Yesterday we went to the allergist to get Mya her flu shot. She had to go there because they can do a diluted test to see if she will have a reaction to the vaccine which contains some egg protein. For some unknown reason, I scheduled her appointment at 2:00 which is the exact time she goes down for her afternoon nap. Luckily, Matt was home in the morning while I worked so he could put her down for a late morning nap. We arrived at the office at 1:30 in order to complete paperwork and hopefully get in early to see her allergist.
We began the visit with what they call a scratch test. The allergist puts a small amount of an extract of a potential allergen, in this case eggs, into a shallow scratch They prick her skin 3 times in her back. They prick one with egg, one as a negative control (placebo), and one as a postitive control (histamine). Then we wait 15 minutes to see if there is a reaction. No reaction. On to step 2. For the second step, they diluted the 2.5 mL shot into a .01 mL shot that they placed just under her skin. Then we wait 15 min. This time, she had a reaction. The injection site swelled and became rashy.
At this point, we had to make a decision. If she had a reaction to .01 of the vaccine amount, what kind of reaction would she have with the whole vaccine? I looked to the doctor for advice, but he then said what every mother dreads hearing. "You are the mother. You have to make this decision." What? I wanted to say, "You are the doctor. You have to make this decision." We decided to call Mya's peditrician and let her make the decision. She said we should go ahead with it. She wants Mya to get the H1N1 shot (if anyone ever gets it in stock) and this will be the only way to know if she will have a reaction to it. So, after asking and reasking if they have what they need in case of an emergency, we went ahead with the shot.
So, step 3. The allergists broke the vaccine into 3 parts. The first, was a dose of .5 mL. Then we wait 15 minutes. No reaction. The second, another dose of .5 mL. Then we wait 15 minutes. No reaction. Third, was the last and largest dose of 1.5 mL. Then we wait 30 minutes. Thank GOODNESS, no reaction.
Luckily, Mommy and Mya made it through this EGGsperience! Mya was SO good. She basically sat in a 6x6 room with no windows for 3 hours. She had very few toys, no snack, no nap, and a mom that didn't really want her crawling on a doctor's office floor. The staff at the allergist was wonderful. They allowed us to explore the entire office and play with an extremely annoying dancing, singing ghost...over...and over...and over! The wonderful nurse even sterilized a toy piggy bank that Mya played with for quite some time.
The good news is Mya did not have a severe reaction to the shot. The bad news is when a baby gets the flu vaccine for the first time, she has to get another one 1 month later. That means we have to go to the allergists again for our 3 part shot again in November. Luckily, we won't have to do the other tests next time. The other bad news is, next week we have to go the allergist for her MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. Because, it too, contains egg protein. Hopefully neither of these 2 appointments will turn into a 3 hour appointment like yesterday.
We left the office at 4:30. Mya was such a brave girl (although by the end she would scream at the near sight of any doctor, nurse, stethoscope, or needle). The poor baby was poked 7 times, who could blame her?
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