We Need More Money From You

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Understand something: allergy shots are nothing new to me. I had allergy tests for the first time when I was about 15 months old. Needles have never bothered me because I was almost literally born with a needle hanging out of my arm! And, in the 40 years or so (give or take a few healthy years when I didn't need shots) that I've been getting allergy shots, I have never had any nurse ask me if I had an Epipen, an emergency response medication in case of an acute reaction to the allergy shot. That is, until today. "Do you have an Epipen?" they asked before jabbing me in the arm. "No. Should I?" I guess it's the changing times. When I was little I got an allergy shot, then went back in the waiting room and waiting for 15 minutes so the nurse could check my arm for a reaction. Back in the 80s and early 90s the wait time moved up to 20 minutes. Then 30. Then 45 minutes. I'm sure, if I live to be 80, the wait time will be all day. Of course, most people don't wait. Myself included: I will wait to see if there's a reaction after the first shot from a new vial, but other than that I'm out the door as soon as I put a little pressure on the site to prevent bruising. Ah, but the nurse told me that a reaction can happen now as late as 24-48 hours after the injection. I guess they always could, but they're just finding this out now with advancements in research. Or maybe they just want some more money from me for the Epipen. No, Neil, not that needle!