|
|
| *Women health>>>Allergies |
Can someone tell me how doctors go through the process of giving you allergy shots? |
it would be my first time, how would they find out what i'm allergic too and would i be able to get my shot there and then? please explain the process to me, thanks! they can tell what allergies you have by taking a blood sample. Then they will give you a shot with a small dose of the allergen so you can build up an immunity to it. They will give you quite a few shots over the course of a few months. Unless things have changed recently, they do something called a "scratch test". They draw a grid sort of like an elongated tick tac toe board down your arms and or back and just sort of touch it with a little needle. As I recall, it was not really painful per se. Kind of like having a mosquito bite - but, you cannot scratch it. Actually, you probably should not scratch a mosquito bite either so maybe it is very close to that. After waiting a certain amount of time (20 minutes maybe?) they come back in and check your arms or back for a bump ("welt", they call it). That's why you can't scratch it, even if it itches a little bit. No bump meeds your system ignored the substance in that box - you are not allergic to that one. A small bump, sort of like a mosquito bite bump, means that you are alergic. The size of the bump describes how allergic you are. Sometime afterwards you will probably receive a detailed report in the mail telling you what you are allergic to. What animals (pet dander), plants (trees and flowers pollen), fungus (mold), and so forth. Based on the results of the report, your parents might buy a dehumidifier to cut down on mold by drying the air out more, find a new home for the cat, chop down a tree, or exempt you from mowing the grass. Probably, you will keep the cat and the lawn mowing chores. If you have allergies that can be beneficially treated by allergy shots, then you will get a single shot once or twice a week. Not exactly sure how often but certainly not every day. The syringes used for that are tuberculin syringes. They have a very thin needle. They're not so bad. For some reason, it never seemed to hurt much in my right arm and it usually hurt in a kind of dull ache way in my left arm. So, if you get allergy shots and the arm they give it in seems to hurt for a few minutes afterward, have them try it the next time you go back in your other arm. No chance of your shot being given to you right after your scratch test. Each person's allergy is custom blended just for them. The precise ingredients will be trace amounts of the exact things you are allergic to. The concentration also is chosen to how strong your allergy is to each too, I believe. Anyway, that stuff has to be made in a lab. I doubt they keep the separate ingredients in a physician's office. Even if they did, there probably would not be enough time to blend it while you wait. And you probably would not want to get stuck with a real needle immediately after getting lots of little scratch tests anyway. Your allergies might change when you get out of your teens and/or complete years of allergy shots. Also, moving to a different area which has say different trees in it might alleviate it. So even if you do get allergy shots, do not assume that you will need them your whole life. Also, they will probably give you another scratch test some years after the first one. That lets them see if your "old" allergies have gone away or you have gotten any new allergies. they'll do a scratch test, where they poke you slightly with a toothpick dipped in various allergens. from the results (degree of swelling, redness, itchiness) they determine what you are allergic to. they will then make your serum--it will take a few weeks then you go once or twice a week for a shot in each arm during the 'build-up' phase--the length of which can vary depending on your number & severity of allergies. after that, you go to a maintenance phase, where you get a shot once every 3-4 wks for the duration of the vials (usually about 6 months for me). at that point they make up a new batch, and you have to build-up again--1x/wk for a month--before returning to maintenance. i am on my third year, and it's worked wonders!!! i now use only rhinocort during the grass pollen season (my worst) when before i used rhinocort AND triple dosed myself on antihistamine. it's well worth the commitment! i have 2 1/2 yrs left (i was bad & had lots of allergies, so i have the 5 yr immunotherapy. it can be as short as 3) good luck! edit: i should also say that after each shot you must wait 15-20 min at the office so if you have one of the rare reactions you will be close by. (i've never had one). also, the injection site swells a bit- but can be alleviated with ice packs & oral antihistamine or topical cortisone cream. |
| Tags |
| Breastfeeding Breast Reconstruction Acupuncture AIDS Allergies Alzheimer Disease Androgen Anxiety Disorders Asthma Atherosclerosis |
Health Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster The information on whfhhc.com is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. |