Practice Consideration
Kelly: I have been seeing advertisements on TV about an injection that reduces allergic reactions. Is this something that would be good for Henri?
RD: Great question, there is so much information on TV, the internet, and social media available. There are also so many emerging medical treatments and options it can be difficult to discern real versus fake information and treatment options. Even I look things up! – with my RD lens of course.
Kelly: Yes! It’s incredibly confusing, but I do want to make sure I don’t miss anything important.
RD: Fir[ED1] st, whenever you have a question, do exactly what you are doing now – ask your trusted healthcare professional. Second, know there are three things that may be happening here. Legitimate information, misinformation. or disinformation. Misinformation is information presented that is false, inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at the time. I interpret this in a few ways, one being that while many “wellness” professionals want to do good they don’t have the education or qualifications to interpret data and make evidence-based recommendations. This can impact you, the consumer, negatively even if their intentions were good. Of course, their intentions are not always good! This leads me to disinformation. Disinformation is when misinformation is used to serve a malicious purpose, such as trick people into believing something for their own gains, financial or otherwise.
Kelly: Ok, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. So what is the real deal with the injections for reducing allergic reactions?
RD: There are 2 types of treatment that may support reducing Henri’s allergic response. Both of those treatments are managed by a physician, specifically, an allergist. One type involves microdoses of the allergen to help his body understand its “safe” and the other involves an injection of a medication that may do that as well. The allergist may suggest you do both at the same time. You can bring this specific treatment question to the allergist now that you know two options.
Anything you read or hear about outside of a direct practitioner/patient discussion – like on social media, or if you see items available for purchase at a big-box store or on Amazon – is not legitimate[ED2] and actually has the potential to cause harm.
If your allergist doesn’t offer both of the treatments we discussed, either his/her office can refer you to one who does or I can. Also, please don’t try microdosing at home, this is extremely dangerous without medical supervision.