Allergy shots for a reluctant child

[Loowit]

My 7, almost 8, year old needs to start getting allergies shots.  He is very upset about it and is telling me that he won't do it.  It sort of surprises me actually because in the past he has always been so good about things like this.  He never said a word getting dental work done.  He didn't cry at all when they had to do stitches on his forehead, even when it wasn't numbed enough.  But he is very upset at the thought of allergy shots.  He freaked out when he got an immunization at his well check last week.  We do not fully vaccinate because of a severe reaction to a vaccine when he was a baby, so I guess he isn't used to shots, but it just seems odd to me that suddenly he is freaking out about it after years of never seeming to be bothered by any thing like it.

 

We start shots this week and it will be a weekly thing for at least 6 months.  Anyone have any great advice on getting him (and me) though this.

[Spryte]

DS did a year of shots when he was 6/7. They don't hurt as much as other types of shots, which helps. Do something fun afterward? Plan something to anticipate. :)

 

I don't know, if he's very stressed, I'd hesitate to fight the battle, if it turns into one. But that's based on my experience with DS ... A year of shots and no results! Aaack.

 

FWIW, DS's allergies and asthma are severe, very severe. He sometimes reacted to the shot so we'd have to backtrack and he never made it to a maintenance dose. We switched allergists, and his new one has recommended against doing it again now - maybe when he's older.

 

But really, the shots weren't bad! DS was happily surprised by that.

[Ravin]

I would see if sublingual immunotherapy is an option in your area/for your son's allergies.

irhttp://m.hopkinsmedicine.org/sinus/allergy/sublingual_immunotherapy.html

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

m

My kiddo has had one allergy shot and steadfastly refuses to get another one.: she slept for three days after the shot.

 

Her allergies are fairly bad but she isnt willing to feel like that.

 

Maybe the trade off isnt worth it for your kiddo.

[Tap]

DD14 is on year 3 of shots.  The first couple of months were okay, after that it really hurt a lot.  If I had to fight her on it, I would have stopped years ago.  

 

We made a deal that she gets a $1 each time she gets shots to buy a treat afterward or she can save it if she wants.  That has helped to avoid some rough days !!!  

 

For dd it really depends on who is giving her the shots  (the nurse it great...the doctor will make her cry).  She gets 3 max volume shots so they do hurt!  They have more serum than a normal immunization and having two at a time in one arm really makes that arm hurt.  The first shots after a remix is the worst for some reason.  I have allowed her to veto shots on certain shot days (she will get it the next day instead) when she really, really didn't want to get them but only a few times and only because her dr allows us to make appointments with 10 minutes notice (we don't schedule ahead). 

 

BTW we saw minimal benefit before year two.  Year three is a noticeable improvement but it has been a long road here.  Up till year 2 she was still using full doses of Allegra/Zyrtec and multiple doses of bendryl throughout the day as well. 

[SJ.]

Ask your doctor for a prescription for EMLA cream, it numbs the skin and the tissue that lies below.  My son has to have a nightly injection and when we first started it was awful, EMLA cream made our lives 10,000 times better.  It is simple to use - apply about 20 minutes prior to the injection and cover the area.  It was suggested to cover the cream with plastic wrap instead of a bandage and it works perfectly.  Now we have moved to a point where my son is more used to his medication and we don't use it anymore but it helped tremendously in the beginning.  Good luck.

[celticmom]

I had to have allergy shots as a child but we started at age 2 so they were always an nonnegotiable part of life. In my case the improvements caused by the shots would cease at a predictable period after missing one and the allergies were worse than the shots by a long shot. Are you planning to administer the shots or are you going to the doctor's office? My mother administered my shots and one mistake I feel she made was not encouraging me to learn to self-administer them at a younger age. Your son is probably old enough to self administer his shots if you load the syringe and that may help him feel more in control.

[Tap]

I had to have allergy shots as a child but we started at age 2 so they were always an nonnegotiable part of life. In my case the improvements caused by the shots would cease at a predictable period after missing one and the allergies were worse than the shots by a long shot. Are you planning to administer the shots or are you going to the doctor's office? My mother administered my shots and one mistake I feel she made was not encouraging me to learn to self-administer them at a younger age. Your son is probably old enough to self administer his shots if you load the syringe and that may help him feel more in control.

Was this in the USA?  I have never heard of self administered shots.  Most allergists require patients to stay in the office for 13-30 minutes after the shots to make sure the patient doesn't have an ana reaction immdiately after they leave.  

[SJ.]

I had to have allergy shots as a child but we started at age 2 so they were always an nonnegotiable part of life. In my case the improvements caused by the shots would cease at a predictable period after missing one and the allergies were worse than the shots by a long shot. Are you planning to administer the shots or are you going to the doctor's office? My mother administered my shots and one mistake I feel she made was not encouraging me to learn to self-administer them at a younger age. Your son is probably old enough to self administer his shots if you load the syringe and that may help him feel more in control.

 

Interesting.  My son receives a nightly injection 6x/wk and we were told that it wouldn't be until middle school age until self administration of the medication would be considered.

[Mom0012]

AMDG

 

m

My kiddo has had one allergy shot and steadfastly refuses to get another one.: she slept for three days after the shot.

 

Her allergies are fairly bad but she isnt willing to feel like that.

 

Maybe the trade off isnt worth it for your kiddo.

Allergy shots can be very painful. We drive 40 minutes out of our way to get shots with one specific nurse and then sometimes we get there and he is on break. But it is worth it to find the right person to administer the shots.

 

It was recommended that my son get shots a number of years ago. He was probably about 9 or 10 at the time. He didn't want to, but agreed. They caused him a tremendous amount of anxiety, though, and when we went up to the final dose (after 3 months of building up with twice a week shots) my son had a severe reaction that required a shot of epinephrine. There was no way I could keep putting him through that amount of anxiety even though he was compliant. Especially because in his case, allergy sprays alleviated most of his symptoms.

 

We did try allergy drops with another allergist and saw zero results after a year of trying.

 

Fast forward to last year, and ds began to have year round eye allergies. Absolutely miserable. We very reluctantly decided to give the shots a try and by traveling to another office with a good nurse, it's gone really well for him.

 

Both my dd and dh also get shots and find that it can be very painful, but it was worth it for them sooner since their symptoms were so much worse and they were able to handle it without the anxiety that my son had.

 

I will say that my dd was supposed to get shots for 3 years, but they retested her after 2 and she was allergic to many more things. So she had to start all over again, and I won't be surprised if she and my son are always on shots. Supposedly, in 3 years my son will increase his dose (we kept it lower because of the severe reaction he had in the past) and then he'll be done in 3-5 years after that. I'll believe it when I see it, but it is worth it to us at this point because his symptoms had gotten so bad.

[Mom0012]

Was this in the USA? I have never heard of self administered shots. Most allergists require patients to stay in the office for 13-30 minutes after the shots to make sure the patient doesn't have an ana reaction immdiately after they leave.

Yes, I'm surprised to hear this as well. We can have the serum transferred to another doctor, but self administration would never be allowed. We are supposed to wait 30 minutes after the shots before leaving the office too.

[Mom0012]

Ask your doctor for a prescription for EMLA cream, it numbs the skin and the tissue that lies below. My son has to have a nightly injection and when we first started it was awful, EMLA cream made our lives 10,000 times better. It is simple to use - apply about 20 minutes prior to the injection and cover the area. It was suggested to cover the cream with plastic wrap instead of a bandage and it works perfectly. Now we have moved to a point where my son is more used to his medication and we don't use it anymore but it helped tremendously in the beginning. Good luck.

I think that this is worth trying, but for whatever reason, this never helped my kids a bit. But, they are each getting 3 and 4 shots each and they get 5 ml? of cold, thick serum going in with each injection. I've heard of other people saying this helped, so I'm curious how many shots you are talking about and how much serum. I noticed another doctor's office that used a much smaller quantity of serum (less than half of what my kids get), and it makes me wonder why our doctor's office uses so much and if it's typical.

 

OP, if you go to a doctor that uses smaller amounts of serum, I think that could make all the difference in the world. Also, maybe you could get your child to agree to just try the shots. In the beginning, they are pretty painless and he may be able to work up to them. I don't want to totally discourage you, because the shots have been life-changing for both of my kids, just trying to say that if there is a lot of anxiety and if medication keeps things reasonably under control, it might be worth waiting until he is older.

[SJ.]

I think that this is worth trying, but for whatever reason, this never helped my kids a bit. But, they are each getting 3 and 4 shots each and they get 5 ml? of cold, thick serum going in with each injection. I've heard of other people saying this helped, so I'm curious how many shots you are talking about and how much serum. I noticed another doctor's office that used a much smaller quantity of serum (less than half of what my kids get), and it makes me wonder why our doctor's office uses so much and if it's typical.

 

My son does not receive allergy shots, he receives a different medication through injections.  I suggest talking to your doctor to see if EMLA cream helps for allergy shots.  If it didn't work for your children but you are interested in trying again I would determine whether a different amount of cream is needed and whether it needs to be left on longer prior to the injection.

[Mom0012]

My son does not receive allergy shots, he receives a different medication through injections. I suggest talking to your doctor to see if EMLA cream helps for allergy shots. If it didn't work for your children but you are interested in trying again I would determine whether a different amount of cream is needed and whether it needs to be left on longer prior to the injection.

Oh, believe me, I tried everything and we left it on for a full hour and I slathered it on thick. The doctor only reluctantly prescribed it and every nurse I spoke to in the office said it would not help, and, as much as I wanted it to, it did not. Each of my kids elected to discontinue the cream after a period of trying it. I think it's because the serum is so thick and cold and in such a large quantity. It was on the boards here that I had heard people say it helped their kids and that's why I wanted to try it.

[Loowit]

Thanks for all the suggestions and stories.  The doctor spent about 20 minutes at his appointment last week talking to me about the pros and cons of the shots.  We decided to go ahead with them for a few reasons, the biggest being we are having to discontinue one of his asthma meds due to a bad reaction and his asthma has gotten worse.  The doctor warned me it may take a long time to see results and it may not work.  She did say the his particular set of allergies are ones that respond better to shots than others, so I am at least somewhat hopeful.

 

I will ask about the EMLA cream at his appointment this week.  I think it is worth trying at least, but I wonder if it might mask or delay a reaction to the shot.

 

We won't be self administering.  They require it be done in the doctor's office and that we wait 30 minutes after each shot to make sure he doesn't have a reaction that needs medical treatment.  His first shot will be done at his allergist's office about an hour away and the rest will be done at his local pediatricians office.  The nurses there all seem to be pretty good at giving shots.

[Tap]

Thanks for all the suggestions and stories.  The doctor spent about 20 minutes at his appointment last week talking to me about the pros and cons of the shots.  We decided to go ahead with them for a few reasons, the biggest being we are having to discontinue one of his asthma meds due to a bad reaction and his asthma has gotten worse.  The doctor warned me it may take a long time to see results and it may not work.  She did say the his particular set of allergies are ones that respond better to shots than others, so I am at least somewhat hopeful.

 

I will ask about the EMLA cream at his appointment this week.  I think it is worth trying at least, but I wonder if it might mask or delay a reaction to the shot.

 

We won't be self administering.  They require it be done in the doctor's office and that we wait 30 minutes after each shot to make sure he doesn't have a reaction that needs medical treatment.  His first shot will be done at his allergist's office about an hour away and the rest will be done at his local pediatricians office.  The nurses there all seem to be pretty good at giving shots.

The Emla cream can help take the initial sting out of it, but the pain from a shot lasts a lot longer that that. Unfortunately. ;0(  DD14 prefers ice packs.  Here doctors office use mini ice packets (like ketchup packets) wrapped in a tissue, Coban wrapped to her arms.  She feels it helps the most of everything she has tried.  

[gardenmom5]

I had to do daily shots for my aspie for 12 weeks.  he won't even stand on the scale.

use cold spray - an allergist should have that as a given.

we made a "tent" out of a blanket so he couldn't see - he knew it was coming, but it reduced his apprehension.  he had my phone to play a game.  once he was set up, I could proceed to swab and give the shot (which included holding the needle in his leg for 20 seconds before injecting the second half of the syringe.)

[KungFuPanda]

Will they let you do the drops instead of the shots?

[Lanny]

When I was a child, in California, I went for allergy shots, for 2 or 3 years. First, I think twice a week, then once a week and then every 2 weeks. Looking back on that experience, IMHO, it was a complete waste of time and money.

 

That was *many* years ago and I hope your DS has far better results from those shots, with the medicines available now, than I did!

[Loowit]

Will they let you do the drops instead of the shots?

 

I very much doubt that the insurance would pay for it, but I can ask.  I am not even sure his office does drops, it was not brought up as an option.

[celticmom]

Was this in the USA?  I have never heard of self administered shots.  Most allergists require patients to stay in the office for 13-30 minutes after the shots to make sure the patient doesn't have an ana reaction immdiately after they leave.  

 

Yes, it was in the USA we lived pretty far away from the doctor's office and it was in the 70's. Many of the doctors patients lived in other states. Allergists were rare at the time.

[Spryte]

Yes, it was in the USA we lived pretty far away from the doctor's office and it was in the 70's. Many of the doctors patients lived in other states. Allergists were rare at the time.

 

My mother self administered allergy shots, too.  She did it in the early 60s.  She has some funny stories about working at summer camp and how the other counselors and campers reacted to the shots - they thought she was using drugs and ostracized her at first!

 

I think at that time they didn't realize that there is a serious risk when administering allergy shots, thus the reason we stay for 30 minutes in the doc's office now.