Alternative allergy treatments are nontraditional allergy therapies – sometimes referred to as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) – that proponents contend deliver relief from allergy symptoms.

Many people turn to alternative treatments to get away from expensive prescription medicines, or to treat symptoms that have proved resistant to established medical treatments.

However, most medical experts are skeptical of the claims made by proponents of alternative allergy treatments. Before any treatment or procedure is accepted as scientifically valid, it must undergo rigorous testing, clinical trials and peer review. Alternative treatments generally have not met these standards, and many rely on anecdotal claims of success on the part of physicians and patients.

Therefore, most medical experts urge patients to avoid alternative therapies in the absence of scientific proof confirming the effectiveness and safety of these treatments. If a physician recommends an alternative treatment, the patient should get a second opinion from a board–certified allergist/immunologist.