My 5 y/o son suffers from severe allergies and minor asthma. We have tried a lot of medications, breathing treatments, etc. He pretty much has symptoms all year round. We have taken carpet out of our house, we use air filters, have no pets and do not eat processed foods. He just had skin testing yesterday (horrible) and reacted horribly to grass, trees, weeds and cats (but no dust mites-yeah)-so living in Texas he is affected all year round. The doctor suggested we try immunotherapy. I know that it has to be done for about 5 years and it is not the most convenient thing to go 2x a week in the beginning. I just want to know what people think about immunotherapy-who has tried it? Success? Failure? Side-effects? His MD told us to go home and talk/think about it.
Short of moving to Antarctica-any other ideas???
Immunotherapy is very effective and worth the effort, from all that I know. I am a medical writer and a mother with a child with food allergies. If she had more severe allergies, I would definitely pursue that option.
Here is a website that has audios you can listen to for many health issues: http://www.bobsfiles.net.
If you need more info, please let me know.
I hope you find the right thing for your son.
Victoria
Wow. I'm sorry he (you) are going through that! I worked in an allergy/asthma office for several years about 11 years ago. I'm sure some things have changed, but for our patients, it was worth it. When you are THAT allergic to stuff, your life is miserable, so you get to the point where you will do anything. The thing is, I don't remember giving shots to children as young as 5. The shots are not like the shots he'd get at the doctors office for MMR or DPT. They are not into the muscle, so hurt less. The nurses who give the shots are usually really good and quick, since they do a lot of them. Yes, the inconvenience is something to think about. It's not like you can just pop in and get the shot and get on with your day. You will need to stick around afterwards for at least 30 minutes (if I remember correctly). I don't know of many 5 year olds who are perfectly ok with getting shots, even if they don't hurt that much or at all. I think immunotherapy does work for a lot of people. I haven't done any research on natural solutions to allergies, because no one in my family really suffers from them. I know that my chiropractor is a huge believer in spinal alignment helping with them. Although, there may be some benefits to trying a more natural route- or rather, more non-invasive route, you would still need to really think about what you find. Not all chiropractors are alike and I would definitely look at a more "family friendly" or kids chiropractor. Also, beware of herbs, etc. I am a big fan of natural remedies, having your body cure itself, so to speak. I am also a former nurse, so I am cautiously optimistic about finding more of a natural way to help ailments...headaches, colds, muscle pain, etc. I think it might be worth it to do some more research into other things you could do before starting in to the immunotherapy. If you aren't consistent, it becomes an issue. Your son will have his own bottles of mixes made just for him and his allergens. They don't last forever and will have to be made up each time you guys start and then don't continue. He will also have to backtrack if you go past your date to come in. I'm not trying to scare you away from it, just trying to give out all the info I know of. Since I haven't had to deal with allergies, I really have no idea how bad it can be. I really wish you the best of luck in your decision!!
HI! K. S.,
I sure feel for your little guy. You are doing many great things for allergy sufferers already...good for you!
Having been tested to be allergic to most airborne stuff, animal dander and the dust-mites, I gave myself allergy desensitization shots for many months over a decade ago. Perhaps the process has changed somewhat since then, but I wanted to share with you my observations: (1) I do think it was helpful; (2) though not fun, the injections were not particularly painful; (3) some patients did go to the allergy clinic for some shots, but I think most did the majority at home.
HOWEVER, as I began to research more about the immune system and how it functions (or malfunctions), I became convinced that the best approach would be to support my immune system naturally, with nutritional supplements, so that it would not "misfire" when confronted by an allergen. That is what I began to do, and I stopped the injections shortly thereafter. I am virtually allergy-free now. And I know others who have gained allergy relief in the same way.
If you want more info about the specific nutritional approach I used, feel free to send me a private message (probably best to include your regular e-mail address so I can contact you that way -- these reply boxes, wonderful though they are, don't work very well for the stuff I have to send :).
Blessings,
A.
