My 9 year old son is getting his azz kicked by his allergies right now. We're giving him over-the-counter allergy medicine along with Afrin nasal spray and it is not helping him much. I have asked about allergy shots or prescription medication but my wife says that allergy shots require a full allergy screening first that includes 70-100 pin pricks with different allergens in order to isolate the specific cause of the allergy before the doctor can know what medicine to give him.

Is this really how it works or is she just full of shi'ite? There is no reasoning with her on stuff like this unless I have iron-clad proof.

1.  Why not ask your doctor?

2.  Be carefule of the Afrin.  Apparently, it's physically addictive if you use it for more than 2 or 3 days.  Read the label carefully before you turn your child into an Afrin junky.

3.  I got Allergy tested as a kid--20 years ago and yes they numbered my arm 1-25 and pricked it with a needle that many times to determine what I am allergic to.  I don't know if they have a less brutal method now.

Quoted: My 9 year old son is getting his azz kicked by his allergies right now. We're giving him over-the-counter allergy medicine along with Afrin nasal spray and it is not helping him much. I have asked about allergy shots or prescription medication but my wife says that allergy shots require a full allergy screening first that includes 70-100 pin pricks with different allergens in order to isolate the specific cause of the allergy before the doctor can know what medicine to give him. Is this really how it works or is she just full of shi'ite? There is no reasoning with her on stuff like this unless I have iron-clad proof.

Unfortunately for the Little Pony, she is right  

Depending on the method used, (two of which I know, may be others, not sure) it can be a 'rack' of sorts, with little prickly bits, that they just jab ya with...  not TOO bad, or the other is they 'skin pop' you.. inject tiny quantities of gunk, multiple times, just under the skin, similar to how diabetics inject insulin..... LESS not too bad  

Either way, it's not much fun for a kid, I'd imagine.......  

Allergies suck ass, I CAN tell you that much  

Take the youngster to a Naturopathic Physician. If you live near Portland, Oregon I can give you the Clinic name.

Most people go to a Doctor practicing in pharmaceuticals and that is what they end up with, drugs to mask the allergy rather than a treatment that will help your body become accustom to the allergen.

Another thing you can do with out the aid of Doctors is put your child on a hypoallergenic diet. Then slowly introduce foods to see if they cause problems. Milk is one of the first ones to remove it seems to cause many problems with stuffiness and ear infections.

Processed foods contain many ingredients that cause vast amounts of dollars in health care every year. When you know which types are not beneficial to you  then have a chance to make a choice whether or not to consume them.

I understand it may not be a food allergy but once you get these out of the way you have an easier time finding the non-food related.

MT (just a little info from my experience may or may not help you)

The pin-prick test is really not bad to go through. I've had it. The other question is, is it useful.

There are several ways to treat allergies:
1) avoid the allergen, requiring moving to Iceland
    (or, if you have pollen allergies, don't sleep with windows open!)
2) traditional antihistimines
    (makes you sleep. Benadryl was also sold as a sleeping pill. It got to where they
     really didn't help)
3) non-sedating antihistimines that  don't work as much or make you sleep as much
    (Great if they work for your. Not for everyone and have their own side effects)
4) steroid pill packs that make a man feel PMS (yech)
    (Great if it works for you. Yech. Yech. Yech. I'm terrified of steroids now.)
5) several times a week allergy shots that are supposed to magically reduce your sensitivity
    (I've heard of people this works great for. And others who put up with years of this
    with lots of cost and no results.)
6) flonase, which only applies towards sneezing & runny nose but not to hives or itchy eyes
     (...and I've got sneezing & runny nose & itchy eyes. Eyedrops help the eyes some.)
7) new-age hocus-pocus that also cures cancer and enlarges bits of your anatomy
     (rolling eyes.)

I've done the test, and it was interesting and possibly useful in understanding what I was up against.  

I have not tried 1, 5, or 7. 1 would work, but there's uncertainty about 5 and 7. I've heard that the allergy shots (5) work well for some people but are useless for others.

Of the rest, I have good results from Flonase, but I've got mainly tree and grass pollen allergies.  

Remember, every person and allergy is a bit different.  I'm pretty sure that Flonase does NOT work for food allergies, like milk. And some people will respond much better to various antihistimines. And some people will be able to manage their pollen allergies simply by not mowing the lawn or raking their own leaves. (Compare cost to the meds!)

Quoted:
Allergy testing still uses the pin prick or small injections of the allergins.  It is not that bad though.  He will thank you after his symptoms get relief.  I'm allergic to pretty much everything outdoors.  Grass, Most trees, mold, etc...  I've found that the combination of Nasinex, Clarinex and Singular works great for me.  I have allergy induced asthma, -SNIP-


Singulair alone works well for me

Go to WalMart and buy some Echeneaca capsules.  About two pills, two-three times each day.  This works for my whole family.

Here are the steps you should use, in order of escalaion. If one step doesn't work, escalate to the next.

a) [Free] ask ARFCOM (done!)
b) ask your pharmacist (get USEFUL over-the-counter stuff, not Afrin.) Meanwhile, do some best-guess avoidance.
c) if that doesn't work in a couple of weeks (or you're impatient), ask your General Practitioner or Pediatrician. They can hook you up with better stuff. They DO NOT NEED the pin-prick test for this.  Give this some time. They can try different meds to try to see what helps.
d) if that doesn't work maybe go to an allergist. An allergist does the pin-prick test and the several-times-a-week allergy shots.

Garlic, lemon, tea, and ginger root.


Boil it and make him drink it.

The more garlic the better.  Add Chili powder into the drink if it is REALLY bad.

Sgatr15

Do the tests, start the allergy shots, and in 5 years he may be cured. Ignore this and his lungs will be scarred and will have reduced capacity for the rest of his life. Over the counter meds and Rxs that mask the symptoms do not save the lungs and if you read the fine print are even cancer causing in some tests. There are a few preventative steroid meds that are excellent and will prevent the scarring, the attacks, and the use of use of meds with side effects.

Do regular spirometer tests to monitor his lungs.  

I went through the pin prick drill maybe a year ago – it really wasn’t that bad.  Actually, the only thing that bothered me was that it took a while to do.  There also can be some temporary itching due to the various reactions.

Granted, a 9-year old might dislike it just on principal!

The real advantage of it is that you identify the specific problem(s) causing the reaction, rather than just guessing.  Thus – depending on the problem – you may be able to improve things by making changes around the house, rather than solely relying on medications.

For example, it turned out my only allergy was with mold.  I now know that I need to keep the house aired out and the bathroom (esp. the shower stall) clean and dry.

As the cliché goes - knowledge is power.

Incidentally, I read somewhere a while back that it is possible to do allergy testing with blood work rather than all the needle pricks.  That might be worth doing a little research on the net about.

The blood test was not accurate and has been dropped, AFAIK.

I would definately stop using the Afrin ASAP.  Use Sudafed or a generic substitute if you must.  Afrin may provide temporary relief,  but it will make things worse in the long run, trust me.

Two comments (from the relatively uninformed).

I take Sominex (the OTC sleeping pill) for allergies.  It is EXACTLY the same medicine as Benadryl, but it is usually slightly cheaper .  It's also useful for motion sickness.  It doesn't really make me tired or anything.  I use it as a "sleeping pill" on long flights - and while it does help me go to sleep when I want to, it doesn't make me drowsy or sleepy when I want to be awake.  Obviously, YMMV.


There ARE shots that will help severe allergies that do not require all kinds of irritating skin tests, but they may not be particularly good for you .  I know this because in my second year in the infantry, I started to get really bad hayfever - which is obviously not a good thing in the infantry.  It was pretty bad, and OTC stuff didn't help (and there wasn't much in those days) so the army gave a shot every summer - and it was magical!!  It was like flicking a switch - and all my allergies just disappeared for the rest of the summer.  In retrospect I imagine it was some kind of steroid or cortinzone or something like that, because when I left the army I asked them about beign able to get it, and they told me it was really bad for me, and prolonged use woudl damage my organs and bones

I have the hayfever/pollen alergies, I've tried most of the mentioned remedies and have finally just learned to live with them. I just can't stand the side effects of any of the medication. The only thing I use now is a Neti Pot;



read about it here

It helps with the nasal symptons, and and a bit with the other symptons.

I know it seems weird, but many people kept talking about them so I tried it and it works.

I used to have really bad allergies when i lived in Los Angeles and the Valley.

It all changed when I moved up to the High Desert. First time in 25 years I haven't had allergies. Probably all that smog and poison.

My daughter also had mild asthma that is now GONE!

Local honey daily.  Meaning Honey made from bees from your locale.  Incorporate it into his diet and all will be well.  Don't resort to drugs so quickly.
The beekeper should be able to verify this...

Quoted: I have the hayfever/pollen alergies, I've tried most of the mentioned remedies and have finally just learned to live with them. I just can't stand the side effects of any of the medication. The only thing I use now is a Neti Pot; read about it here It helps with the nasal symptons, and and a bit with the other symptons. I know it seems weird, but many people kept talking about them so I tried it and it works.

How does the bong help with your allergies?

  I've had allergies and asthma all my forty-one years of life.  When I was a youth did the pricking test and weekly shots.  Ended up using perscription Actifed for many years. Over the years I just had to deal with it. And the only medecine that would work, knocked me out. I hated it.

 Last year I went to a Allergy specialist. Did the prick test again.  She put me on Flonase.

 Flonase worked great. Took it for about six months with no side-effects. I've been off it for about three months and no problems with allergies. I stopped taking it, so my system wouldn't get to ammune to it.

   Go here:    www.flonase.com/   Hope this helps and the prick test is nothing.

  Also have your A/C checked and cleaned as nessasary. Ducts sealed. Use good pleated air-filters.

 You can go here for good air-filters.    www.filtersolutions.com/

Quoted: Local honey daily.  Meaning Honey made from bees from your locale.  Incorporate it into his diet and all will be well.  Don't resort to drugs so quickly. The beekeper should be able to verify this...

This is the same principle behind the allergy injections. You slowly expose yourself to increasing amounts of what you are allergic to and your body slowly stops reacting to it.  

The honey only works if it has the actual pollens you are allergic too.  You start eating the honey a few months before the plants bloom and your resistance is increased for the season.  While it works, the ultimate goal is to prevent permanent damage to your lungs, not feel better because your symptoms are temporarily relieved.

Do we have an in-house Allergist who can join in on this thread?

I have bad allergies - they hit me like the flu.

I did the allergy test thing.  Yes, they use pins, but it isnlt like being pricked 100 times.  The worst thing about it is the pricks will cause swelling and itching.  That's how they find out what you are allergic to.  I chose not to go the route of shots.  I learned how to deal with it without prescription drugs.

Here is what I do.  During periods when I usually get hit hard by allergies (May and Aug-Sept), I take claritin, which is no longer a prescription drug.  You can buy it over the counter for about $14 for 90 tablets.  Each tablet lasts 24 hours and does not cause drowsiness.  Claritin is an antihistimine, and as such it is great at preventing allergy attacks.  I get it at WalMart under the Equate Label.  I dont use the brand with a decongestant, because that may cause drowsiness.

Still, it does not handle congestion.  If you prevent an allergy attack, you will reduce congestion.  You should also keep your home's filter's clean, keep your carpet vaccumed, and don't keep furry pets in the house.  Keep your house dusted, including beneath your son's bed.  Consider buying an air filter, too, for his room.  Encourage him to take hot showers and keep his nostrils clean of pollen and dust.  I know it sounds gross, but I will clear my nostrils with tap or shower water.  Be careful not to snort it down, because it will be uncomfortable.

I use an inhaler during the worst days, as needed.  I use a nasal spray at times, but be careful.  Those things can cause more problems than they solve/  I use a generic, over-the-counter 12 hour spray when I have trouble breathing through my nose (usually at bed time).

It wouldn't hurt to take your son to an allergist, so he could find out exactly what your son;s allergies are, and he could advise you of current remedies (other than mine).

Good luck!

Before drugs like Flonase are used on kids you really have to look at possible side effects.  This nose spray suppresses your immune system. That is not a good thing for many folks and for kids in school it could mean more illnesses. It also has unknown effects on growth.  Kids on drugs like this have to be weighed and measured on a regular basis so they don't end up small and short. You are messing with mother nature here.

Allergy shots are simply little doses of the pollens, molds, and other allergens to which you are allergic, injected into your body so your immune system gets used to them being around and stops overreacting to them. It is far better to go this route than use any long term medication. That's why shots are the best treatment for most people, especially children.

Man made medicines should only be taken as a last resort.

pale pony

check your email

go to an allergy doctor/clinic and narrow down what he is allergic to, Afrin is strong stuff, wife uses Flonase and it less harsh on the mucous membranes

If he decides on the shots make sure he can really stomach them. They are just like braces they suck and if you don't do them correctly you will have wasted time/money/pain. So if you go that longterm route make sure he is willing to go the whole distance.

... I seldom speak of medical issues on the Internet. Those things are best left between you, your family and your Doctor - However:

... Ask your physician for an Injectable Corticosteroid. Specifically a long-acting, Dexamethasone Corticosteroid Injection (Decadron LA®). They last about six months.

... Over a two year period of treatments, it flat-assed cured me of all severe allergies and bad asthma suffered the previous 22 years of my life. Worked wonders for my brothers too.