Fire Ant Allergy

David, Jr. had an allergic reaction to ant bites last week. We gave him Benadryl, and he got much better, but later in the day I decided to take him to the doctor anyway. The doctor suggested going to an allergist. Today we went, and we were given a prescription for 2 boxes of epi pens (4 pens total). One will be kept here at home. The other box will be kept at school.

The good news is that if he gets bit and there is only a rash, he can have just Benadryl. He only needs the epi pen if he is coughing or having trouble breathing.

The really good news is that the doctor said that venomous bug bite allergy shots are 95% effective. This means that once he starts the shots in about a month and a half, he will likely start getting better. Within six months of starting the allergy shots, he will likely have a less severe reaction. (That means that perhaps by Easter we won't have to worry about the epi pen as much!) He'll continue taking the shots for 3 to 5 years but will likely no longer have a severe reaction after that.

Since we are going to have him take allergy shots, we are going to have him tested for other environmental allergens (pollen, dust mites, etc.). We know that he has seasonal allergies, so we figured we might as well get things tested and try to help improve his health as much as we can. After his testing, if we decide that we should treat him for his allergies using allergy shots, we can, but if we decide that the allergens are ones that he rarely comes in contact with (like cats, since we don't have one), we can decide not to give him shots for those.

This week, we are making two boxes for school with Benadryl, an epi pen, a note from the doctor, phone numbers, a photo of David, and instructions about when to give what. One box will go in the school office and the other will be in his classroom. His teacher, the school secretary, and the P.E. coach are meeting with me so that I can tell them what his allergy is and any information that might help them if he ever needs to be treated at school. Our secretary has a practice epi pen, and she is going to show me and his teacher how to use it. I'm very happy about that since I have no idea how to use one!

We are very thankful that fire ant bite allergies are one of the most easily treated. We are also thankful that we have a wonderful school that is helping us by teaching us how to use the epi pen and also taking care to be aware so that if something happens at school, David will be taken care of.