Vaccines and Peanut Allergies

Hi Ginger,
My 15 month old, 22 pound son was prescribed the epi-jr. I have read many posts here that say that this dosage is safe. I personally would not feel safe about loading a syringe and giving an injection during an exposure. I know what a nervous wreck I become, and I fear I would not give the injection properly. The epi-jr is so easy to administer.
I too wander what dd is, but have never posed the question here.

DD means darling daughter, DS means darling son, DH means darling husband, ect. [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] My dd [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] is almost 16 months old and weighs 21 pounds. She was given the EpiPen Jr. I, too worried about it because it says on the insert in the box a higher weight. But, I've spoke with several people and they seem to think it is safe. I would be too scared to worry about using a syringe. Maybe you should look into that. As for vaccines...my dd has had a rash the last two times she has had shots! The first time was awful, the second mild. She is not allergic to eggs, but I wonder about the gelatin in it. She gets a rash all over her body. The peds keep telling me it is normal, but we will discuss it further the next time she is suppossed to have her MMR. (That is what caused the first bad rash.) Shan

My non-allergic 2-yr-old son also had a full body rash after his last vaccination. This surprised and worried me since his brother(peanut, tree nut, egg, and pennicillin allergic) hasn't had a problem. The ped. told us it was normal and does happen to some children.

Ginger - Our allergist prescribed the same meds (glass vial and syringe) as yours did for our 25 pd 1 year old. We were terrified at the thought of having to do this correctly AND at the thought of having to train every grandparent, day care provider and 15 year old we got to babysit while we went to the movies.
I ENCOURAGE you to contact Dr. Wood at John Hopkins University (he was recommended to us by someone on this site). He apparently suffers from a peanut allergy and is an expert in this area. Dr. Wood took time out of seeing his patients to call us back personally to explain that Epi Pen Jr's are made for children under 44 pounds. His number is 410-955-5883. He was very direct and to the point that this was serious. We really appreicated that. (Anyone of you who have spoken with him please speak up if I have any of this wrong.)
After speaking with Dr. Wood we contacted out pediatrician (not allergist) and asked for the Epi-pen Jr. He did some research and after an hour we had 2 Epi pen jrs ready at the pharmacy.
Recently, we had the moment of truth and I had to administer Epi meds to save my sons life (we also almost had to do it last week too). I was grateful that I did NOT have to break open a glass vial, measure out Epi meds., hold down a wild one year old and give the shot. I was shaking and I had five adults watching me give the Epi Pen Jr med. I was very nervous. IT WORKED! NO ILL EFFECTS! By the time we got to the hospital he was doing great.
I hope this helps! This is a very scarey!
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Kelly M
Another Mom in Michigan
[This message has been edited by Kelly Morse (edited July 05, 1999).]