Rush Immunotherapy, Environmental Allergens, and Double the Allergy Shots

My daughter has been getting allergy shots for the last two years to help with her environmental allergies. They were working well until she developed a whole batch of new allergies. 

Recently we discovered that my daughter developed new allergies and now she gets 4 shots rather than the two shots that she was previously getting. Her allergy shots have helped her so much that under her allergists care, we were able to lower her antihistamine intake and asthma medications. She felt wonderful for months! Even her oral allergy syndrome was improving, but then all of the sudden, she went from having mostly clear headed and wheeze free days, to struggling again daily with hay-fever, and asthma flare ups. We had moved into a new part of the country, and she had developed allergies to the local environmental allergens. Oddly enough, she is not allergic to ragweed which is one of the most common allergens.

Because of the variety of allergens that she is allergic to (48 out of the 55 tested), the allergist was not able to combine them into fewer than 4 shots. We were told that some allergens degrade the other allergens if combined. Fortunately my daughter is able to tolerate getting four shots at one time. Our allergist told us that it is very unusual to have to get 4 allergy shots at a time and that he only had a handful of patients out of all of his patients that need four allergy shots. He told us that my daughter is supremely allergic, and is a rare case, in his experience.

To go from her 2 shots a month to now 4 shots, she went through a day of rush immunotherapy. Rush immunotherapy is where you get a few months of shots in one or two days. To prepare for this, you have to take a lot of medication. My daughter's allergist had her on a week of pre-medication leading up to the day of, and then more medication for a couple of days after. My amazingly brave daughter had 12 shots in each arm (4 every 25 min) in one morning for a total of 24 shots! She did very well and had just a tiny bit of localized mild swelling. Her arms were sore that day, and the next, but she was grateful to be weeks ahead of where she would have been if we had not done the rush immunotherapy.

To get through her allergy shots, my daughter swears by the "Shot Blocker" which works by distracting your skin with many little hard plastic points. If we forget to bring it, she asks the nurse to give her a good pinch so that she does not feel the needle going in. She also relaxes her arms and a lollipop always helps. Here is the link to the shot blocker on Amazon: SHOT BLOCKER

Printable Allergy Shot Tips Poster for Kids

Tips for Allergy Shots:

My daughter is going through allergy shots. We struggled at first with her fear of shots, and found a few ways to get past it. The poster is free to print for the home or allergist office: 

Allergy Shots for Kids Facebook Group!

Going through this allergy shot (allergen immunotherapy) journey has had many ups and downs.  I just started a Facebook Group "Allergy Shots for Kids" to be able to share those ups and downs, and find support from other parents who's children are on the same path.

My daughter is just about to reach maintenance! That means we will go in just once a month! We are all very excited about that!  The biggest hurdle to reach this point for us was the initial allergy shot. My daughter's fear of needles was overwhelming, and she would cry and shake just thinking about it. Thankfully we found ways to conquer that fear, and after the first painless shot, she was able to calmly start her journey towards better health. 

If you or your child have gone through this journey, or are just starting allergy shots, feel free to join the group to talk about your experience, your child's experience, advice on allergy shots, and any fears you or your child may have. The link to the group:  Allergy Shots for Kids (Allergen Immunotherapy)

Allergy Shots and the Mysterious Reaction that Wasn't

The mysterious reaction that could have brought the immunotherapy to an end.

The first of my daughter's allergy shots went off without a hitch. She loves her Shot Blocker, and uses the Buzzy Bee on the opposite arm for distraction.  She sits on the table with the shot blocker pinched on one arm so that she does not feel the needle, a lollypop in her mouth to ease the pain, and the Buzzy Bee on the other arm to look at and distract her so that she does not think about the shot, or look at the needle. Sigh, whatever it takes! I would do magic tricks, or stand on my head to distract her if I could!


The Reaction: After the third set of shots she ended up with a large red rash that appeared on the same arm. I wondered if it was eczema, and if so, was it from the shots? Her next set of shots was three days later as we were doing the shots twice a week. The nurse was concerned, but because my daughter has eczema flare ups, we thought it may be a coincidence.  After the next set of shots our concern turned into something more. That night she was covered head to toe in what looked like a bright red severe eczema flare up.

I notified her allergist right away who was very surprised as she is on a very low dose shot, and he told us the bad news: We may have to stop the allergy shots. I was so upset as we had spent a year considering them, researching them, and had spent months convincing our daughter (who is terrified of needles) to go through with them. She was doing so well, barely flinching with the shots, and was excited to see if they would help her.

Little brother saves the day! 

The rash that we all assumed was eczema, as it looked just like it, took five days to go away. We decided to give the shots one more go, and then terminate the immunotherapy if there was a further reaction.  I was up all night worrying about what we would do if immunotherapy was no longer an option.

Surprisingly, the day before the next allergy shot, her little brother gave us the answer to the mystery reaction, and we were able to go ahead with the shots with no fear! The allergist was very relieved, and amused! My son solved the mystery by developing a bright red rash, an exact replica of his sister's rash, from head to toe. I took him in to the doctor, and he was diagnosed with Fifth's Disease. A virus that caused him to have a runny nose, and then at the end of it, after he was contagious, a bright red rash that covered his body. I was ecstatic! I have never been happy before about my children being sick, of course, but this meant that my daughter most likely also had Fifth's Disease, and not a reaction to her allergy shots!


We were not 100% sure, so we proceeded with caution. We waited a good ten days, and then started the shots once more. No reaction! We were all so happy, and relieved. We are now back on track with the allergy shots, and on the up hill climb to better health! There may be some reactions along the way, but not this time!