No More Vaccinations.....

at least for a while. Maddox had his DTaP today and had a pretty bad allergic reaction to it. Thankfully I had an appt scheduled for myself right after his shot, so we were at the Dr.'s office when the reaction started.

About 5-10 minutes after his shot, Maddox started coughing, sneezing and blowing his nose. And I mean really sneezing. Sneeze after sneeze after sneeze. The nurse and I were'nt sure if it was a reaction at first or not, or if there was something in the air (a lot of construction is going on around the clinic), but then his little face and ears turned bright red and the coughing got worse and so did the sneezing. She got the Dr. and he listened to his heart and lungs and felt Maddox wasn't going into anaphalatic shock, but was definitely having a reaction. We gave him Benadryl. And the Dr had the nurse get the nebulizer and epinephrine ready..just in case.

Then, he got redder and redder and started getting a couple hives on his stomach, and hives all around the injection site. He was scratching everywhere and his whole body was turning red and blotchy. The Dr. came back in and we gave him another dose of Benadryl, but his heart and lungs still sounded good (thankfully). By this point, Maddox is inconsolable and getting hard to hold. He is screaming and crying and thrashing and that went on for over 30 minutes. The Benadryl must have started kicking in then, because he started calming down, however his body was still red and becoming covered in hives and was puffy. (the picture at the top is if Maddox when he was starting to feel a lot better and when the reddness was going away. I think you can still see some of the reddness. He seriously looked like a tomato, or at the very least like someone with a severe sunburn...he was redder than that little cup on his highchair tray)

The Dr and nurse kept coming in and checking in on us, and we ended up staying about 2 hours. Our Dr called the allergist who said the worst of the reaction would have happened by then, so it was safe to go home.

So, i took our little red, blotchy boy home. I called the allergist to ask how long we could expect Maddox to be all red and congested and they said probably 1-2 days, but couldn't guarantee anything. Then they prescribed prednisone to help with the reaction. When we were at home, his little lips had a bluish tinge to them and the allergist said that was due to swelling around the mouth. His little fingers and toes had a bit of bluish tinge as well.

Maddox then ate a little bit and fell asleep in my arms and as soon as he fell asleep, the reddness, blotchiness, and hives all went away. It was amazing. My mom came over and stayed with him as I went to pick up the prescription.

He did well the rest of the day, but this evening he started sounding congested again, so I gave him more Benadryl. I am hoping not to have to give him the steroid, but if he is congested tomorrow or red or hivey, I will.

All in all, too much of an exciting day for me. I was so scared. I have never seen him so red or uncomfortable and the fact that Benadryl didn't help right away really scared me. I am soooo thankful I had an appt for myself right after, or the reaction would have hit in the van on the ride home. I really didn't think he would react to this vaccine. I had him tested for Prevnar earlier this month, and it was negative and he had 2 half doses of Prevnar and did fine. Both the DTaP and the Prevnar had casamino something or other in them and that was the concerning ingredient, but because he did so well with the Prevnar, the allergist felt he would be fine with the DTaP, and I thought that as well.

When we do start up the vaccines again (and who knows when that will be) I think I will have him tested for every single one of them and have them given in half doses. Maybe that was the difference between the Prevnar and DTap. Who knows.

Our nurse and Dr were so nice and wonderful though. My appt was one that was squeezed in, in the first place and so was Maddox's. But the Dr came into our room between every patient and listened to Maddox's heart and lungs and our nurse was in about every 10 minutes checking in on us. When I made my appt, the scheduler had said "this will be a quick appt, I am squeezing you in, the Dr is full for the day"..haha...make that a 2 hour appt.

So, I canceled working tomorrow, so I could be home with Maddox because he will probably be reacting tomorrow. Man, sometimes these allergies suck. I really hope he outgrows this sensitivity someday soon. I struggle because I just want to keep him safe all the time, and I just can't. I really researched this vaccination, went to the professionals, changed his vaccination schedule, and he still had a really bad reaction. It's frustrating.

But I suppose the point in parenting isn't keeping my children safe from everything...I really can't, but trusting God with Maddox and Mason and trusting He will get us through whatever we go through is what I need to do. And He did today. And everything ended up being OK and Maddox was not seriously harmed and we were surrounded by medical professionals with all the necessary equipment to help Maddox. Still, I really wish Maddox would outgrow these allergies soon.