Allergies or colds?

[crl]

Last winter we had what we thought were 5 rounds of colds between the months of November and April. Then things cleared up and we've had mild seasonal allergies over the summer months. Now it's November again and we've already had 3 rounds of something. I'm being to think there is something that is causing a much worse case of allergies in the winter months once the house has been shut up for the season. I had the kids both tested for allergies using a blood test last spring, but it came back negative. (They said it's 80% accurate, though it didn't show DS's milk allergy.) Does it seem like it's time to ask for the prick allergy testing, or is it really just a bunch of colds? Any and all thoughts are welcome.

Other factors you may need to know:
Our home was built in 2006, we moved in Nov 2006.
We have hardwood/laminate flooring through the entire house.
We have a 7 year old indoor dog (boxer).
We live in Central PA not too far from Penn State University.

 

[crysplefty]

Our pediatrician recently told me that children have an average of 10-12 colds a year, so it is possible that they have colds. But if they start with the congestion/runny nose every year around the same time, it could be allergies that eventually cause the cold. Whenever my kids start with the congestion and runny nose I start them on zyrtec, since they are both allergy sufferers.

 

[crl]

Oh, our symptoms are:
starts with itchy/scratchy throat and some nasal pressure, we get this a couple times a month
sometimes it stops here other times it moves into a full blown stuffy nose with sneezing and alternating drippy nose or swollen shut nose for 2 or 3 days

 

[crl]

We have not found claratin or zyrtec to help once we have symptoms. Do these medications take a few days to start working or should we be noticing relief within the first dose or so?

 

[turkeymama]

We have not found claratin or zyrtec to help once we have symptoms. Do these medications take a few days to start working or should we be noticing relief within the first dose or so?

My kids and I have to take Zyrtec for a week or so before the allergy season kicks off in order for it to work. I have never noticed an immediate relief from either one of them. We normally take Zyrtec daily during the spring and fall allergy seasons.

 

[mjkacmom]

As a person with bad seasonal allergies (almost everything came back moderate/severe on the scratch test), your symptoms sound more like a cold than allergies. Winter is my only season where most of my allergy symptoms go away. The test is no big deal, especially if you don't have allergies (my arms iched like crazy, as did ds11's and ds6's).

 

[Mathfailure]

As someone who also has had allergies for ever, and tested many times, the blood test is a better indicator than the skin test, for what specific allergens they are testing for...it will not just show what you are allergic too you need to test specifically for something.

The skin test drives me mad because of the itching, but I also react to just about everything they test me for, but again it has to be tested for or you would not react.

Do you have indoor pets? A shut up house might intensify the allergens.

Mold, dust mites, again the shut up house may hold more.

Really does sound more like colds. Is your house really dry? Try adding mositure to the air for the sinuses.

Hope you find out what is causing it all. The feeling is miserable, colds or allergies.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

When you close up your house for the winter the forced air from the heater can make it really dry and that can cause scratchy throats and stuffy noses, have you tried a humidifier?

 

[GoodFairies]

Without getting too disgusting, you can usually tell from the mucus whether you have allergies or infection. With allergies the mucus is normally clear to white.

 

[crl]

Our mucus is clear.

Is it possible to have something trigger your allergies and have it turn into a cold? My DH swears that every time his allergies were aggravated as a kid he ended up with some sort of cold or infection.

 

[GoodFairies]

Allergies can't turn into a cold, but the can leave the pathway open so to speak for colds to invade, particularly if you are treating the allergies with an immune-suppressing drug.

The allergy test done by blood or prick has nothing to do with food allergies usually. It is testing for environmental allergen reactions, like molds, trees/flowers, and pets.

From what I've heard the prick test is more accurate than the blood test, but I am not really sure. It is uncommon, but possible to have environmental allergies this time of year. But like another person said, I would try a humidifier in the home if the air is dry. Any kind of good allergy medication needs to get into your system to work, and it will take more that just a day or so.

 

[crysplefty]

Our mucus is clear.

Is it possible to have something trigger your allergies and have it turn into a cold? My DH swears that every time his allergies were aggravated as a kid he ended up with some sort of cold or infection.

It is possible that they could have a sinus infection which can be caused from allergies. Since your DH had allergies as a kid it is very possible this is what your kids are suffering from. It is very common for people (kids and adults) to have sinus infections this time of the year and the culprit could be their allergies. I would take your kids to an ent instead of a pediatrician to determine what your kids have.