Allergy Shots: More Harm than Good?

As my life and career have changed dramatically from living with latex allergy, many people have asked me why I can’t just get allergy shots like other people. When I reply that the shots are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the U.S., I often get blank stares. Here’s the full story...

Immunotherapy, otherwise known as “allergy shots,” is a series of injections that help the body gradually build up immunity to an allergen. (An allergen is a normally harmless substance that causes an allergic reaction in some people.) Injecting increasingly larger amounts of the allergen causes the production of antibodies that bind to the allergen, which reduces the allergic response. The shots are usually given until the person shows no significant allergic reaction for 2-5 years.

This works well with some allergies, but unfortunately, latex allergy and food allergies are in a class by themselves. Research has found that immunotherapy for these allergies can cause life-threatening allergic reactions, including difficulty breathing, a dangerous drop in blood pressure, and an increased heart rate. Thus, the reason immunotherapy is not approved by the FDA! The only recommendation at this time is to completely avoid exposure to latex (or the offending food, for those with food allergies.)

Clinical trials are being done to find a treatment for latex allergy, primarily in Europe, but recently in the U.S. as well. A study in Paris, France last year found that small amounts of latex administered both orally and via shots was effective in reducing skin, eye and nasal allergic reactions, but did not reduce asthma symptoms. (Chronic asthma is a frequent outcome of long- term latex exposure in people with the allergy.) Also, there were many systemic (throughout the body) allergic reactions to the latex injections, both initially and during the monthly maintainance injections.

The problem with finding a treatment for latex allergy is that there are so many different latex proteins that can cause reactions. Natural rubber latex has over 200 proteins, and to date, 56 of them have been identified as causing allergic reactions. Research has shown that people may react to different proteins based on the type of exposure they have had (for example, skin vs. inhaled vs. mucous membrane). The particular proteins that are allergens for people with spina bifida have been isolated, and they are not the same proteins as those that affect health care workers. The difference may be explained by the fact that patients with spina bifida have a lot of mucous membrane exposure through frequent urogenital procedures (such as urinary catheterization), whereas health care workers are exposed primarily through inhaling the proteins attached to the powder from latex gloves, and through skin exposure from wearing the gloves. So many possible allergens in one substance may make it difficult to find a common treatment for all latex-allergic people. Hopefully, as the particular proteins related to type of exposure are isolated, latex extracts for immunotherapy can be individualized to each group.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic