Traveling for ILIT: A Few Trips vs. Years of Allergy Shots

If there's no ILIT provider near you, traveling to one can still mean far fewer trips than allergy shots at a clinic down the road. A typical ILIT course is about three injections over about two months. A full course of allergy shots runs to dozens of office visits, and often more than a hundred, spread over three to five years. Whether the trip makes sense for you depends on your allergies, your schedule and what an allergist recommends after looking at your history.

How many visits allergy shots take

Because allergy shots build tolerance slowly, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) describes a long schedule, starting with a build up phase of shots once or twice a week for four to six months. Then come maintenance shots every two to four weeks for three to five years.

Run the numbers on that schedule and you get roughly 55 visits at the lightest end and more than 180 at the heaviest. That's our own arithmetic, and our article How Often Do You Get Allergy Shots? walks through it.

The AAAAI says shots belong in a health care setting with the staff and equipment to treat a reaction, not at home, and every visit includes a waiting period in the office afterward. So each dose is a drive, a wait and a drive back.

Why so many people stop allergy shots early

In the 2008 trial that established ILIT, 41% of the allergy shot group didn't complete all three years.

Everyday practice looks worse than a clinical trial. A Dutch study of 2,796 allergy shot patients found that only 23% stayed on treatment for the minimum three years, and half had stopped by about 1.7 years. A 2023 review from Johns Hopkins of 17 studies from everyday practice found that most reported fewer than 80% of patients sticking with allergy shots, and inconvenience was the reason people cited most often.

Studies that asked people why they stopped keep turning up the same reasons:

• Scheduling. Every shot means getting to the clinic during its hours, then waiting in the office afterward. In a U.S. study of 555 people who stopped allergy shots early, 15% blamed the inconvenience of getting to appointments, and 8% had moved away.
• Trips and busy seasons. Vacations, business travel and crunch times at work all collide with a shot schedule. An ACAAI journal article, as summarized by HealthDay, advises planning with your allergist to keep missed injections to a minimum.
• Progress that's hard to see. Allergy shots build tolerance gradually, over years. In a 2018 study, about a quarter of the people who quit said the treatment didn't seem to be working.
• Costs that keep adding up. Copays for injections and payments for the allergen extract were the top reason in the U.S. study, cited by 40% of the people who stopped. Add gas, parking and time away from work for every visit, and even a well covered course of shots can feel like a constant drain.

How many visits ILIT takes

In that same trial, the ILIT group got three injections into a lymph node in the groin (typically just below the waist, around the hip area): one at the start, one at four weeks and one at eight weeks. All 58 people who started ILIT finished it. The authors wrote that the short course "enhanced patient compliance."

That schedule is where the usual description comes from: about three injections over about two months. ILIT uses FDA approved allergen extracts given by a route the FDA hasn't approved, which makes it an off label use, as our Learn About ILIT page explains. The research is promising but much smaller than the decades of work behind allergy shots, and results vary from person to person.

With ILIT, a long drive or a short flight three times over two months means you have a clear finish line that you can plan around. With traditional allergy shots, you'd likely face dozens of office visits, often more than a hundred, spread over three to five years, putting a standing commitment on your calendar that has to fit around everything else in your life.

What a trip for ILIT usually involves

Before any immunotherapy, including the three ILIT injections, an allergist needs to confirm what you're allergic to and whether treatment fits you.

A consultation. Some allergists start with a video visit. Tania Elliott, MD, answering readers for Allergy & Asthma Network, describes telehealth as a first step in an allergy assessment, with breathing tests and a full exam saved for the office. For travelers, though, AMA policy says doctors practicing telemedicine must be licensed in the state where the patient is, so a practice across a state line may need to see you in person first.

Allergy testing. A skin test happens in the office, and the results are ready in minutes, so your allergist can go over a treatment plan with you before you leave. A skin test isn't right for everyone, though, for reasons that include certain medicines. Allergists can use a blood test instead, an ordinary draw from a vein in your arm, according to MedlinePlus. That may mean a separate stop at a lab, and the results come back later rather than at your visit. Our skin test vs. blood test article compares the two.

Earlier test results. If you've been tested before, bring the results, even though a new allergist may want fresh ones. An allergist answering readers for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) says allergies change over time and that retesting before immunotherapy is typical.

A typical plan might be one visit for the consultation and testing, then the three injection visits. Some practices may combine steps. If you're traveling for allergy treatment, ask the allergist's office when you schedule whether the consultation and testing can happen on the same visit.

Questions to ask a practice before you travel

These questions take one short phone call to answer:

• Do you see patients who live out of state or several hours away?
• Which visits have to be in person, and can the first one be by video from where I live?
• Will you look at my earlier allergy test results, and how recent do they need to be?
• Can I schedule all three injection dates before my first trip?
• How long should I stay near your office after each injection?
• If I have a question or a reaction once I'm home, who do I call?
• Can my local doctor or allergist handle any follow up?

Writing the answers down makes it easier to compare practices, since you'll have asked each one the same things.

The practical side of the trip

Depending on the distance, three visits can still mean time off work, a flight or a long drive, and a hotel night or two. Put that next to the alternative honestly: years of time off for shot appointments, plus the gas and parking for each one.

Your allergist decides whether ILIT suits you, based on your test results and history, and a practice can't promise that before it has seen you. That's another reason to call before you plan the trip.

Longer term options

Allergy medicine (antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays, eye drops) controls symptoms while you take it but doesn't change the allergy itself. It's also the one option that travels well.

Allergy shots have the longest track record of any immunotherapy, and they may be available closer to home than ILIT, though they come with all those visits.

Allergy drops and tablets go under the tongue and are taken at home, which suits people who can't get to a clinic often. Like shots, they're a long course.

ILIT is the shortest course of the three: a faster alternative to allergy shots for some people, and the closest thing to a fast allergy treatment course that immunotherapy offers. It isn't instant relief, and it isn't right for everyone. Our full comparison of allergy shots, allergy drops and ILIT lays out the differences side by side.

If the nearest ILIT practice is a trip away, it's worth a call now. Browse ILIT providers by state, or search by zip code to see how far away the closest one is.