Desensitizing Allergy Injections: A Biological and Psychological Tool for Behavior Change

The patient with a chronic allergic condition is often annoyed by sneezing, congested nose, postnasal drip, cough, wheezing, itching, etc. He may also be unhappy, irritable, overactive or underactive, tired, and less than adequate as a job-holder, spouse, or parent. When other methods of treatment do not provide relief, treatment of the allergic condition by the administration of desensitizing allergy injections is available. Use of desensitizing injections can be an effective biological treatment (Deamer, 1974). These injections can also serve as a means of psychotherapeutic management for the individual in need of altered social conditions. Improvement in the allergic individual who is receiving allergy injections may be due to the immunologic effects of the injections, the environmental social effects that accompany the procedures, or both. To the author's knowledge, the