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Allergy Shots for Your Toddler - Over Reaction or Good Parenting? |
 As parents, there is a love/hate relationship with getting shots for your small children. On one hand, we want every possible defense against illness to be used and if that means shots, so be it. On the other hand, part of us seeks to find the most natural solution to health problems. And we hate the terror small children have of getting shots.
When it comes to allergies in infants and toddlers, there is always a risk of an adverse reaction to allergy shots that some children experience. But does that mean all parents should avoid getting allergy shots for their infants if allergies have become a problem? It is good to error to the side of caution. But we don’t want to become paranoid if allergy shots could do your toddler a lot of good.
The severity and sensitivity that your toddler may have to the particular allergen that is the trouble may determine whether allergy shots are the way to go. For many indoor allergies such as allergic reactions to molds or dust mites, a clean house can go a long way to reducing the impact of that allergy on your baby’s health. If your child’s level of allergic sensitivity is not extreme, simply reducing exposure may do the trick.
But if any exposure at all sets off the allergy symptoms, that may be the time to get medical consultation about seeking allergy shots for the child. This is especially true if the allergic reaction is extreme or life threatening. In cases such as this, there is no precaution including allergy shots that is “off the table” when it comes to protecting the life of your child.
Another compromise to give your child relief from allergies that is not as extreme as allergy shots is using over the counter drugs. These drugs are tremendously effective for adults who must learn to “live with” their allergies day in and day out. It is not irresponsible to consider giving such drugs to your young children as long as you do so after consulting with the child’s pediatrician and you know that the child is old enough to take the recommended children’s dose of the medicine. Most popular medicines either have a children’s version of the product or include ways to cut the strength of the treatment for younger patients. However, this approach usually is only viable if the child has reached the toddler stage.
If your baby’s doctor suggests allergy shots, you should consider that the doctor would not suggest that route if he or she thought in any way that the treatment was dangerous for your child. The shots are effective if they are taken over several years to help your little one’s immune system mature to where the allergic reactions ceases to be a problem.
Just as some vaccinations introduce low levels of the virus being treated to the system, allergy shots are designed to introduce tolerable levels of the allergen to your child’s system. This may seem counterproductive but the goal is to allow the immune system to adapt to that level of allergen so that over time, the dosage can be increased until there is no longer an allergic reaction to the trigger substance.
If allergy shots are prescribed for your child, be prepared for the youngster to need shots as much as three times a week for as long as seven months to allow the treatment to influence the child’s immune system properly. After that, there is a maintenance period when the allergy shots will slowly be reduced in frequency until the immunity to the allergic trigger has been built up and the shots are no longer needed.
While allergy shots are considered to be generally safe and a good approach to resolving infant and childhood allergies, parents and children should be prepared for a lengthy treatment period. In rare cases, children experience side effects to the treatment. But with close supervision by your child’s allergy doctor, you can be prepared for such an eventuality and the treatment can be modified if there are negative reactions to the drugs being used. While allergy shots for your youngster are a serious undertaking that will involved continued commitment over many months and years, it’s a worthwhile undertaking if the end result is you can help your child be free of the threat of allergy problems for the rest of their lives.
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