5 year old and allergy shots??

479 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by tm2840, Apr 5, 2006

BeautifulSkyTan

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2006

Hi, My name is Amber I'm new.
I have a son age 5 who has Moderate to severe Asthma and is over the charts allergic to cats and dust mites.
We have been going to a WONDERFUL allergy asthma specialist for 2 years. He is on Cingulair , zyrtec,Advair and nasonex. For the first year I onlt gave him his meds when i felt like he needed them. But it made him worse. He was always sick and never slept well.
After covering his matresses and pillows and a good regement of meds he has GREATLY improved!!
We went back tot he DR recently and he has suggested starting on the shots once a week for 7 years. They will inject him withthe cat and dustmite allergens and it MAY or MAY NOT help his immune system to become stronger against them.
my gut feeling is to wait...until he is about 10 so he can help me make this decission. But that same gut feeling is the one that kept me from giving him his meds for a year and making him worse.
He is just so young and he would not stop taking the meds he is on while doing the shots. And like I said..it may or may not help.
Do any of you have children on the shots OR were suggested but you didn't opt for them?
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!
Amber

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critara

· #2 · Apr 5, 2006

Wow, Amber, I totally understand your dilemma. In your position I would feel the same way (and I would have postponed the medicines too, no guilty feeling about that).
Why don't you postpone once again, this time to give you time to find some other solution to your kid's health problems. I mean, getting shots once a week for seven years would be asking me a lot, let alone a 5 year old.

But then, one has to do what is best for one's child of course, and there are children out there who have to put up with much worse than that, if you think about it.

Still, this thread is a very interesting one and I shall keep an eye on it because one day I might have to make the same decision you have to make now.
Good luck, Amber, I hope you find the answers you are looking for.

Cristina

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tm2840

· #3 · Apr 5, 2006

My son turned six last week and has been getting allergy shots (immunotherapy) for 6 months now. One in each arm (mold, and all the others), once a week. He's been a trouper, though he still isn't comforable with needles.

I started immunotherapy due to bad allergies and asthma at the age of 7. It was SO worth it. After a while I swear it must be harder on the mother to drag the kid in to the office for a shot that often! DS enjoys those days AFTER the shot as it's some "one on one time" while we wait the required 30 minutes after his shot (I always have a book he's really excited about and we cuddle and read in the waiting room for that time). And we talk in the car about everything on the way to and from the doc's office. It's actually good quality time (nasty phrase). With a little sister still nursing a lot he doesn't ever seem to get enough one on one mommy time.

Do your research. The animal allergies aren't as responsive to the immunotherapy. Only something like 50% (although I think it helped my cat allergy a bit). Most of the others are 80% or more effective. My son only has to do 4 or 5 (tops) years of therapy. It's a big committment, because after a certain amount of time and effort you feel it would be ridiculous to stop until the very end when successful treatment would be most likely.

Sorry for the novel!

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