Allergy Shots

Tanner has been doing allergy shots for a couple years now to help with his environmental allergies. He gets one shot in each arm every visit. When he first started, we were going 2x per week, then 1x per week, then 1x every 2 weeks, until we finally worked up to his "maintenance" dose that he goes in for every 3-4 weeks. We always have to stay at the allergist's office for 30 minutes after the shot is given to watch for reactions. Normally, the sites where the shot was given get just a little bump, like a mosquito bite. They itch, but he's given ice to hold on it while we're there and they spray it with some anti-itch stuff right before we leave.

Normally, it's relatively easy (easy for me to say since I'm not the one getting poked...). He has had a few reactions during this time though, which always reminds us about the seriousness of allergies. Once he had just a localized reaction where his arm from his elbow to armpit turned red and very swollen. It was hot to the touch and itched. This came and went several times over the next couple days. He's also had two times (including one of his recent visits) where he had facial swelling. These are a little more scary to see, but I feel comfortable knowing that we are in the best possible place for a reaction to occur. Honestly, I feel safer in our allergist's office than I would if we were in the ER.

Each time, he's been observed a little longer to make sure it didn't progress (which it didn't) and he's been given extra antihistamines. The following dose, they then split in half and he has to have them a week apart. Then, we go back to our old regimen.

Next month, we have a regular appointment with the allergist to review how it's going and see if we want to continue. The plan typically is to do shots for 3-5 years, then stop for 3-5, then possibly go back on them if symptoms start returning, which they may or may not.

Tanner's symptoms prior to shots were horrible. He would scratch around his eyes and nose until they bled. He also had very uncomfortable hives, eczema and other rashes after he'd play outside, especially in the grass. His hands and feet would turn red, itch and swell after playing in the grass too. We had him allergy tested and he was moderate to high positive for everything in the environment except for dogs (whew! since he's a dog-lover and we have one.) He still takes daily medication to help control some of the symptoms, but has drastically improved since starting the shots. For someone who hates needles and cried his first shot (before it was even given), Tanner is the first person to tell you that it's worth going through it. The shots are nothing compared to what he was feeling before.