Intradermal pollen therapy during the attack

Abstract

This paper reviews the records of 322 hay fever patients, with an aggregate of 545 hay fever seasons, who were treated during the attack by the intradermal injection of pollen extract. The work was done in central Arizona, where the pollinating season is nine months long, and climatic conditions favor the anemophilous plants. The technic of injection and the method of determining the proper dose for each individual at each treatment are described. More than 91 per cent of the patients, in 93 per cent of the seasons, obtained satisfactory results. Relief, when obtained, was prompt, usually occurring at or before the end of seven days of intensive treatment. There were 12 general reactions, distributed among 9 patients; a proportion of one general reaction in 45 seasons, or one to each 625 doses. Only two were severe; none was fatal. The few permanent skin blemishes seen were caused either by scratching, or by the intolerance of certain skins to the glycerin in the injected solutions. Intradermal pollen therapy offers an effective method for the relief of hay fever and pollen asthma during the attack. Its successful use requires the utmost nicety of technic, a practiced judgment of dosage, and an accurate knowledge of the local pollen picture. Its special advantages are the low dosage required, the low cost to the patient, and the promptness with which relief occurs. The phenomenon of almost immediate relief, which in certain cases follows one of the first intradermal injections, merits further investigation.