Slit Testing
Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) is an alternative way to treat allergies without injections and is well-suited to the needle-phobic, children, travellers and the elderly. An allergist gives a patient very small doses of an allergen sublingually to boost tolerance to the substance and reduce symptoms.
Sublingual immunotherapy works very much like a vaccine. You receive gradually increasing amounts of allergens, leading the body to develop immunity or improved tolerance to allergens.
Sublingual Immunotherapy occurs in two phases:
Build-up phase —this involves receiving increasing amounts of the allergens once a day for a short time ranging from a few days to a few weeks
Maintenance Phase: this begins when the effective maintenance dose has been reached, based on your allergen sensitivity and response to the build-up phase. During the maintenance phase, the strength of the allergens is higher and at an optimal concentration and effectiveness.