Human Allergy treatment?

[Beckandred]

I’ve been trawling the forums but can only find info about horses with allergies.

My boyfriend is getting into horses and despite the vicks around the nose, long sleeves and gloves and antihistamines he still is having crazy allergic reactions!

He’s allergic to pretty much all animals but horses are the worst that we’ve seen! He has built up a tolerance to his pet cat but it’s taken years and he’s still not 100%!

Has anybody tried immunotherapy? I’ve read that it can be taken as drops at home or injections at the doctors but I’m wondering how effective it’s is and how easy to get on the NHS?

I’m dreaming of 2 hour long hacking dates over summer and he can barely manage half an hour wrapped up in winter!

 

[LiquidMetal]

So I’m in Canada so can’t tell you about NHS but my husband has done injections for the last 3.5 years and they have been life changing. This man took multiple allergy pills every day all year previously. Now he maybe takes one if we have to unload hay or doctor up one of the barn cats.

For us, it involved a referral to allergist who performed about 80 poke tests to see what hubby was allergic too (spoiler: everything). Then results were sent to lab where a serum was made. He had weekly shots for first 3 months and then has had one a month since then. He will be finished in next couple months.

 

[pixie]

What antihistamines has he tried? Just OTC ones or prescription ones?

 

[Beckandred]

So I’m in Canada so can’t tell you about NHS but my husband has done injections for the last 3.5 years and they have been life changing. This man took multiple allergy pills every day all year previously. Now he maybe takes one if we have to unload hay or doctor up one of the barn cats.

For us, it involved a referral to allergist who performed about 80 poke tests to see what hubby was allergic too (spoiler: everything). Then results were sent to lab where a serum was made. He had weekly shots for first 3 months and then has had one a month since then. He will be finished in next couple months.

Wow that’s crazy!! The boyfriend is also allergic to everything in the world so could be an interesting test on him - he once had a deer lick his arm and instantly came up in a rash and hives

does the same injection work for multiple allergies like dogs and cats or just horses? I understand that the allergens are similar but not the same

thanks for your insight

 

[Beckandred]

What antihistamines has he tried? Just OTC ones or prescription ones?

OTC and prescription, he never found the prescription that much better but even just walking next to me while I walk a dog he’d need several tablets to keep him going for an hours walk and still be a bit sniffly and itchy!

 

[LiquidMetal]

Wow that’s crazy!! The boyfriend is also allergic to everything in the world so could be an interesting test on him - he once had a deer lick his arm and instantly came up in a rash and hives

does the same injection work for multiple allergies like dogs and cats or just horses? I understand that the allergens are similar but not the same

thanks for your insight

So he was tested for about 80 things including pollen, grasses, animals, food, etc. Lab takes those results and develops a serum to address all of them - or that’s the idea anyways. The interesting thing we learned is that your body can confuse allergens. So he tested positive for some types of food but what is actually happening is that he's allergic to some type of pollen or grass that has a similar protein to that food. When he eats that food, his body mounts an allergic response. So the serum addresses the 'root' allergens.

 

[Cob Life]

I'm prescribed 4x the recommended dose of piriteze, beconase nasal spray and an inhaler as it restricts my breathing and that seems to work unless I'm tidying the hay barn or anything like that.

 

[Beckandred]

So he was tested for about 80 things including pollen, grasses, animals, food, etc. Lab takes those results and develops a serum to address all of them - or that’s the idea anyways. The interesting thing we learned is that your body can confuse allergens. So he tested positive for some types of food but what is actually happening is that he's allergic to some type of pollen or grass that has a similar protein to that food. When he eats that food, his body mounts an allergic response. So the serum addresses the 'root' allergens.

oh that sounds amazing! Definitely more of a motivation if it gets rid of all of his allergies. Thanks

 

[Beckandred]

I'm prescribed 4x the recommended dose of piriteze, beconase nasal spray and an inhaler as it restricts my breathing and that seems to work unless I'm tidying the hay barn or anything like that.

I’ll definitely get him to try a nasal spray! Not sure if he has before or not but he already uses his inhaler and a huge doze of allergy tablets. Thanks

 

[Cob Life]

I’ll definitely get him to try a nasal spray! Not sure if he has before or not but he already uses his inhaler and a huge doze of allergy tablets. Thanks

I find it's the nasal spray that really helps unless I'm struggling to breath then it's the inhaler

I'm the same as LMs husband with the food as well so long term would probably be looking at the allergy shots

 

[Gloi]

I had tests and then injections for allergy to house dust mites causing asthma on the NHS in the 1980s. It consisted of an armful of prick tests for allergens and then injections every week for quite a lot of weeks for the dust mite allergen, I was given a box of injections I kept in the fridge and took one to the doctors for the injections every week. The NHS stopped doing these a while after (after I'd finished mine)because some people had bad anaphylaxis reactions but I was fine and it really reduced my allergic reaction to mites.
I do really recommend the beconase although I can't use it much myself as it gives me nosebleeds but it does work. I always have antihistamine eye drops too, can't live without those