The Changing World Of Allergy Treatments: Allergies

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

The changing world of allergy treatments

The changing world of allergy treatments

Since there’s no cure for allergies, finding the right treatment for your allergy, lifestyle, and wallet is very important. The good news is there are now many effective products to choose from.

Increased medical knowledge and new developments in modifying existing medicines to make them safer and more effective are changing allergy treatment. These improvements come in three forms: One is newer formulas for old medicines, such as antihistamines and steroids; another is newer methods for delivery of asthma medications; and finally, there are entirely new treatments such as the leukotriene modifiers zafirlukast (Accolate) and montelukast (Singulair), the anti-IgE drug omalizumab (Xolair), and immunomodulators. These newer medications are typically available by prescription only, with one exception — the antihistamine loratadine (Claritin), which is available over the counter.

What all this means is that nowadays your allergist can tailor a medication regimen that better suits your allergy and lifestyle. Here’s a summary of the types of medications currently available and how they work to relieve allergy symptoms. (For details on how these medications may be used to treat specific types of allergies, see “Managing your allergies.”)

Last updated:	August 21, 2006
Reviewed By:	Faculty of Harvard Medical School