Allergy Shots

[mommyofboys]

My 5 yr old ds has horrible allergies - my dh suffers also so I guess that's where he gets them from. Anyway, last September he was tested and they started him off on Zyrtec, Nasonex nasal spray & Elestat eye drops. He has already been sent home from school because his eyes are nearly swollen shut. He has been absolutely miserable the past few weeks (yes - where we are the pollen count is in the very high range) so I took him back yesterday to see if this is normal. I told the dr that we changed to Claritin because Zyrtec wasn't doing the job. She said he is so bad that we have no other choice but allergy shots. We discussed them (not in great length) and she changed his meds to Singulair, Nasonex & Pataday eye drops. She said to let her know when we are ready to proceed with the injections. I am ready to proceed, but it's my son that I am concerned about. He needs to be able to tell us (me, nurse, etc) if he feels his throat closing, chest hurting, etc and I don't think he will. Even though he is 5 he is not a complainer - he has had ear infection after ear infection (which led to tubes) and never complained of ear pain. I don't know what to do...how old was your child when they began shots...anyone this young?

 

[RMulieri]

I was 4 when I started them ,and my nephew was the same age..My daughter has just started with seasonal allergies and she is 6 so that is good I guess.My nephew though, he was like your son.His poor eyes would be swollen shut even with all the meds.Best of luck

 

[Hannathy]

At 5 he is certainly old enough to comprehend the seriousness of this and to tell you if he is suffering any symptoms. My DS doesn't complain either but I could trust him if I explained the situation to let me know. Like I said I would just make sure he knows he has to tell people, no if ands or buts.

A good friend of the family started allergy shots around this age.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I would not do shots. They now make allergy nasal sprays that are the same as shots but without the actual shot. They test the child for allergies and then mix up a serum. Then they put you on a regime that you follow. Same results as the shots but no shots or weekly office visits. We have done this and it has worked amazingly.

 

[kjpotter]

My sister was only three when she started allergy shots. She has asthma and the allergies were making things difficult. It was like night and day. Her allergies and asthma were controllable and she didn't have to be admitted to the hospital again for years. They slowly took her off of the shots when she was in highschool.

 

[mommyofboys]

Thanks for everyone's advice! I know that I want to do them ~ I am just worried about him telling me if he is having trouble breathing, etc. I don't think that it would actually ever happen, it's just the "what if's". He doesn't tell me if he hurts or if anything is ever wrong, so I will just have to monitor him very closely after the injection so see if I notice anything unusual.

To the pp who mentioned the nose spray - there is no way. We have a fight everyday with the nasonex. I would be afraid that he wasn't getting his full dose. Maybe if he was older, but right now I don't think it would work for us. Thank you for the suggestion though!!

I will be switching to a new allergist as the old one has ridiculous hours for injections (and they were by appt only). I need to be able to have the freedom to go when we can with our crazy schedules.

 

[amylevan]

I don't think I would worry about him letting you know. No matter how much he tolerates pain, he's going to let you know if it's getting hard to breathe - it's scary!. Plus, you should be able to tell just by watching him. The chance of side effects is during the 20 minutes after the shot, so just talk and interact with him. If he starts having trouble talking, you know you have a problem.

 

[tiredsigh]

One thought is to ask them to dilute the serum further. I finally had to go off the shots because I was reacting to an insanely low amount. My Dr. was in the armed forces as an allergist/immunologist and was in private practice for over 30 years. He had never seen someone need it diluted so much.

If they can dilute it more, it will mean the shots will go on for longer before you get to maintenance dose. However, it could ease your mind.

I think he would likely tell you if he felt something going on.

I wanted to respond to the poster who said to stay 20 minutes after. For the first several times, I would suggest hanging out in the waiting area for an hour. Your doctor may even ask you to stay longer. I am a delayed reactor and was driving home an hour and a half after the shot and went into anaphylaxis. I am an extreme case though and have made it into peer reviewed journals due to my issues

It did teach me to go ahead and stay a little longer if that makes you feel safer. The doctor isn't going to kick you out of the office because you feel comfortable sitting in the waiting room a little longer.