my son cant get the flu shot

[Anonymous]

My 1 yr old is allergic to eggs and since the flu shots are egg based he can not get the shots. I'm very worried because he goes to day care and is around other kids. Does anyone else have this problem? What recomedations do you have? I hate the idea of having to avoid playgroups and activiites with other kids.

[Anonymous]

Does your son see an allergist? Some will give flu shots in mini-doses controlled at their office.

[Anonymous]

My son has not gotten the shot yet. Part of it is because I am hesitant to get the shot, and part of is that everytime I make the plans to go to a clinic, my son gets sick - I don't want to get him a shot while he is sick and certinaly don't want to expose all the high risk people to a sick kid.

So we are just doing a lot of handwashing, eating good foods (keep up immunity), and encouraging him to drink tea (I read that drinking warm liquids helps to wash away the flu bug from the throat - don't know if it works, but I figure it can't hurt).

I also am washing him well from head to toe each night since there have been a lot of sick kids at preschool. Again, don't know if this really helps, but just doing what I can.

[Anonymous]

OP- No i haven't taken him to a specialist yet. HIs results from the blood work came back pretty high for egg and peanut allergies. But then again how acurate is this test? It also came back slight allergic to soy, wheat and cow milk. Which he loves tofu, always eats wheat baby cereal and yogurt.

[Anonymous]

OP, if were you I'd make sure I urged everyone else to get the shot at daycare. This is one of the reasons I got my kids vaccinated and got myself vaccinated when the opportunity came up, I know there are kids with egg allergies at the daycare, so it is my responsibility to get some herd immunity to protect them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- No i haven't taken him to a specialist yet. HIs results from the blood work came back pretty high for egg and peanut allergies. But then again how acurate is this test? It also came back slight allergic to soy, wheat and cow milk. Which he loves tofu, always eats wheat baby cereal and yogurt.

You should talk to your doctor about it. You aren't automatically excluded from vaccines just because of an egg allergy.

[Anonymous]

maybe ask his doc if he can get the mist?

[Anonymous]

Blood allergy test have a level of false positive.
Why don't you make an appointment with an allergist ASAP (as they take a long time before seeing a new patient) to get the H1N1 vaccine (Georgetown or Children's hospital for instance).
Many kid who test positive for egg allergy (with a real test) are not positive for the vaccine itself. They'll test both on his back before deciding whether or how to proceed.

[Anonymous]

OP, I strongly agree with those who have urged you to see an allergist. After getting a two uneventful flu shots (at 6 mo and 1 yr 3 mo), DS had a blood test showing that he too had developed an egg allergy. For two years, his allergist gave him his flu shots in small doses (which gave him small, temporary welts up and down his arm at each injection site), with someone standing by in case the reaction became more severe. He was unhappy, but not more so than for regular vaccinations. Since he has asthma, flu is nothing to fool around with, so this was judged to be the best solution. Thankfully, he has outgrown this allergy now. But getting advice from a good asthma/allergy doctor was invaluable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe ask his doc if he can get the mist?

The mist has egg in it, too.

[evelynk]

how severe are his egg allergies? my almost three year old's egg allergy was very very severe (in blood test and skin prick test, we got an epi-pen for it) for the first two years of her life and although she is still "allergic" when in comes to test numbers, she could eat baked egg goods and even ate an egg once (got hives). she got her first flu shot at the allergist office this year and i just got her the H1N1 vaccine today. no mist though - the mist contains live egg enzymes so it should be avoided. consult an allergist on this. if my child was only 1, i will be a bit worried giving it to him since he is still very young.

[Anonymous]

what is to be afraid of ? one year old does not need to socialize like crazy. he can hardly notice anyways... and putting him at risk in playgroups etc. is very questionable benefit. no one year old disintegrate by staying at home with parents and avoiding any social gatherings through the winter.
guaranteed. certified.

[Anonymous]

My daughter has an egg allergy, but we take her each year to the allergy Dr. who tests her for the current flu vaccine. She's gotten it two years in a row. I'm taking her again the 12/09 to get tested again for the H1N1 flu vaccine. If she does ok, then she can get that too. Please call/see an allergy Dr. Our Allergy Dr. is Dr. Bergman in Centreville, VA. They have a H1N1 flu clinic on the Dec. 9th, maybe more if they have the need and still have vaccines.