Other treatments available to help control allergy symptoms include:

• Epinephrine. This is an emergency drug used to treat severe asthma attacks or allergic reactions. In rare cases, children exposed to an allergen will experience a potentially life-threatening reaction called anaphylactic shock that involves difficulty breathing and a drop in blood pressure. An injected dose of epinephrine is necessary to reverse the symptoms.
  
  A physician may prescribe an emergency allergy kit for children with a history of allergic reactions involving two or more body systems (anaphylaxis). While anaphylaxis can be mild, it can also progress quickly into anaphylactic shock. For people prone to anaphylaxis, it is not possible to predict whether a reaction is likely to be mild or life threatening. Allergy kits contain a dose of epinephrine that can be self-injected, or injected by a parent or other caretaker.
  
  Examples of auto-injector epinephrine medications (all prescription relievers) include:
• • EpiPen
  • EpiPen Jr.
  • Ana-Kit
  • Ana-Guard
    
    
• Leukotriene modifiers. These relatively new medications are designed to prevent asthma attacks, but may also be used to prevent symptoms of some allergic conditions (e.g., allergic rhinitis). They target leukotrienes, which are chemicals that inflame the lining of airways and cause symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath. Children 12 months and older can be prescribed leukotriene modifiers. Some studies have indicated that these prescription drugs may be more effective when combined with antihistamines, thereby shutting down two major chemicals in airway constriction, histamines and leukotrienes.
  
  It should be noted that leukotriene modifiers have not been found to be as effective as inhaled corticosteroids, and that there is not yet a body of evidence to conclusively state that leukotriene modifiers are an effective means of treating allergic rhinitis by themselves. Parents are encouraged to discuss the risks and benefits of leukotriene modifiers use with their child’s physician.
  
  
• Anti-IgE antibody. Medications that disrupt the sequence of events that causes an allergic reaction – known as the allergic cascade. They are taken through an injection every two to four weeks and work by stopping the release of histamine, which causes allergy symptoms.
  
  Anti-IgE antibody medications are still new in the United States and are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only for use in patients over the age of 12. Some physicians may prescribe this type of medication to children under 12, but there is currently no clinical data available on the safety of such use. Parents should feel free to discuss the risks and benefits of this type of treatment with their child’s physician.

While not medication, allergy shots (immunotherapy) are another form of allergy treatment. During this treatment, low doses of an allergen are periodically injected into a patient over a period of months or years to increase the patient’s tolerance to the allergen. This reduces symptoms brought on by an allergic reaction. Typically, allergy shots are recommended after use of medications has failed to control symptoms, or to prevent cases of whole-body allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis.