Allergies Health Center

Understanding Hay Fever: Diagnosis and Treatment

What Are the Treatments for Hay Fever? continued...

Another class of medicine used for allergic rhinitis is the leukotriene receptor antagonist, such as montelukast (Singulair). They are taken orally as a tablet, have few side effects, and require a prescription.

Another avenue to try is allergy shots, or immunotherapy. This treatment involves a series of injections in increasingly larger doses of the allergen until your body becomes desensitized to it and no longer overreacts in response to it. Immunotherapy has shown positive results in up to 75% of people with extreme cases of hay fever. It typically takes one to five years of shots to see results.