Seasonal allergies affect roughly a quarter of American adults, yet the most effective long-term treatments have historically demanded something many patients can't spare: time. Allergy shots require weekly or monthly visits to a clinic, often for years, which is a major reason so many people who could benefit from immunotherapy never start it. A newly published study in Frontiers in Allergy offers evidence that a more convenient alternative — sublingual immunotherapy delivered through telemedicine — holds up well outside the clinic.
Researchers conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of nearly 2,900 adults treated with personalized allergy drops through a virtual care platform between 2020 and 2025. Every participant had at least one baseline assessment and one follow-up after a minimum of 12 months on treatment, giving researchers a real-world look at how sublingual immunotherapy performs when patients manage it themselves at home rather than under direct clinical supervision.
The safety data stood out. Most adverse events were mild — things like eye irritation or a temporary rash — and only a small fraction of patients, well under 1%, experienced a more serious reaction. That's a meaningful data point for anyone weighing allergy drops vs. shots, since ease of use only matters if the treatment is also safe to self-administer long term.
It's also a notable moment for telehealth allergy care generally. Platforms like Curex have built entire treatment models around at-home testing and custom SLIT formulations, and this study adds real-world, multi-year evidence to a field that's often had to rely on smaller clinical trials.
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