Allergy shots for a 13 year old

[Mickey'snewestfan]

We just got back from the allergist, who is suggesting that my 13 year old start on allergy shots. I'd love to hear other people's experiences with shots in general, or particularly at this age. I'd love for him to get some relief, and I totally understand the reasoning that if treatment is going to take 3 to 5 years, starting 5 1/2 years before college makes sense, so he can complete the whole treatment at home.

My biggest question is this: If he gets these shots, we've realistically got 3 choices. 1) I can take him in early in the morning, and then I can drive him to school after. This would mean missing part of 1st period once a week for a year, and I'd also be late for work. Not ideal.

2) I could take him in Saturday morning, which would mean he couldn't play in any Saturday a.m. games (no vigorous activity 2 hours before or afterwards), plus I'd have to give up my Sat. a.m. clients which would cost me a few hundred dollars a month.

3) He could walk/bike over, by himself, afterschool (it's about a mile), and get the shots without me there. Clearly this is the logical choice, no missed school, no missed work, no missed games . . . Allergist thinks this is a no brainer. But there's a little piece in the back of my mind that says that if he needs to be in the same room as a medical professional for 30 minutes after each shot, that at 32 minutes maybe he shouldn't be wandering through the neighborhood, on his own, with no adult or companion. Am I being total helicopter on this? Would other people let their kid do this?

Thanks!

 

[clm10308]

If the DR is okay with his coming alone, then I would be okay with it. I had allergy shots many, many years ago in late HS and college. What I do remember was that I had to wait after getting the shot, and the nurse would measure the size of the red lump that developed. The size of the reaction determined the dose for the next shot. The one time I had a very large reaction, they made me wait longer befor I could leave. If I remember correctly, the reaction comes on very quickly so it is not likely to have a delayed reaction.

Since he is going home right after the shot, I would let him do it as long as you let him go that far by himself in other instances. (I used to walk about that far from school to orthodontist appointments and back during the school day back when schools would allow such a thing.)

 

[StitchFanZ]

My DD has been doing shots for almost a year. If we lived closer, I'd be Ok with her going over by herself. The nurses won't let them leave if they are having a reaction.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

My answer would be it depends. My son has...oops, I need to begin saying had....very serious asthma. One of his asthma triggers was his allergies (which is common). My son got allergy shots for 3 years...every week....and I always took him (OK, my dad took him a few times) becuase I was concerned that he would have a reaction that triggered his asthma.

If your situation is like mine, I'd do first thing in the morning so that I could be there. In my case, I was not a heliocopter mom....I just knew if his shot triggered his asthma, we would be in BIG trouble! Fortunately, the dose was always modest so he never had an asthma attack.

Hope this helps.

Karen

 

[NHdisneylover]

My son is 13. He started allergy shots about 6 months ago. He goes in his on his own after school. The doctor said that a serious reaction is really only going to happen in the first 5-10 minutes and a a half hour is already building in lots of "Safety time" so I am comfortable. I went with DS teh first 3 or 4 times and then firgure he was fine.

Also, it was only weekly for my son the first 4 months and has now gone to monthly. Have you checked with the doctor to know if it will be weekly the entire time

ETA--my son also has allergy induced asthma and that is the reason for doing the shots. If his asthma were going to be set off by a shot that would happen in the first half hour as well and our allergist's office is equipped to help him in that matter too (better than I could).
I think a lot depends on your own comfort level, your child's, how likely you feel your child is to speak up about anything "off" and how much you trust the doctor and his/her staff.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Does your doctor offer sublingual (under the tongue) treatments? I'm looking into that for myself in a week, just because it can be done at home.

 

[emer95]

Both of my daughters go for shots (11 and 13) and boy am I sick of it, LOL! When we first started, my oldest was 6 and we had to go 2x a week. Now we go monthly. At our office, parents have to go into the room with the child until they are 16 years old!!! I think that's a bit much.
My girls have never once had a serious reaction in the 30 minute wait, but they have had their arms get HUGE hot, painful welts on them 2 to 3 hours after the shots, even after being on "maintenance" for years. I just give them Benedryl and feel sorry for them. That's all the dr. told me to do.

 

[DizBelle]

I didn't have shots as a child but when I had them myself as an adult, I remember that the kids that were getting shots had to have a parent/guardian present. I'm kind of surprised they would administer an injection to a minor without their parent/guardian present.

When I went and they called you in, you had to look at the vials of your allergy med and verify it was correct. Every persons allergy shot "cocktail" is different. It is formulated just for you based on what you are allergic to. Would your DS ensure it is correct? Can he be trusted to make sure it is right?

 

[Pembo]

I have always had very bad allergies. I started on shots at age 19. I stopped at 25. They did help some of my allergens but they never stopped all my symptoms. And I was restested once a year, my reactions were less but not to a huge degree.

I also had new or worse allergies after starting the shots. For example, I was mildly allergic to cats - watery eyes, not great but tolerable and I could visit a home with a cat. After shots, I had asthamtic attacks around cats and couldn't be in the same house with them. I have to avoid homes with cats.

I stopped the shots after my second major reaction. The first major reaction, I don't know what was the trigger but about 20 mins after the shot I was having trouble breathing and went to the ER.

The second major reaction, at age 25, I couldn't breathe and again was in the ER. My allergist asked if I had been painting. We were painting rooms in our new house the weekend before the shots. She told me that sometimes the shots can react to that. Painting a house I didn't live in, 24 hours BEFORE getting the shot, reaction within 30 minutes of the shot. It was very scary.

I stopped the shots that day. My allergies have gotten better over time. I can't take many otc or prescription meds so I just deal with it, as my mother did before me.

I tell you all this because there are risks with the shots that I was never made aware of.

 

[Aristocath]

I just got "released" from my five years of allergy shots and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner. I can't begin to tell you what a difference it made in my life! If it were my son, I would let him go after school. After your shot you wait the allotted time and they check your arm before you go. If they had any concerns they would stop him from going home and call you. I would go once ot twice and meet the nurses in the shot clinic to make sure you are comfortable with them and that they are aware of the routine. Also, a PP mentioned verifying your "cocktail". That consists of checking that it is your name on the bottle.

 

[goofyernmost]

By the time that my oldest daughter was 6 she had consumed enough Ampicillian to float the Queen Mary. She didn't have up front reactions with her allergies but the Doctors felt that they were blocking her immune system so she had infections at least monthly practically since birth. Ear Infections, Throat Infections, Bronchitis, and Pneumonia at least three times.

We finally insisted on allergy shots because we got tired to being told that she would grow out of it. Yea, we know...the problem was when. She started a series of injections...frankly I don't remember how many...and from that day on it was at least 5 years before she even had a cold again. She has still some problems with allergies (minor) but is healthy as can be some 32 years later.

I guess you could say that I'm a believer.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Thanks all! You have been very reassuring. My worry is that he'll have an asthma attack. If he did it would be unusual. His asthma is severe in terms of frequency, he has had symptoms every day for years despite pretty heavy medications, but it's never sudden. I can guarantee that things will escalate about 24 hours after certain pollens hit, or that his coughing will gradually increase over the first week when he gets a cold, but I don't worry about him suddenly not being able to breathe. It sounds like if they have a bad reaction that can happen though?

I should also clarify that the Dr.'s office is close to both Grandma and his summer camp, and he has walked or taken public transportation to both of those on his own for two years now, so I'm only worried about it in the context of the allergy shot.

 

[NewCrew42]

My DS, now 16, took 3 years of allergy shots as a teen. He now drives himself. He does wait the 30 minutes after.

Allergy shots happen to be one of the best things ever to happen to my son. He is no longer on allergy or asthma meds. It is peak season right now for tree pollen and he is the only person in my family NOT taking Claritin everyday. He used to take 4 to 5 different meds a day for allergies/asthma plus carry an inhaler and an epipen. Now, nothing in the way of meds except a shot once a month and we are about to stop that.

Go for it!!! I hope it works as well for your child as it did for mine.

 

[sookie]

We just got back from the allergist, who is suggesting that my 13 year old start on allergy shots. I'd love to hear other people's experiences with shots in general, or particularly at this age. I'd love for him to get some relief, and I totally understand the reasoning that if treatment is going to take 3 to 5 years, starting 5 1/2 years before college makes sense, so he can complete the whole treatment at home.

My biggest question is this: If he gets these shots, we've realistically got 3 choices. 1) I can take him in early in the morning, and then I can drive him to school after. This would mean missing part of 1st period once a week for a year, and I'd also be late for work. Not ideal.

2) I could take him in Saturday morning, which would mean he couldn't play in any Saturday a.m. games (no vigorous activity 2 hours before or afterwards), plus I'd have to give up my Sat. a.m. clients which would cost me a few hundred dollars a month.

3) He could walk/bike over, by himself, afterschool (it's about a mile), and get the shots without me there. Clearly this is the logical choice, no missed school, no missed work, no missed games . . . Allergist thinks this is a no brainer. But there's a little piece in the back of my mind that says that if he needs to be in the same room as a medical professional for 30 minutes after each shot, that at 32 minutes maybe he shouldn't be wandering through the neighborhood, on his own, with no adult or companion. Am I being total helicopter on this? Would other people let their kid do this?

Thanks!

What about a fourth option - not to do the shots? Yes, it is optional. My husband and I are both doing allergy shots and its OK, but honestly it takes time to work and the effects haven't been amazing for either of us. Our daughter, on the other hand, is more allergic than we are to - well, almost everything. Anyway, our allergist was like, look - she isn't in the hospital with allergic asthma right now, and the things that cause her to have anaphylaxis (peanuts, tree nuts) you cannot do immunotherapy for. We are waiting until she is older to consider it. We have strict environmental control in the house and that actually has been the most helpful. Right now we are managing with prescription meds and she is doing well, so we will only move forward if she worsens. Honestly, I think that these docs put so many kids on it as a money maker. I think they have ME on it as a money maker, but I will say that my allergies are somewhat better and they were not being well controlled before starting therapy. I was absolutely miserable during grass season and was breaking out in hives, and people were afraid I was contagious (I wasn't). So, I decided to do the shots. My husband was having issues controlling all his symptoms even with several prescription meds, and he DOES have allergic asthma, so we decided that it would only help to try to see if this could help him get in better asthma control over time.

If your little guy is well controlled by being compliant with his meds (every day, consistently) then I would probably not do it.
ETA: I see that you say he has bad asthma triggered by his allergies. Poor guy! You could still not do it but it would probably be indicated at this point...

I would not be OK with the kid going by himself, because there is a very real chance he could have anaphylaxis. It is a major risk of the therapy. That is very scary for a child and honestly, I would want to be there if my kid was in a life threatening situation. I'm shocked that your allergist will let him do that because BOTH our previous offices (our local one and the one we had before we moved) required that any minor must have a parent (or someone with authority to make decisions) there with the child during any immunotherapy injection.

 

[sookie]

Thanks all! You have been very reassuring. My worry is that he'll have an asthma attack. If he did it would be unusual. His asthma is severe in terms of frequency, he has had symptoms every day for years despite pretty heavy medications, but it's never sudden. I can guarantee that things will escalate about 24 hours after certain pollens hit, or that his coughing will gradually increase over the first week when he gets a cold, but I don't worry about him suddenly not being able to breathe. It sounds like if they have a bad reaction that can happen though?

I should also clarify that the Dr.'s office is close to both Grandma and his summer camp, and he has walked or taken public transportation to both of those on his own for two years now, so I'm only worried about it in the context of the allergy shot.

I don't know. Since he is severe (he probably really does need the shots if his trigger is allergic, especially if he is being compliant with his current regimen)... he is actually at a higher risk for anaphylaxis or a reaction that could include struggling to breathe. I have been in our office when a patient there at the same time was having a reaction, and then once when a guy turned around and staggered into the office and was so bad off they had to give emergency treatment and call 911 to transfer him to the ED. It was scary! He had apparently been checked and left, but then had a reaction within the hour of his reaction and was pretty bad off - it was a Saturday AM, so he thought it would be better just to turn around and come back. He was a young healthy looking young man too!!!

That is why I wouldn't allow him to get it alone or be alone afterwards at his age.

 

[disfan07]

I am actually starting cluster immunotherapy this Friday. Which means for me, I will reach a therapeutic level in about 12 weeks.

My allergist sees both kids and adults. She has it on a sign in her waiting room that ALL kids under the age of 16 have to have a parent or guardian present for immunotherapy. Its a malpractice insurnace issue. Its too high a risk.

I was told by my allergist that it is possible to have a severe reaction more than 30 minutes later. But that might also be different from patient to patient. I am extremely high risk. I have severe asthma (I am a frequent ER and hospital admission) that is a combination of allergic asthma, viral induced, and refractory asthma. I also have 6 food allergies (3 are anaphylaxis) and I tested positive for about 22 environmental allergies (about a dozen of them were extremely severe). My body is ridiculously sensitive to allergens.

I personally would never send my child alone for something like this. And I am actually very very surprised that the allergist would actually allow this.

Would his allergy shots be done by the nurse or by the allergist?

Also, for those who have had allergy shots before (or currently are having them), did you guys have to pay copays for the allergy shots? And were yours administered by the nurse or physician?

I'm just curious because we have to pay the copay for at least the first 9 visits because those are all administered and monitored by my allergist. But I'm wondering if this is because I am doing cluster immunotherapy instead of normal immunotherapy because from what I remember, allergy shots are usually administered by a nurse correct?

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

OP here again:

To be clear, not getting the shots is definitely an option. I won't make that decision based on convenience. So, for me it's a two step process. First we need to decide whether the shots are the right choice medically. If they are then we'll figure out an option for getting them. I am worried about how uncontrolled his symptoms are. He's been on 5 daily medications for a few years, and yet he has symptoms every single day. The things he's most allergic to (pretty much every tree, grass, and weed in the area) aren't things where environmental measures short of moving to the desert help. He's also an athlete, and I can see the impact of decreased lung capacity on the playing field, which results in less playing time and in high school could keep him off the team altogether. So, there are pretty strong arguments in favor of doing it.

Frankly, I was surprised that they'd allow it without an adult, but they are very clear that they don't think it's a problem, and were in turn surprised that I'd consider having him miss school when this solution is available.

They also said that it can take up to a year to get to a therapeutic dose, and that it's really only after you get there that you see results or drop back to every other week or once a month. I wonder if his allergist is particularly cautious and slow moving, which might lessen side effects. I'd also love to know if the kinds of reactions that you have to regular allergens predicts the kind of reaction he might have to the shots. Does the fact that he never has "emergency" type symptoms like anaphylaxis or sudden asthma attacks make him less likely to have one in response to the shots? Does the fact that his asthma is both slow to develop, and slow to respond make it more likely that he'll have a delayed reaction to the shots?

Anyone know?

 

[mjkacmom]

I got allergy shots from elementary school, all through college (brought my vials with me). They help a lot! Back in the day, there was hardly any good allergy medication, so I ended up not only missing school, but being outside on some day. I never had a reaction.

I'd love for some of my kids to get the shots, but our allergist is not in walking/biking distance, so we'll just deal with medication (too many kids/activities to be able to make weekly shots). However, thank goodness our orthodontist is under 2 miles from our house and the JH/HS, and my kids can walk there.

 

[StitchFanZ]

Does he have a responsible friend that could walk over with him? Or if you don't want to depend on a friend, do you know any students at a local community college or nursing students or even a teacher that might want to earn a few extra dollars once a week?

 

[StitchFanZ]

" Also, for those who have had allergy shots before (or currently are having them), did you guys have to pay copays for the allergy shots? And were yours administered by the nurse or physician?

I'm just curious because we have to pay the copay for at least the first 9 visits because those are all administered and monitored by my allergist. But I'm wondering if this is because I am doing cluster immunotherapy instead of normal immunotherapy because from what I remember, allergy shots are usually administered by a nurse correct?"

Our insurance does not cover allergy testing or shots so we get to pay full price for each visit. They are administered by a nurse.