New Location: We've moved! Uptown Allergy & Asthma is now seeing patients at our new location at 2620 Jena Street (right next door to our old location!). We look forward to seeing you in our new space.

Lasting Allergy Relief

Allergy Shots in New Orleans

Dr. Reena Mehta is a board-certified allergist in New Orleans, LA that provides allergy shots to help you and your kids thrive over allergies. Conventional and accelerated allergy shot schedules are available.

“After struggling with allergies my entire life, I had decided to finally get allergy shots at 35 years old. I was discussing this with my wife at dinner when someone overheard us and recommended Dr. Mehta at Uptown Allergy. I scheduled an appointment and after meeting Dr. Mehta it was a no brainer. She has been fantastic throughout the entire process, is genuinely knowledgeable and more importantly, is truly interested in this field. Her clinic communication is great and she is always happy to answer all the questions I have. I would highly recommend her and the clinic to anyone looking.“

– Alex K, April 2019

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Allergy shots provided by Dr. Reena Mehta in New Orleans, LA

Allergy Shots (Subcutaneous Immunotherapy)

Overview

How Do Allergy Shots Work

Side Effects

Allergy shots, also called subcutaneous immunotherapy, can provide long-term treatment that decreases symptoms in individuals with nasal allergies, eye allergies, stinging insect allergies, and allergic asthma.

Allergy shots have distinct advantages over allergy medications. Whereas allergy medications treat symptoms and manage inflammation, allergy shots can decrease or eliminate allergic disease. An allergy shot works by decreasing sensitivity to allergens and often provide lasting relief of allergy symptoms even after treatment is stopped.

Allergy shots have shown to decrease symptoms of many allergies, and can prevent the development of new allergies. An allergy shot for kids can prevent the progression of allergic disease from allergic rhinitis to asthma.

Allergy shot provided by a female doctor in New Orleans, LA

Dr. Mehta can help you determine if allergy shots are right for you or your kids. Common considerations include:

How well medications and/or environmental controls are helping your allergy symptoms
Length of allergy season and severity of your symptoms (seasonal allergy shots)
Your desire to avoid long-term medication use
Time available to receive the allergy shot
Cost of allergy shots (insurance coverage can vary by location and provider)

How Do Allergy Shots Work

An allergy shot works like a vaccine. A particular allergen is introduced in gradually increasing doses, allowing the body to respond by developing immunity or tolerance to the allergen. Allergy shots are administered in two phases:

Build-up phase: Shots are administered with increasing amounts of the allergen(s) about 1 or 2 times per week.
Maintenance phase: The maintenance phase begins once the therapeutic dose is reached, usually with longer periods of time between treatments. Maintenance is generally continued for 3 to 5 years.

Allergy shot injected into woman's arm in New Orleans, LA

Conventional vs Cluster Immunotherapy

Patients now have the option of conventional or cluster immunotherapy allergy shot schedules. The conventional allergy shot schedule usually takes 3 to 6 months for the build-up phase, whereas the cluster allergy shot schedule can build up your immunity in as little as 4 or 5 weeks.

Cluster immunotherapy requires a greater time commitment during the build-up phase as more shots are involved, but can greatly accelerate the build-up phase and provide rapid desensitization to an allergen. Dr. Mehta can help you decide which treatment schedule makes the most sense for you.

Allergy Shot Side Effects

Possible side effects of allergy shots include: increased allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, nasal congestion, or hives.

Serious anaphylactic reactions to an allergy shot are rare, but patients should be prepared in case of throat swelling, wheezing, tightness in the chest, nausea, or dizziness. These symptoms require immediate medical attention. If a serious allergy shot reaction does occur, it usually develops within 30 minutes of the allergy injections.

We recommend that our patients wait in our office for at least 30 minutes after receiving their allergy shot. This also emphasizes the importance of receiving an allergy shot from a board-certified allergist, as an allergist has the proper staff and equipment on hand to identify and treat adverse reactions to the allergy shot and allergy shot symptoms.

Get Your Allergy Shots in Uptown New Orleans

Allergy shots can help turn allergies into an afterthought. Dr. Mehta has a reputation for developing strong relationships with her patients and being exceptionally attentive to their needs and concerns.