S.W. asks from Santa Monica, CA on September 06, 2011
Allergy Shots - Santa Monica,CA
I am wondering if anyone can tell me if they have had success with allergy shots. We are considering them for our eight-year-old son.
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R.E. answers from Richmond on September 06, 2011
I have been getting allergy shots for about 2 years now. It has made a huge improvement in my allergies. I used to be the most miserable in Spring and now I hear others complain about how bad it is and I don't notice a thing! It is however a VERY long process when done correctly but very much worth it.
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J.K. answers from Kansas City on September 06, 2011
My oldest was on a five year plan for allergy shots, and his world changed!! He has asthma too. No more runs to the ER. If your son is miserable most of the time, I'd do it. It is expensive, but it was worth it to me, I don't worry so much anymore, and allery and asthma attacks are only a few times a year now.
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M.D. answers from Washington DC on September 06, 2011
The boy I used to nanny for had GREAT success with them, so did my odler sister. They seemed to be working for my daughter when she was 5, but on the third round she spiked a fever and went into a seizure. Fevers can spike and no seizure, but she had febrile seizures which is something totally different. We did not give her anymore after that and she has now, at 8, outgrown the allergies - most of them. I'd say to give it a try if he is miserable.
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R.E. answers from Richmond on September 06, 2011
I have been getting allergy shots for about 2 years now. It has made a huge improvement in my allergies. I used to be the most miserable in Spring and now I hear others complain about how bad it is and I don't notice a thing! It is however a VERY long process when done correctly but very much worth it.
1 mom found this helpful
D.G. answers from Las Vegas on September 07, 2011
Allergy shots really helped me, but it is a long process (as many of the other moms have pointed out). I did the shots for 5 years and it really decreased my symptoms. Murphy's Law is alive and well however -- I'm allergic to mold and the shots were for that; well, we moved from Cinci to Vegas (no mold here !!!) and now I'm reacting to pollens like mulberry and olive that Cinci didn't have. I may need to do the shots all over again for pollens. Oh well :)
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K.M. answers from Houston on September 06, 2011
They made all the difference between misery and happiness for me when I was a child. And really, there was no pain involved.
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K.R. answers from Spokane on September 06, 2011
Had them when I was a kid for about 8 years, didn't seem to make that big a difference in my allergies. I was still miserable around cats and had a stuffed up nose all year and got several ear infections due to sinus infections each year.
What finally fixed the problem was sinus surgery including straightening a deviated septum, and then moving to the desert from the beach - no more meds, no more stuffies!
The shots didn't hurt all that much, but I still didn't like getting them, and looking back my mom figures it was probably a waste of time...
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V.W. answers from Jacksonville on September 06, 2011
My just turned 13 yr old is midway through year #2 of allergy shots. He has had a LOT of improvement. Before starting them, he would go through a box of tissues every 2 or 3 days. Sometimes faster. And this was year round except for about 2 weeks at Christmas time. He has so many medium reacting allergies (a lot of pollens to grasses and trees) that bloom at different times of the year that it just goes on all year long....
Now, he is down to a box of tissues a week or week and a half. He no longer has the allergy "crinkle" on his nose. And he can sneak up on someone without them hearing the tell tale "sniff" before he surprises them. :) Seriously... he can get through a sporting event without needing a single tissue (most of the time). And if he gets a cold, I can actually TELL that he is getting sick and not wonder if he is sick or it's allergies. Actually, he hasn't really had a cold since he's been getting the injections. We opted to give them a shot (pardon the pun) after he came down with pneumonia from one of the "gee, I wonder if it is a cold or is it allergies" episodes. Turned out it was a cold...well, actually, double pneumonia. :(
It's been a HUGE quality of life improvement for all of us. :)
ETA: If you are concerned about the "shot/owie" factor, don't be. Our son gets 2 injections (one in each arm) each time (he has a wide range of environmental allergens and the stronger ones are in one serum, and the other milder reacting ones are in a 2nd serum = 2 injections). They use the teeniest tiniest needles and he never complains about them. He doesn't care much for the itch at the injection site for the first 5 minutes or so afterwards, but other than that, he is good. He actually sort of looks forward to going...he gets to sit in the cool gaming chairs and play video games while he waits during the monitoring (you should expect to stay in the dr.'s office for about 20-30 minutes after each injection so they can monitor any reaction).
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A.G. answers from Boston on September 07, 2011
Allergy shots were the best thing that ever happened for me!!
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