Allergy drops vs Allergy shots

[Nan]

HI all,

 

My daughter has known environmental allergies. So, I am sure her doctor will be talking about desensitization at our appt. I would like to do the drops instead of the shots . The nurse that I talked to seemed to think that shots worked better than drops, but from what I have read on the internet, drops work similar to shots. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

 

 

Allergy drops definitely seem more convenient and less traumatizing than shots. My daughter will freak out if I tell her she is going to get a couple or more shots every week !!

 

-Nan

[Guest]

Hi Nan,

 

I can't comment on whether drops or shots work better because I've only had shots. However, I wanted to mention that if you plan on using health insurance for the drops to make sure that you check to see if they cover the drops. I have one of the main health insurance companies and they will only cover shots.

 

Carolyn

[Nan]

Carolyn,

 

Thanks for responding. I guess allergy drops are relatively new to the medical field and hence not much experience with them. I will talk more to the physician and figure out a game plan.

 

-Nan

[samsmom]

We found that Sam was allergic to just about every pollen there is around here and started him on the drops a couple of years ago. When we retested him a year after starting, his reactions to the tests were worse than the year before i.e. his allergies had grown worse! Our enviro doctor said that can happen sometimes with young kids as their bodies are still growing and changing (Sam is 7). Also, some kids have more saliva in their mouths and therefore the drops become more diluted?? Anyway, I lost my faith in the drops, plus they were $90 for a 3-month supply and not covered by insurance. I plan to start him on shots in the next year and see how that goes.

 

Sams mom

[Nan]

Samsmom,

 

Thank you for chiming in with your experience. It is definitely a very valuable input for me to know about negative experiences with the drops.

 

Thanks,

Nan

 

 

 

We found that Sam was allergic to just about every pollen there is around here and started him on the drops a couple of years ago. When we retested him a year after starting, his reactions to the tests were worse than the year before i.e. his allergies had grown worse! Our enviro doctor said that can happen sometimes with young kids as their bodies are still growing and changing (Sam is 7). Also, some kids have more saliva in their mouths and therefore the drops become more diluted?? Anyway, I lost my faith in the drops, plus they were $90 for a 3-month supply and not covered by insurance. I plan to start him on shots in the next year and see how that goes.

 

Sams mom