Anybodys kids on allergy meds?

[720L]

Does anybody have a kid who is taking a prescription allergy med? My DD7 has been miserable this past month, stuffy all the time. Claritin only works for a few hours. Benedryl allergy doesn't work. She also has had a cough that comes and goes (including in the middle of the night) so I give her Dimetapp cold and cough and that seems to work, but you have to give it to her every 6 hours and I don't want her filled with meds. We have Zyrtek that the dr prescribed I'm just nervous about giving it to her because of side effects. She sees an allergist in a couple weeks. I'm wondering what med your kid takes and how well it works.

 

[barkley]

just a suggestion-with my kids (and me) the allergy tests showed a small intolerance to milk products (along with hay fever and such)-and i found that when i cut out the milk their symptoms disappeared such that no allergy meds were needed.

they/i showed no other negative reactions to milk products, and in fact they are fine drinking them in the non pollen heavy months.

so you might want to give a dairy free diet (or at least just milk-my kids are fine with cheese and occasional ice-cream) a try.

also try a cool mist humidifier in her room at night-if you use a/c or heaters alot it can dry out the air (i can sleep through the night with one on, without i wake my self up coughing or trying to breathe).

best wishes to your dd.

 

[720L]

Thank you! I'm going to try the cool mist humidifier thing-I read that on the internet. She only drinks milk in her cereal and a glass at dinner. She likes ice cream but not cheese. Do you think that little bit of milk at dinner and in her cereal could do it? I am desparate to try anything right now. I would like to avoid the allergist but I have no choice. We do have a cat I'm anxious to see if shes allergic to him. We were at Disney last week though, and she drank no milk and the cat wasn't around but she was still coughing and sniffling.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Coughing could be a symptom of asthma. Make sure you double check that.

Well....as allergy sufferers here, the thing that really works is to practice better "allergy prevention" living at home. Drugs only work so far. (I hate my allerigies.)

Vacuuming....vacuum all the time, including the mattreses. Get rid of dusty areas, blinds, wash curtains, damp rag dust instead of using aersol sprays.

No stuffed animals out at night. Stuffed animals are cute but horrible for the allergy kid. Put them up at night.

Keep bathroom doors shut or make sure showers/bath is dried out after every use.

No pets in bedrooms. Get rid of carpeting if you can. Carpeting is bad for sufferers. Old carpeting is like a death sentence.

There are lots more things to do, maybe read up on it. As far as the cat, it does NOT help.

 

[golfgal]

You described my DS13 to a T! When he was 5 he had all these symptoms, but mainly the cough. We treated him for allergies for about 3 years until we finally saw and allergy/asthma specialist. Turns out his main problem is asthma complicated by allergies. The only thing that works for his allergies is Allegra. Zyrtec was like taking water for him, did NOTHING for him. He is on advair for his asthma. The nighttime coughing is a BIG symptom of asthma.

Asthma isn't only the "gasping for breath" that most people associate with asthma. DS13 has never had that. His main issue is the coughing. Do not avoid the allergist.

 

[720L]

TheMysteryMachine: I have read up on it. She only has 3 (Disney of course) stuffed animals in her room which I throw in the dryer every couple weeks. I have a Rainbow vacuum which I vacuum her room with twice a week. Baseboards twice a month. Her blinds are up all day (they fold up) so I don't think they collect much dust. We've been in our house (just built) only 6 months. I dry all showers and bathtubs after using. I vacuum her mattress once a month. Wash her sheets in hot water. I have the dust thingies on her mattress and pillows. Now the pet thing is a problem. I'm pretty sure she will be allergic to him. The kids LOVE this cat. WHat do I do if shes allergic to him? Of course he likes to hang out under her bed.

I'm worried about asthma. But she can run and play hard until this past month with no cough. I think she is so stuffy its post nasal drip making her cough. I was listening to her snore last night and she is taking a breath in, then coughing a little sometimes. You can hear the snot. Poor thing!!

One other thing I wonder about is the allergic to things like white flour in foods etc. Will the allergist check for this?

 

[frndofpooh]

My DS was on about 5 allergy meds before we started shots. The shots worked like a charm for about 3 years, but this year we had more trouble controlling the symptoms. His MD just prescribed Singulair (which helps with the asthma, coughing and nasal symptoms) and seems to be doing the trick. It's a good drug, minimal side effects, no sleepiness, and it works!

 

[wheeler1]

My son 10 was put on claritin this year. It works great so far.

But do you realize it needs to be taken every day and will not really be effective for about a week? Its not like a sinus med that you take as needed. My son was always stuffy, sneezing and blowing his nose. Now I hardly every hear him sneezing.

I hope you figure this out soon!

 

[720L]

My son 10 was put on claritin this year. It works great so far.

But do you realize it needs to be taken every day and will not really be effective for about a week? Its not like a sinus med that you take as needed. My son was always stuffy, sneezing and blowing his nose. Now I hardly every hear him sneezing.

I hope you figure this out soon!

Yes a Pharmacist finally told me this a few weeks ago. I had her on it for 10 days and saw little improvement except for maybe a few hours. She still was stuffy at night. THis is so frustrating!!!!

 

[golfgal]

TheMysteryMachine: I have read up on it. She only has 3 (Disney of course) stuffed animals in her room which I throw in the dryer every couple weeks. I have a Rainbow vacuum which I vacuum her room with twice a week. Baseboards twice a month. Her blinds are up all day (they fold up) so I don't think they collect much dust. We've been in our house (just built) only 6 months. I dry all showers and bathtubs after using. I vacuum her mattress once a month. Wash her sheets in hot water. I have the dust thingies on her mattress and pillows. Now the pet thing is a problem. I'm pretty sure she will be allergic to him. The kids LOVE this cat. WHat do I do if shes allergic to him? Of course he likes to hang out under her bed.

I'm worried about asthma. But she can run and play hard until this past month with no cough. I think she is so stuffy its post nasal drip making her cough. I was listening to her snore last night and she is taking a breath in, then coughing a little sometimes. You can hear the snot. Poor thing!!

One other thing I wonder about is the allergic to things like white flour in foods etc. Will the allergist check for this?

Chances are the allergist will test for the most common allergens at first, then if she reacts to something or a lot of them, might do more tests. DS13 actually didn't react to any allergens, which is common for kids, but she said I can just LOOK at him and see the allergies, dark circles under his eyes, the swollen nasal passages, etc.

One thing you can do before you see the allergist is get her to use this saline nasal rinse. It is kind of gross but it really WORKS. It is just salt water squirted up their nose, not any kind of medication at all. http://www.unimedprod.com/ . My kids hate doing it but they know it helps, a lot, so they do it.

We had wood floors in our old house and have mostly carpet in the new house. I have noticed a HUGE difference with the kids and their allergies since we moved. We will be putting in wood floors ASAP. Another thing you can do since your house is new is have the heat registers cleaned out. There are companies that do that and it makes a huge difference in the amount of dust in the house (helps with cleaning too). There is probably a lot of construction dust/drywall dust in the ducts and having them cleaned is a good idea.

 

[720L]

Well we have all wood floors except for the bedrooms and tv room. The builder claims they cleaned out the heat ducts, but I've found things in some of them so they probably didn't do that good of a job. I've also been using the allergy detergent for clothes (no scent).

This saline rinse does what? I'll try anything. When we fly her ped told us to give her a nasal spray (i think it was a decongestant) and that worked really good. Is it something like that?

 

[cepmom]

my DD8 is on Allegra, Singulair and Nasonex(nasal spray) for allergies/asthma. She started a few years ago with ongoing ear infections which prompted us to see the allergy specialist. She had the allergy testing done and was found to be allergic to cats and tree pollen so we started her on Claritin which worked well for a while then stopped being effective. On subsequent visits, she was switched to Allegra and Flonase, then eventually to the Nasonex.

One spring/summer a couple of years ago, she started with a cough that lasted for weeks. I took her to the pediatrician and she thought it sounded like asthma and prescribed a nebulizer treatment. After about 1 week - 10 days of that, there was very little improvement and we went off to see the allergy/asthma specialist again. He did diagnose her with allergy induced asthma and prescribed the albuterol inhalor and Singulair. She has been good ever since. She very rarely uses the inhalor....I don't think she has used it at all this year.

Definitely go to the specialist to see what's up....DD was miserable and by finding out what the underlying problem was we were able to treat her easily making her life much nicer!

 

[golfgal]

It sounds like you are doing everything you can for the home to keep the allergens to a minimum. She is most likely allergic to something outside, pollens, grasses, etc. I know early June and fall are DS's worst times, the Cottonwood trees in June and pretty much everything in the fall gets him. Have your DD shower every night to wash any pollens, etc off her skin/hair and change her pillow case frequently. That will help some as well. Once you get her on a med that works for her you will notice the difference.

A friend of mine's DD has had allergy symptoms for years and they have been treating her with over the counter stuff with little success. This past fall she had a really bad time and I finally convinced her mom to take her to our allergy/asthma dr. They tested her for 50 different allergens and she was allergic to 45 of the. She is not on meds and shots and after a few months of these she said she feels like a whole new person (she is 15).

 

[lfeikert]

My DS2 began having trouble with constant runny nose and cough when he was about 18 months old. He would also get a rash on his face and tummy form time to time. His pediatrician couldn't believe that he would have allergies that young, but thought we should try the Zyrtec to see what happened. It did the trick He has to take it in the spring and continue through the fall. He is on Nasonex nose spray, too. He has no side effects from the Zyrtec and it really does make him feel so much better. Even now if I take him off the Zyrtec, the rash will come back after a couple of days. As soon as we start it again, it disappears. I honesly wouldn't be afraid to try the Zyrtec. It really works for my DS.

 

[liznboys]

My 2nd ds was diagnosed with allergies at 18 months then with asthma at just turned 2. He is now 4.5 and doing much better. He takes Singulair every night before bed. That's the only med he takes regularly. We use liquid Benedryl as needed, and the inhaler as needed, but fortunately that hasn't been much in the past year!!

When we first went to the allergist, he tested him for all the top food allergens (found peanut) and also for a few airborne ones-including cats since we had one at the time. Yep, he was allergic to cats so we gave our cat to my mom and stepdad who already had 3 cats and loved them. So we were lucky she had a wonderful home to go to.

We're about to retest him (by blood test) for food allergens-all types of nuts and all types of shelfish. We've been avoiding all of those as a precaution.

Good luck, hope she feels better soon!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Chances are the allergist will test for the most common allergens at first, then if she reacts to something or a lot of them, might do more tests. DS13 actually didn't react to any allergens, which is common for kids, but she said I can just LOOK at him and see the allergies

Sooo true! For me, those scratch tests were completely useless. They showed nothing. Ummm, yeah right!!!

Sometimes I don't think they do a good job on these tests. I barely even felt it when the nurse 'scratched' my skin ???????

Also, to me, the blood tests will be completely necessary. There are two different types of sensitivities. The skin tests will show a histamine reaction, but not an autoimmune reacton.

I am also in the very same situation with my DS (8). I have used the overcounter stuff for years now. But, I know it is time to quit putting it off. I am going to have to put him thru the testing. Clariton and Triaminic Allergy Cold (which is now being taken off the market, along with everything else that contains pseudoephridine, ususally do the trick. but in the Summer and Fall, it is an everyday ritual. Not good.

I hate allergies!!!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Now the pet thing is a problem. I'm pretty sure she will be allergic to him. The kids LOVE this cat. WHat do I do if shes allergic to him? Of course he likes to hang out under her bed.

I'm worried about asthma. But she can run and play hard until this past month with no cough.
One other thing I wonder about is the allergic to things like white flour in foods etc. Will the allergist check for this?

Allergy sufferers need daily vaccuming & dusting in the whole house. It is a flipping pain. I am allergic to about everything. Did I mention I hate my allergies?

The cat...since you have a cat you must vacuum daily everywhere and keep the cat out of her bedroom!
My youngest was immediately cured of her asthma cough when we the cats went bye-bye. (One was my college cat and sick & the other had FeLv and partly feral.)

There is no "real" solution but you can try different things to see what helps your dd best. But please get her tested for asthma. It is not something to fool with.

 

[belle&beast]

I didn't read all the posts, so forgive me if I repeat something. I have allergies and I use zyrtec- works great FOR ME. DD4.5 and DS2 were showing allergy symptoms. DD already ahs asthma and was on advair inhaler 2x/day. SHe began to have terrible behavior issues- hitting, throwing toys, like she was in a rage and could not control herself. The pediatrician said to keep an eye on behavior and document when it happens and what set her off. Both kids started zyrtec for allergy symptoms. DS does fine with it and continues to use it to control his runny nose and watery eyes. DD- well that is another story. She turned into a crazy person! The behavior was so bad I had to stay home from work- she was losing it at the sitter's. I mean tantrums and anger like I have never seen and she is a very mild mannered little girl. So we stopped all meds for 2 weeks. Behavior improved, but asthma symptoms were awful! She spent lots of time doing breathing treatments and they help, but it was preventing her from living her normal life. So we tried singulair and it really is helping. Her allergy and asthma symptoms are gone and her behavior is back to normal. We have an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist and allergist at the end of the month, so hopefully we are onthe upswing. Good luck to you and your family!

 

[Stacerita]

Singular was the miracle med that has done wonders for the sweetpea. She went from constantly having sinus issues, being sick all the time, coughing, breathing problems, missing tons of school, and her asthma being out of control. Since she started Singulair, she has almost none of that. She occassionaly gets sick, but its a fraction of what she used to get. She originally started taking it as a trial, but it worked so well, the specialist kept her on it. Shes been on it for two years now, and it has been the two healthiest years of her life.

See a specialist, the sweetpea's doc deals with allergies and asthma, and get the right diagnosis. And once you get that, do research and find whats right for your kid. The sweetpea's allergies were so bad when we first started seeing the specialist, he suggested allergy shots. I knew I didn't want her to go through that, so we did other things. Kept her away from her triggers and paying attention to symtoms closely. Finally we got her on Singulair. Best thing ever for her. And we never did have to do the shots.

She also has zyrtec and a a few other things to take as needed, but Singular is what she takes nightly. That along with saline rinses and hand washing, plus knowing her triggers have kept her well.

 

[Apothecary]

We had our DSs on Singulair for about 2 years, and it worked great. Aerius is a newer antihistamine with decongestant effects without actually containing a decongestant.