Desensitisation is a type of treatment that is seldom used in Finland. However, desensitisation is becoming easier thanks to sublingual tablets. Soon, tablets can be used for desensitisation not only to hays, but also birch.
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Birch allergy is one of the most common allergies in Finland, with up to 15% of people suffering from it. This means that up to 800,000 people in Finland have birch allergy, with many of them experiencing symptoms from year to year. However, the number of patients undergoing desensitisation is only a third of those being given the treatment in the other Nordic countries. This is partly due to our national character: the symptoms are dismissed as an allergy that will pass, although help is available. 
Until now, desensitisation tablets have been mainly available for hays. But a tablet is now available for one of the commonest allergens: birch. Sublingual tablets should be available on the market in late 2019.

Birch desensitation begins outside the allergy season

Most people only react to allergies when it is already too late. They consider medication only when the symptoms appear, leaving this as late as the autumn when pollen counts are low, and forget about it until the following spring. However, you should take action outside the allergy season.
Desensitisation is a relevant treatment for many people suffering from allergies, enabling them to be rid of the problem permanently without risks. It is best to begin desensitisation in the autumn, after the allergy season. This is effective in time for symptoms appearing in the following year.

It is an extremely easy method compared to having shots

Until recent years, desensitisation has consisted of a series of shots. However, these require patients to make an appointment with a doctor in case of anaphylactic shock. The situation is quite different with sublingual tablets. Only the first dose is administered under a doctor’s supervision, after which the tablets are self-administered. Patients only need to remember to take a tablet each day.

Treatment takes three years – symptoms ease earlier

The effect of desensitisation tablets is based on controlled exposure to the allergens, just as with treatment involving shots. The treatment takes three years, during which you must remember to take a tablet every day. In most cases, the symptoms ease in the first year, depending on when the desensitisation treatment was begun. It is nevertheless important to complete the treatment, otherwise the symptoms may return.

The Ihosairaala provides both hay and birch desensitising treatment

Desensitisation using sublingual tablets is an efficient and safe treatment for serious allergies. The Ihosairaala has desensitisation and allergy specialists and lung doctors you can consult on the treatment of allergy symptoms.
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