored for at least 20-30 minutes to ensure that you do not have a serious reaction.

You may have no reaction or you may have a local reaction where your skin itches and becomes red and/or swollen. Although extremely rare, it is possible for a person to get anaphylaxis after an allergy shot. If this does occur, it is usually within 20-30 minutes of receiving the shot, and it can be quickly treated with epinephrine administered by a medical professional.

After an allergy shot, you should refrain from vigorous exercise, as this causes your body to metabolize the shots more quickly. This makes the dose of allergen more potent and puts you at risk of experiencing a more severe allergic reaction.

Where Do I Receive an Allergy Shot?

Allergy shot immunotherapy should be provided in a doctor’s office. This is because a medical professional should be prepared to provide emergency treatment should you have a serious reaction.

Allergy shots should be injected subcutaneously, or under the skin, into tissue that has limited blood supply and slow absorption. Injections into muscle should be avoided.

Allergist Dr. Pavana Beerelli reviewing patient for allergy shots at Melbourne Allergy & Asthma

Allergy Shots Schedule

Allergy shots are scheduled over the course of 3 to 5 years. During the first few months, shots are administered 1 to 2 times a week in increasingly larger doses. This is known as the build-up phase. Once the shot has reached maximum strength, it is given once every 2 to 4 weeks through a maintenance phase.

Although this is the conventional allergy shot schedule, Dr. Beerelli may modify it according to your needs.

References

[1] Creticos, P. S. Subcutaneous immunotherapy for allergic disease: Indications and efficacy. UpToDate. Accessed February 2020. [2] Nelson H. SCIT: Standard schedules, administration techniques, and monitoring. UpToDate. Accessed February 2020. [3] Patient education: Allergy shots (The Basics). UpToDate. Accessed February 2020.

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Allergy shots can provide long-term relief from allergy symptoms. Dr. Beerelli is passionate about treating each of her patients with empathy, attentiveness and respect.

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Allergy Shots Schedule

Monday 9:00am – 12:00pm Wednesday 12:00pm – 4:45pm Friday 9:00am – 12:00pm We will continue to practice social distancing during all injection visits. Masks are required. Please note: Allergy serum is prepared especially for you. If it is not used it must be discarded and you will be responsible for the cost of its preparation.