Question:
I took my son Adam who is almost ten to the doc the other day.
He is on Intal, Beconaise and now claritin. She said if he doesn't show
a remarkable improvement by the end of June, we will have to consider
allergy shots. She said they will be once a week for 6 months, then once
a month for several years. Years... I thought I heard wrong! Anyway,
since he's had a ton of problems over the years I figured this day would
be upon us very soon, but Do these things really work? When will he feel
the benefits of this therapy. I had an experiance with these shots a few
years ago. I had such a horrible reaction to them I never went back. I
was in totoal agony and apparently this doctor who gave them to me didn't
follow proper procedure. They were injecting people and sending them home
right away. After my third visit, I had a swelling on each arm the size
of an orange, and I could barely breathe. All week long this giant hive
would appear, maybe 10-20x a day and every time I had this immediate
asthma attack. I'm assuming this wont happen with Adam...
Answer:
Don't assume this won't happen. The shots I used to take contained traces
of things that caused my asthma - the point was to build up antibodies in
a controlled fashion. I was required to sit for 20 minutes after a shot,
and then see the doctor before I left, because it *was* possible to have
a very nasty allergic reaction - sounds like your story. I finally was advised after moving to another city to ditch the shots by
an allergist whose practice was giving allergy shots. He said after 12
years of shots I was not likely to see any more substantive improvements.
Keep asking questions - like posting your concerns here - and talk to
others in your area who are taking shots. I found I had worse asthma when
I visited different parts of the world because the vegetation kept
changing, so shots for what you are taking now might not work if you move
- you really should be retested if you are going to continue shots.
I have been taking allergy shots for nearly 20 years. Without them i
could not hold a job, or for that matter, leave my room for most of
the year because my reaction to pollen and dust is severe. I tried
allergy shots three times. The first two were helpful, but each time
i moved i would find that there were new things to which i reacted.
The third time i went to Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA. Because they
handle so many clients, they are able to maintain a large stock of
antigen materials which the other places were unable to support. So,
at Scripps i was tested not just for pollens where i currently live,
but for pollens and dust which occur all over the continental US. I
am now able to travel at all times during the year and only
occaisionally do i have to use antihistamines. And these are very
light antihistamines with mild to no side effects: Claritin and
Zyrtec.
Yes i do have to take the shots all of my life. In fact i give myself
my shots every 6 days. And traveling for prolonged periods is a bit
of a problem because i must take them with me and they must be
refrigerated. However, even with all of those problems i thank God
each time i take the shots because without them my life would be
absolutely miserable.
It took me one year to see the improvement and with each year it got
better and better. I think it peaked around 5 years, but even the
first year i had a clear reduction in symptoms and discomfort. I am an asthmatic with fairly strong allergies,particularly to animals.
Unfortunately, I have many friends and relatives who own pets, so my
allergist has suggested that I go get allergy shots. At the same time, I
would also use the allergy shots to control my allergic reactions to
other things, such as dust, pollens etc. I have been told by a friend
who has also consulted an allergist that the use of allergy shots may
lead to the development of allergies to other substances. My allergist
disagrees. Does any one know if this is true?
I have been taking allergy shots for 20 years. My allergies have
reduced because of the shots, not increased. If you would like a
qualified opinion i suggest you call : LUNG LINEŽ - - 800/222-LUNG
(5864). It is an information resource provided free of charge by
National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Infections.
Another excellent resource is the allergy clinic at Scripps Clinic on
Torre Pines road in La Jolla, CA - the area code is 619.
