Travel with alergies

[Fred Dantzler]

We want to travel but my wife takes weekly alergy shots. Anybody know if these can be taken in dif. cities?

[Kirk W]

6 minutes ago, Fred Dantzler said:

We want to travel but my wife takes weekly alergy shots.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! There may be a couple of options that would work such as self administered shots or the doctor could teach you to give the shots, as our doctor taught our son to self administer and my wife to be his backup. Most allergy shots can be handled that way and the medication could be shipped to you like other prescription medications. 

There may be others here who have dealt with the allergy issue so hopefully they will join in. 

[2gypsies]

I'd first recommend that you talk to your doctor.  He may have recommendations.  It might depend on what kind of allergies - food, environmental.  As you travel you're going to be surrounded by different pollens.  Perhaps if you get your doctor's OK you could carry your prescription and stop at an Urgent Care facility as you travel.

[folivier]

I was strongly considering taking the tests and then the shots but traveling would make that difficult.  My doctor gave me an Rx for Singulair.  Normally taken for asthma but is used also for allergies.  Remarkable results.  I'll occasionally feel something allergy related but take a Zyrtec at night and have been cleared the next morning since I started the daily Singulair.

[lappir]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:46 AM, Fred Dantzler said:

We want to travel but my wife takes weekly alergy shots. Anybody know if these can be taken in dif. cities?

Best place to go for answers to that question is to have your Wife inquire from her "Allergy" physician

Depending on they type of allergies, her reactions to said allergies  and how long she has been taking the "Shots". In the initial phase of those injections they must always be done at an office with the appropriate emergency equipment available. Some are able to be done by a trained family member only if the injections have been successful for an extended time and attempts to wean from them have failed. 

I am a licensed health care provider, but the information provided is not a prescription nor a consultation, just a general answer to the question posed above. 

 

Rod

[Fred Dantzler]

Thanks

[Kirk W]

Let us know how things work out. We want to help in any way that we are able.

[bruce t]

The problem I see is the definition of allergies. So many different allergies.

I'm a bad hay fever sufferer. So we travel with a bag full of hay fever pills.

We all so both have bad food allergies. The ones caused by visiting too many restaurants!! 😁

Don't let allergies stop your dreams. There are many ways to work with or around them. I suffer from cluster headaches and migraines. If I let them rule my life it would be a sad sad existence.

[JimK]

It sounds like she is taking desensitization shots.  These sorts of programs are specific to the individual, their allergies, and the plan to desensitize.  You are not likely to be able to just drop in on another allergist and have them administer the correct shot.  If you are going to a specific location and there is an allergist nearby, perhaps your wife's current allergist can consult and make arrangements with the new allergist to continue therapy.

For a short trip it might be possible for an allergist to provide a dose or two for self administration, but I doubt it.  Desensitization means being injected with a substance the individual is allergic to.  The idea is to administer small amounts to deplete the patient's antibodies without causing a reaction or stimulating more antibody production.  It is all but black magic and something the allergist needs to assess constantly.

[Second Chance]

2 hours ago, JimK said:

It sounds like she is taking desensitization shots.  These sorts of programs are specific to the individual, their allergies, and the plan to desensitize.  You are not likely to be able to just drop in on another allergist and have them administer the correct shot.  If you are going to a specific location and there is an allergist nearby, perhaps your wife's current allergist can consult and make arrangements with the new allergist to continue therapy.

For a short trip it might be possible for an allergist to provide a dose or two for self administration, but I doubt it.  Desensitization means being injected with a substance the individual is allergic to.  The idea is to administer small amounts to deplete the patient's antibodies without causing a reaction or stimulating more antibody production.  It is all but black magic and something the allergist needs to assess constantly.

I would agree with this. When I was doing the desensitization thing, I administered my own injections (I'm a retired Army nurse, so not a big deal). I she or her husband are willing to learn how - and it's OK with her allergist - this is an option for the road. The vials are just stored in the refrigerator and she'd need to have Epi-Pens with her.

Rob

[KodiakJack]

See if her doctor would set her up with allergies-drops (for lack of a better term).  These are brewed/mixed after testing for a particular persons  allergies and simply put under their toung as prescribed.  Works well both the wife have done this.

Later,

J

[Solo18]

Also, you are going to be subjected to many different allergens than the ones handled by the allergy shots.  I do a lot of traveling as I full-time, and I found that southeast US allergens are worse for me--mostly pine and other plants that thrive in warm, moist places.  These change when I go to the Northwest, where the climate is cold and moist.  Deserts are usually good, but depends on time of year.

Just telling you this so you will not be surprised when place and time of year affect your wife's allergies.  Medications such as Singular are a big help in those cases. 

Don't give up traveling, but do keep in touch with your allergist.