One in five people suffers from allergies, including kids allergies, and chances are, those allergy sufferers can thank Mom or Dad for their troubles. If a person has one allergic parent, statistics show that they have a 50 percent chance of inheriting allergies. If they have two allergic parents, that figure jumps to 75 percent.

Allergies manifest themselves in a host of ways. There are the obvious symptoms such as a runny or congested nose, itchy eyes and sneezing. There are also lesser known symptoms that have their root in allergy including asthma, eczema, hives, chronic cough, headaches, fatigue and hyperactivity.

The good news, though, is that there are treatments for this genetic curse. Different than allergy shots, one of the most effective treatments is known as desensitization. With desensitization, an allergic patient is introduced to small amounts of the antigens to which he is allergic (dusts, molds, pollens, etc.) These antigens are mixed into a saline solution and administered to patients through allergy shots or under-the-tongue drops. As the body is consistently exposed to these offending antigens, it learns to make peace with them and allergy symptoms subside.

Allergy Doctor, Dr. Stuart Agren has been helping patients overcome allergies through desensitization therapy for more than 20 years at his Arizona-based Family Allergy Clinic. His patients take their allergy serum as under-the-tongue drops in the comfort of their home. Agren has found the oral serum drops to work as well as shots and to be much more convenient.

“People like the fact that they don’t have to come into the office for shots all the time. They also like the fact that it’s pain free. No needles—just a few droplets under the tongue,” said Dr. Agren.

Not surprisingly, Allergist Dr. Agren treats a lot of family groups.

“Parents will bring one child in. Then the siblings will trickle in and maybe even a grandparent or aunt. Allergies are definitely in the genes,” said Dr. Agren.

For patients who are genetically disposed to allergies, desensitization provides a long-term solution. While over-the-counter medications may treat the surface symptoms of allergy, desensitization can re-train the immune system for a lasting fix.