“How long does it take for one to get over an allergy?”

Dear parent of an allergy sufferer,

There isn’t an easy answer. While allergies can certainly change over time, there isn’t a specific timeline - everyone is different. Some patients stop reacting to their allergy triggers after few years, others retain their allergic sensitization for most of their life. I don’t know how old your daughter is, but during and following puberty, many children resolve their allergies, though not everyone. Allergen immunotherapy is the only treatment we have to help desensitize allergy sufferers, and in the meantime, medications can help with symptoms. You should see an allergist and have all of your questions answered.
Best of luck.

Sincerely,

Monika Korff, MD

The answer, I’m afraid, depends on a host of factors: being exposed to the allergic trigger or not, age, family history, control of allergy, and number of allergies. With allergic rhinitis (hay fever), for reasons we are not entirely sure, a lot of children get better as they enter teen years, though immunotherapy (allergen desensitization, allergy shots) works best as early as it is needed. The source of allergy (food, grass, animals, medicines, venom) is important as is the presence of multiple allergies.