A 48-year-old man with severe eczema reported “significant benefits to his symptoms” after receiving allergy shots, according to a presentation given this week at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) meeting.
"The man had suffered with severe eczema since childhood," says allergist Anil Nanda, M.D., lead author of the paper. "He had tried many previous therapies for years including mild and high strength topical corticosteroid cream, as well as other topical anti-inflammatory creams and topical moisturizer creams. Biologic therapy has been available to treat eczema for about a year and-a-half but was not yet a treatment option at the time we saw this man. We thought allergy shots might be beneficial because he also had multiple allergies."
Atopic dermatitis is an allergic disease, and patients who have it often also have other types of allergies. Symptoms of eczema include severe itching along with excessive dryness or scaling, red or inflamed skin, sleep disturbance and skin pain.
"We conducted skin testing and found the man was allergic to dust mites, weeds, trees, grasses, mold, cats, and dogs," says allergist Anita Wasan, M.D., co-author of the paper. "Because his allergies could all be treated with allergy shots, we thought treating his allergies might also benefit his eczema. After one year, he reported significant benefit to his symptoms. And once he reached a maintenance dose of allergy shots, he no longer needed high dose steroid therapy for his eczema."