Every year that goes by there are more children and adults who develop allergies to something, be it to some food, either to some environmental factor that causes it in the spring, or throughout the year if we talk about mites and other non-seasonal factors, They are suffering the symptoms day after day.
Given these situations, and especially when allergies are very annoying in children and cause them to suffer other associated diseases (such as bronchitis), in addition to antihistamines it can be a good remedy to make use of allergy vaccines. To tell you about them, so that you know them, so that you know in what cases they are used today we talk about them: everything there is to know about allergy shots.
There are more and more cases of allergy
Before I started talking about the topic, I wanted to comment on a reality that surely many of you have suspected or found: every year that passes there more cases of allergy. I myself, with my 36 years, have had to take this year antihistamines on more than one occasion and put drops in my eyes when it had never happened before. Something similar is happening with children. Do you remember that in your childhood children had a food allergy? Yes, of course, some of the class could not eat something, but we could count on the fingers of one hand. Now he who is not allergic or intolerant of something is something else, and in the end one does not know what to put on the table when inviting your child's friends to snack.
The reason? Well, it's not one, but several. On the one hand we are charging the planet: the level of pollution is high, the heating it makes it not so cold in winter and that pollen production starts earlier and, moreover, more intensely, and the type of crops and pest control methods are making many foods "feel" attacked and defend themselves turning more allergens. On the other hand, excessive hygiene and care at home is making the children's defense system go a little "crazy" and react to what should not react: more and more children with food allergies, intolerances, atopic dermatitis, etc.
Once the allergy occurs, can you get vaccinated?
The allergy shots They have a double mission. On the one hand, help the child avoid allergy symptoms and on the other, in the long term, solve the allergy (if possible). They are called hyposensitizers and are used in people with an allergy to inhaled environmental substances (those that breathe) and against the venom of bees and wasps, due to the obvious risk of stinging. If you look, they are a treatment for those uncontrollable agents, because a person allergic to a food avoids symptoms by not eating it, but a person allergic to dust or pollen has it quite raw.
In view of having to always be medicated to control the symptoms, or if they are becoming stronger, the use of a vaccine is recommended to help reduce the amount of medication that should be taken or even cure the allergy. They are also often used when the child, in addition to having an allergy, suffers from asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis or bronchitis.
In the case of atopic dermatitis, food allergy, medications and contact dermatitis they are not used, although some are under study and development and there may soon be a vaccine for some foods.
How do hyposensitizing vaccines work?
When a child is allergic to something, it seems that the best thing to do is completely remove him from what causes him allergy. However, as there are things that you can not get away from, as we have already mentioned (dust mites, pollen, bees or wasps, ...), it is important to try to find a solution that can help you live with it. This is done precisely by injecting what gives you allergy but in controlled quantities so that your body, your immune system, gradually get used to it.
It begins with very low amounts and is gradually increasing, and over the years, so that protective antibodies are produced and other changes are generated at the lymphocyte level. Let's say that what is sought is that the body stops reacting aggressively against something that should not cause a reaction.
Are they optional vaccines?
Allergy shots, like any treatment, are optional, but It is the specialist who recommends it. That is, if the child has few symptoms, if they happen in isolation, if the medication works for him, if it is easy to get away from the allergen and in general it evolves well, it is not necessary to use them.
If instead the child suffers intense, frequent symptoms, which are not solved well with medication and that are increasing, it is very likely that the allergist recommends vaccines after doing the corresponding study.
In case the child is allergic to several things the success rate is lower, because the immune system does not change in the same way: you sensitize for what you want, through the vaccine, but as the body continues to react to other things success is less than if it only reacts to one thing (which is what goes into the vaccine).
When to start vaccines?
Vaccines begin to be administered when the allergy is identified and when it is considered to be effective. It is not that you have to wait long, because if the symptoms are already very evident it can be more difficult to achieve sensitization, but you also do not have to run as soon as the allergy is diagnosed because Interested to know how allergy affects the child, how the situation changes over time, what are the symptoms and if it is possible to control or not with medication. When it is seen that the vaccine may be necessary, it is administered as soon as possible, because in that way the final success rate is higher.
If you are wondering the age of onset, say that they are usually administered from 5 years. Before that age it can also be done, but it is usually done only if the symptoms are evident and medication control is complicated.
Once the child begins to be vaccinated ...
At first the changes are minimal, because the amount of allergen injected is low and no changes have been made in the immune system. This means that, in the first months, it is rare to appreciate an obvious improvement. When the child has been half a year, or even one year with the vaccine, is when we can notice that the symptoms are not so strong at the same time. And when it takes two years or three, the difference should be more significant.
What is usually achieved is an improvement in symptoms. The child, before the same allergen, has less reaction and needs less medication. Sometimes it is possible that the child can live without medication, then overcoming the allergy. If it returns over time, the vaccine can be re-administered to reduce symptoms again.
It may happen that vaccines do not have the expected effect. This may be due to the fact that the child is allergic to more than one thing and that is why changes are not appreciated or that the dose of the vaccine has not been sufficient. If so, the specialist will have to reassess the situation in case it is worth following, modify the dose or stop the treatment.
What is vaccination?
The allergy vaccines are individual and are created based on the component that the child needs and the dose that will cause the onset of desensitization. They are stored in the refrigerator (they cannot be frozen) and only taken out on the day they should be administered in the hospital or health center (they can be out of the fridge for 6-8 hours, but obviously not in a place in the sun) . At first, because of the risk of the body reacting more than expected, vaccines are given in a hospital where immediate response can be given in case of allergic reaction. Once the first stage is exceeded, the rest of the doses can be administered in the primary care center of reference, although always wait 30 minutes after administration in case there is a local or general reaction.
Possible contraindications
Vaccines can be given to virtually anyone, as they do not affect in any way the need to take another medication. If the child has to take an antibiotic, anti-thermal, an anti-inflammatory or has to be vaccinated for the infectious ones, he can do it. Keep in mind that it is 2 or 3 years that you can be with an allergy vaccine, imagine that you could not take medication at that time.
It is only contraindicated in case of serious illness, whether chronic or acute, such as heart disease, infections or hypertension. Also in case of severe atopic dermatitis, severe asthma or autoimmune diseases under immunosuppressive treatment.
On the day of the vaccine, if the child has a fever or if he has symptoms of respiratory infection or asthma, it should be evaluated by the doctor, as it may be better to wait until he is recovered.
Side effects of allergy shots
Side effects can be local or general. The premises are those that appear in the place where it has been administered and the generals if it affects the body in any way. The premises are relatively common and consist of redness of the area where the vaccine has been punctured. Redness and slight swelling that may appear in the first half hour or later. In this case, local cold should be applied and, if it is larger than 5 cm (in children), the specialist should assess the possibility of reducing the dose. Sometimes it may be necessary to give the antihistamine child to lower the reaction a little.
The generals are more dangerous, because they affect receiving the allergen with a major reaction: skin, respiratory, cough, respiratory distress, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, etc. Faced with this situation, we must act immediately to avoid a worsening of the situation (that is why we have to wait 30 minutes in the health center) and then evaluate whether or not to continue with the vaccine.
What if the day of the vaccine must be given another vaccine?
It is strange that it happens, but sometimes the child is on a schedule of hyposensitizing vaccine and has a date for a vaccine from the calendar of infectious diseases very close to it, or even on the same day. The ideal in this regard is to separate them a few days. If the allergy is first administered, just wait 48 hours to administer the other. If on the contrary first the infectious one is administered, it is recommended to wait a week to put the one of the allergy.
