Allergy Shots for 7 Yr. Old Son?

Oh boy have we been down that same road. I swear we tried every allergy med out there: singulair, flonase, claritin, zyterc. All to no avail. My son is now 5 and he takes no Rx meds anymore. We used 2 non-invasive alternative methods that worked like a charm. NAET and homeopathic drops/tablets from bioAllers. My son too, was allergic to dogs, tree pollens, ragweed, dust, etc., etc.

We started the NAET last year and after a few Tx he was fine. Occaisonally he has a minor flare that we treat with the bioAllers drops *available at drugstore.com*, and he's fine

Best Wishes.

...had good results no side effects with my stepdaughter's shots... she was eventually able to wean off them completely. I think it's a good idea, b/c they're introducing the allergens into the child's system, so they can naturally build an immunity.

oh, an fyi for you, unless the doc has already told you: if the dog is mostly indoors, it's good - if the dog is outdoors most of the time, say all day, but then comes in at nite, he's bringing in a ton of pollen! Even on days my son doesn't get sweaty at recess and doesn't really "need" a shower, he still has to take one to get the pollen off his skin & hair.

good luck!

Have you researched other natural ways to try first? I had shots when I was a child and then stopped and started up again over the years. If I knew then what I knew now I would never had the shots. The last time I decided to do shots for my allergies was horrible. The doctor I went to was out of town but they came to our town twice a month. At my appointment to get a new vial the woman forgot my vial and faxed the main office for the ingredients, well I don't know what happened but every shot from that batch put me right to bed for the rest of the night and I also needed to take medication. I stopped after 4 shots and never went back. Since then I have found natural ways to control them for myself and my 2 daughters. Alfalfa Complex is a natural anti-histamine. Vitamin C reduces histamine release, etc. I even read an article about a little boy that was dying from allergies and acupuncture ended up saving his life. I have never tried that but after learning what I did I would try that before other things if I needed to and if it was affordable. Also I read somewhere that longterm use of Benadryl could cause learning disabilities. I also bought an air purifier. Everything I use is by Shaklee because I distribute their products and I trust their purity and their quality. They are very well tested products. The changes I made for myself and my daughters have made a great difference to us. I also use their non toxic cleaners which I think helped alot too. If you would like any more information that I have you can email me at ____@____.com luck to you. I hope your son feels better soon.

My son has been taking these same allergy shots for 4 years, he's now 12. Simply he got used to this routine, and it doesn't bother him. But, for the beginning of this new experience, you could try offering extra love and attention, like telling each other jokes along the way to the dr's, get an icecream cone, better yet, let him pick out what he wants to wear to go get his shot. Mismatching clothes, pajamas, costume, etc.

I am a nurse and I would advocate the shots first and the medications second, here is why. It is my understanding that the shots are a more natural way for your body to build up a "resistance" to the allergens that bother him. Over time, he will not need them every week and will probably eventually be able to have the shots just once a month. The medications, however, have a slew of side effects that they KNOW of, there are some that have not been discovered or happen rarely so they do not get reported right away. And lets not forget that they are constantly yanking medications off the shelf, years later because they find out that they cause cancer or heart attacks or strokes or something terrible. I am not saying that there are not side effects with the shots, I am just saying I feel it is the SAFER way to go. I am all for having a child take medicine if it is truely necessary, but I would definately exahust all other options before I put my child on daily meds. Talk to your allergist and I tell him your concerns and I think, if you have a good DR, he will sway you towards the injections too. I do not have experience with this and my children, but I currently give my husband weekly shots because I do not want HIM on the daily meds, so I know I would not want my child on them. I wish your family the best of luck, I can only imagine telling my 7 year old she had to get a shot every week.....It would be the end of the world for her. :-)

Have you had your son allergy tested, I am assuming you did. My son is severe asthmatic and allergic. We are trying allergy shots again, we tried them when he was @5 - he is now 14. Does he have asthma or asthma like symptoms? If so, you could take him to the pulmonary Dr. Have you started the shots yet? It can take up to 4-5 years to see a significant difference.

You can email me if you would like to talk more about this :o)

I've been reading these responses, and several people seem to be against allergy shots because they're not "natural". They are the most natural form of defense you can find as the serum is derived from the allergens themselves. The only side effect I ever had receiving shots was an oversensitivity from time to time, and the area where I received the shot became swollen and red, like a big mosquito bite. If that happened, my doctor would adjust the concentration of the serum. That is why, at least in the beginning, the doctor usually has you wait about 15 minutes before leaving to make sure there's no local reaction. I have read about the potential of more severe reactions in the case of getting way too much of the allergen, which can cause wheezing and an anaphylactic type reaction, but I personally never experienced anything that severe and don't know anyone who has. My son (6)is also allergic to everything after being tested last year, but so far has responded well to just meds and nasal spray. In the event that stops working, I have no problem initiating shots. Good luck!

Hi T.,
My son (now almost 5) was on Zyrtec, Pulmicort and Albuterol via a nebulizer since he was quite small. My husband and I were concerned about side effects from this drug "cocktail" that his allergist put him on. A friend recommended a natural way to treat asthma/allergies. She suggested giving him 1 tsp of liquid fish oil a day. (We gave it about a month to work and slowly weaned him off all other medications.)
My son now takes only the fish oil and is off all prescription medications. His allergies have cleared up entirely and he no longer wheezes. He used the nebulizer only one time last winter due to a bad cold. It's been wonderful. We buy liquid fish oil from the Vitamin Shoppe.
Hope this helps.
-L.

Hey T.,
I also had the allergy shots when I was a kid (every Tuesday at 5, lol) It did take a while to see results, but they do eventually work. I also had them for about three years. The only pain is that you have to sit in the office an additional 20 minutes after the shot to make sure you don't have a reaction, since they are essentially injecting you with what you are allergic to. If you have a good doc like the one I had, you can arrange it so you go in immediately when you arrive, so you don't wait beforehand too. Good luck.

When I was your son's age I received allergy shots. I don't remember any bad side effects, and this way I didn't hve to get rid of my stuffed animals and the family dog. It stinks to watch your kid get shots every week, but I really think it helped me (although I wish I were still allergic to dust so that I could get out of at least household chore!).

have they tried other medications? flonase as a spray? singular?

Hello. I am a mother of two school age children, and I am a person who suffers from year round allergies. You say that your son is allergic to "everything". Is your dog one of those things? My allergies (and now also asthma) are severly impacted by pet dander - no matter how often they are bathed. Certain cats even throw me into asthma attacks. There is an EXTREME change in my allergy symptoms when I enter a home with pets, and I am wondering if you have noticed a difference in your son when he is removed from the pet environment? Just a thought. As much as I love animals, It just makes my body feel miserable to be around them. The quality of my life is not very good when I can't breathe and my throat and roof of mouth are itchy and eyes are running and itchy and nose is running...it is very frustrating. Once you remove me from the trigger; the symptoms are gone! The best advice any of my doctors have given me over the years is to avoid the triggers. It helps whatever medication you are using to do it's job better. Also, if he has been on Zyrtec for a year and it is not doing anything, that is too long to be on the same medication. Certain allergies respond to different drugs...I highly suggest trying something different. IF the Zyrtec hasn't helped by now, it is not going to work on his current allergies. Maybe years down the road, but not now. I have responded to medications now that I did not respond to years ago. Also, regarding shots, my husband had allergy shots as a teen for years with great success. He said it changed his life for the better. Good luck.

T.,

I personally had allergy shots when I was a kid and they really helped. I also have a lot of indoor/outdoor allergies. I got them for about 3 years and gradually they were able to wean me off. I still take the Zyrtec, however, don't get the shots.

Good luck with your decision!

Both of my children had lots of allegies & asthma. The first one received weekly allergy shots; the second one, born five years later, received none. ( I just decided to try to manage without them). There was no difference in the final outcome. Both outgrew their asthma around adolescence. I read recently that allergies occur more frequently in children now. The theory was that we have made our environment "too" clean. In any case, allergy shots did no harm to my son. I just don't know if they helped him. Ask you doctor to share the research with you before you decide what to do. Best regards with this problem.

T.-
As an adult with allergies. I have had them since I was a small child. My allergies sound similar to your son's. My best advice is enviroment control. If you have central air. Run it as much as possible. Change your furnace filter every 30 days. Change your vacumn cleaner bag every other week. You can try to keep the dog out of your son's bedroom and main play area so that your son can try to have some allergy-free zones. Also, try encasing his bed in plastic to limit dust mites also cover the pillows with pillow protectors. Washing the sheets once week and drying them well helps. I also notice a difference when I have neglected the dusting. I hate to clean but my allergies are better if I keep things up, especially the bathrooms (mold allergies-also). Good Luck.