Controlling Asthma Before Starting Immunotherapy

At Curex, we understand that patients with asthma have many questions and concerns regarding their treatment options. Our goal is to provide comprehensive information to help you better understand your condition and the treatments available. This page focuses on managing asthma symptoms before starting sublingual immunotherapy (allergy drops) to ensure the best possible outcomes.
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The Importance of Controlling Asthma Before Immunotherapy

Sublingual immunotherapy involves administering small doses of allergens via allergy drops. However, if asthma is uncontrolled or active, these drops may initially worsen symptoms. Therefore, it's essential to manage your asthma effectively before starting immunotherapy. If a daily inhaler is prescribed, our providers will wait to submit the sublingual immunotherapy prescription until asthma control is achieved.

Managing Asthma Symptoms with Combination Inhalers

If you find yourself using albuterol (a short-acting bronchodilator) two or more times per week, it's a sign that your asthma may not be well-controlled. In such cases, our doctors recommend the use of a daily medication such as combination inhaler to reduce symptoms and improve lung function.

A combination inhaler contains an inhaled steroid and a long-acting bronchodilator, which work together to reduce inflammation in the lungs. These "controller" medications are safe for daily use and can help decrease the need for albuterol. Typically, combination inhalers begin to show improvement within 2-4 weeks. Once your asthma is under control, we can safely proceed with your allergy drops treatment.

Over time, your allergy clinician will work closely with you to decrease your daily inhaler use and hopefully stop it completely.

Prescription and Cost Concerns

Our doctors will prescribe a suitable inhaler based on your specific needs. If the prescribed inhaler is too expensive, please let us know, and we will provide an alternative option.

Monitoring Progress and Reporting Changes

Our team will follow up with you in two weeks to check your progress. The most important information at the 2-week check-in is how many times albuterol was needed for asthma symptoms. If your breathing is generally controlled and you use albuterol only prior to exercise or less than twice a week for symptoms, that's a good sign. However, if you experience chest tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath, or increased need for your inhaler (excluding proactive use with exercise) twice a week or more, please inform our team immediately. At that time our providers will try help more with your symptoms and a pulmonologist evaluation may also be recommended.

Managing your asthma effectively before starting sublingual immunotherapy is crucial to ensure the best possible treatment outcomes. By working closely with our team at Curex, you can achieve better control of your asthma symptoms and safely proceed with your allergy drops treatment.