Eating a virus

[Aint Doody]

Another believer in immunotherapy. I gave myself 4 shots each week for 5 years. I'd taken antihistamines everyday for 25 years before I did this. When I was tested for 45 inhalants in our area, I was allergic to all but 5 items. Now I only have to take antihistamines in the early fall. Sooooo much better than not being able to breathe.

[bmccasland]

I'd go for immunotherapy for allergies if I knew I'd stay put geographically - but my roots haven't grown very deep yet. Been here 6 years, and have the itch to move again. As for treatment for the really dangerous things - I've lived this long without knowing I even had a food allergy, and I can recount the number of times I've been stung by a wasp that prompted me to actually use the Epi-pen, so I'm not certain immunotherapy treatment would be worth it. So far avoidace has worked rather well.

Long time ago, when I was trying to save money and didn't have health insurance - I had syringes & vials of epinephrine - so when I got stung, I had to snap the top of the vial, draw the epi up in the syringe, then give myself a shot. Felt like a junkie felt (I suppose) needing a fix - got to have my fix or I'm going to die. On the other hand, when I was married to a paramedic, my husband would trade out my vials of epi for fresh vials at the hospital pharmacy, so I didn't need a new Rx for over 10 years (after we got divorced). Self injecting Epi-pens are much easier to use when you're about to black out from lack of oxygen than trying to load a syringe and give yourself a shot. I'll take the $20 Epi-pen if I had a choice.

[OakLeaf]

wow, where do you get an EpiPen for $20?? My insurance reimburses mine, but they're around $50 at Walgreens and CVS.

Ana-Kits come with the syringe pre-loaded. You still have to give yourself the shot, but at least you don't have to draw up the serum.

[malkin]

I was just reading about Norovirus and found this in a list of ways to prevent its spread:

Food and Water Safety

Avoid joining an estimated 9.2 million cases of foodborne norovirus infections each year by preventing food contamination. Always wash raw food before eating, and don't eat food prepared by someone who is ill until 2-3 days after symptoms have cleared.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0131121800.htm

So maybe you can eat a virus after all.