Allergy Shots in Britain Require a LONG Waiting Period Afterwards

I recently heard that one reason why allergy shots are rare in England (and why sublingual "under-the-tongue" drops aka SLIT, are so common) is that British patients are required to wait under observation for anaphylaxis as long as ONE HOUR after each and every injection!!!

In fact, initially the waiting period was as long as TWO HOURS when the British Committee for Safety of Medicines became alarmed with some deaths that followed allergy injections in 1986. Subsequently, the safety committee decreed that these injections could only be administered when full equipment to cope with any emergency was at hand and further required that the patient must remain under supervision in the clinic for two hours after the injection. This had the effect of stopping this method of treatment completely, mainly because of the long waiting period.

That's quite a pity especially when considering that allergy shots were first "invented" in 1911 by two British physicians, Drs. Leonard Noon and John Freeman.

Read more about the history of allergy desensitization in England here.

Of note, our clinic provides allergy testing, allergy shots, and under-the-tongue allergy drops. And no... we do not make patients wait 1 hour after an injection.