Awesome doctoring.
Oct. 30th, 2009 08:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marydellI'm a fan of vaccines, even the ones with microchips and government conspiracy in them, so I get a flu shot every year even though I'm allergic to eggs (egg white is part of the shot). My arm gets a little rashy but since my allergy is mild I just lie on the form...when I get the flu it is NOT mild.
Charlie tested allergic to eggs, 6 or 8 months ago, but since most of his allergies are mild-to-moderate (rash, runny nose, sometimes a wheeze, but not shock), and flu is seriously dangerous, we really wanted him to have a shot anyway. He's too young for the nasal-spray version (which is egg-free). Mike and I both have gotten the shot but that doesn't protect a child who goes to a large group day care...
I called his main pediatrician and asked her if it might be worth taking the allergy risk in order to lower his flu risk. She called one of his allergists. His other pediatrician (partner of ped #1) was also consulted and she talked to his other allergist (not a partner of allergist #1, but they all know each other.) The consensus was that he would be given a very small amount of the shot - 10 percent or so - watched for 20 to 30 minutes, and if he didn't have a reaction, then he'd get the rest of the shot.
Yesterday Mike took him in along with his allergy kit--nebulizer with xopanex, epi pen (never used yet but nice to have), a bottle of benadryl, and a tube of alcometasone (steoid ointment). The doctor's office opened half an hour early and both doctors came in for the occasion - usually they alternate days. They injected a tiny bit of the vaccine under his skin, and then doctor #1 put a little of the liquid on his skin around the injection point and rubbed it. He got a little bump at the injection site, which Mike said didn't look bad to him (I had to be at work so missed all of this, phooey), but that the doctors both didn't like it, and then after a couple of minutes he also got a red streak on his arm where the solution had been rubbed on his skin. So they said definitively he cannot get the shot, since more of the egg solution would mean a bigger reaction, and also every additional exposure while he's still little is likely to make the allergy stronger, instead of letting his immune system get itself straightened out so the allergies (some of 'em at least) will go away. I'm really happy they tried it and I'm really happy they are taking the cautious approach; we will just have to be vigilant about treating him if he gets the flu. Tamiflu (anti-viral) is weird, scary stuff but it really worked very well for me, and I'm willing to give it to him if he gets either the regular flu or the H1N1. Most of the kids who have died from H1N1 have "underlying heart conditions" and so does Charlie, so we are going to trot right over to the doc or the ER the second he shows any symptoms.
Anyway, there have been times that Charlie's doctors haven't taken some of his health situations as seriously as I would like, but as they've gotten to know him and his conditions they've been better and better, and for this request they were super nice and very accomodating as well as extremely diligent. They really went a few extra miles to try something that they normally wouldn't consider, because we asked them to. I'm very very happy with them.
Charlie tested allergic to eggs, 6 or 8 months ago, but since most of his allergies are mild-to-moderate (rash, runny nose, sometimes a wheeze, but not shock), and flu is seriously dangerous, we really wanted him to have a shot anyway. He's too young for the nasal-spray version (which is egg-free). Mike and I both have gotten the shot but that doesn't protect a child who goes to a large group day care...
I called his main pediatrician and asked her if it might be worth taking the allergy risk in order to lower his flu risk. She called one of his allergists. His other pediatrician (partner of ped #1) was also consulted and she talked to his other allergist (not a partner of allergist #1, but they all know each other.) The consensus was that he would be given a very small amount of the shot - 10 percent or so - watched for 20 to 30 minutes, and if he didn't have a reaction, then he'd get the rest of the shot.
Yesterday Mike took him in along with his allergy kit--nebulizer with xopanex, epi pen (never used yet but nice to have), a bottle of benadryl, and a tube of alcometasone (steoid ointment). The doctor's office opened half an hour early and both doctors came in for the occasion - usually they alternate days. They injected a tiny bit of the vaccine under his skin, and then doctor #1 put a little of the liquid on his skin around the injection point and rubbed it. He got a little bump at the injection site, which Mike said didn't look bad to him (I had to be at work so missed all of this, phooey), but that the doctors both didn't like it, and then after a couple of minutes he also got a red streak on his arm where the solution had been rubbed on his skin. So they said definitively he cannot get the shot, since more of the egg solution would mean a bigger reaction, and also every additional exposure while he's still little is likely to make the allergy stronger, instead of letting his immune system get itself straightened out so the allergies (some of 'em at least) will go away. I'm really happy they tried it and I'm really happy they are taking the cautious approach; we will just have to be vigilant about treating him if he gets the flu. Tamiflu (anti-viral) is weird, scary stuff but it really worked very well for me, and I'm willing to give it to him if he gets either the regular flu or the H1N1. Most of the kids who have died from H1N1 have "underlying heart conditions" and so does Charlie, so we are going to trot right over to the doc or the ER the second he shows any symptoms.
Anyway, there have been times that Charlie's doctors haven't taken some of his health situations as seriously as I would like, but as they've gotten to know him and his conditions they've been better and better, and for this request they were super nice and very accomodating as well as extremely diligent. They really went a few extra miles to try something that they normally wouldn't consider, because we asked them to. I'm very very happy with them.
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 02:54 pm (UTC)Also, I am not a doc or anything, but I just clicked around your LJ to find out what Charlie's heart condition is, and I don't think that he has the kind of heart condition that is gonna be exacerbated by flu.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 03:49 pm (UTC)In practice, of course, I'll bet that some of your fellow day care parents actually believe the government is using the vaccine to microchip their children. Which is silly, because everyone knows that the chips are spontaneously generated by your computer every time you surf to a .gov site.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 05:55 pm (UTC)The daycare requires the whole standard raft of vaccinations--it's a DCFS licensed facility so that's mandatory. I assume parents who don't vaccinate use some other kind of child care, one that isn't part of The Conspiracy. But flu vaccine is optional, probably because it's 1. hard to find sometimes and 2. different every year, which means long-term testing of any specific yearly vaccine isn't possible.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 04:03 pm (UTC)He's a very fortunate kiddo to have parents so ready to advocate for him, and I'm pleased to hear his docs are so willing to work together to keep him healthy and safe. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 06:07 pm (UTC)