Help - allergy meds - potential flare!

[beeskneesmommy]

DS almost 7 is out of control with his allergies. He is losing sleep from itchy eyes and stuffy nose and I fear that it will turn into longer term simusitis. His allergies, when they arrive, cause him to flare. Got this under control for a long time with daily Nasonex. however, he needs something more now. I am fearful of allergy meds because when he was much younger he reacted very poorly to Allegra. It seemed to set off a flare. I give him his abx but I am sparing with anything other than Ibuprofen and occasionally Benedryl at night. Can anyone recommend any allergy meds that seem OK for their younger kids? (Cross-post)

[lfran]

You could look into health food stores that sell quercitin-based products. They are often very effective.

[lfran]

You could also look into a Neti Pot rinse, but be sure to use distilled water.

[beeskneesmommy]

Thx, will look into Quercitin. Re: Neti-pot, I used to use it and stopped because I have had 2 docs tell me that although people used it properly, they have seen some instances of really nasty bacteria infect people who use Neti. I am leary of that for myself but really afraid of that for DS. Besides, he wouldn't do that even if I bribed him with a trip to Disney! I do use saline spray...just had a recent allergy attack and cannot get it under control!

[lfran]

I had thought that the risk of infection was with the use of tap water, and that using distilled or boiled water should be fine.

 

???

[MomWithOCDSon]

Our DS takes Zyrtec (or its generic equivalent) during the worst of allergy season, along with quercitin, and has not had a negative response to it. Also, if your child responds reasonably well to Benedryl and thus histamine appears to be the culprit, you could try something like Pepcid, as well. We've had lots of luck with that.<br /><br />Quercitin is especially great because it supposedly stops histamine production at the t-cell level, rather than just preventing its uptake at receptor sites like most conventional antihistamines. But it may take a little longer to see an impact by it as a result.<br /><br />Good luck!

[nicklemama]

My DS9 has been on daily Claritin for 1.5 yrs now. He has not had an ear or sinus infection since we started it. He sees an allergist who 'prescribed' it. It's OTC.

[LNN]

My DD uses zyrtec with no ill effects. I like Quercetin as well but it only seems to last 4 hrs. So she takes zyrtec at bedtime and then for the times allergies are peaking, she adds quercetin 1-2 times during the day.

 

Also - nasonex long term can have negative side effects, such as thinning the nasal skin and reducing your ability to fight infection. It's a steroid and it may be causing some problems. I seem to recall something about a rebound effect when using antihistamines for a long time. But can't remember the details.

 

Two things that made a huge improvement for my DD was getting mattress/boxspring/pillow encasements http://www.missionallergy.com/ and making sure her window a/c unit was clean and mold/dirt free (the drip pan can get quite nasty if not cleaned annually). The encasements made an enormous difference. Also, take all bedding (blankets, mattress pads, pillows) and run them in the dryer on high heat for 15 min to kill dust mites and remove some of their waste. If there are any stuffed animals, run them thru the dryer weekly. I never paid much attention to these things until I got desperate but they reduced DDs debilitating reactions by about 70%.

 

You can also get XClear - a nasal spray with xylitol to help fight infection. You can get it at whole foods and health food stores. But be sure to have your child tilt his head in all directions after spraying it in so it has a chance to enter the sinus cavity and not just roll down the throat or be blown out if he begs for a tissue.

Edited August 13, 2013 by LLM

[qannie47]

Neti-pot: I use it myself and know for a fact that if you use distilled water/nursery water, there is no risk for infection. Also, If you microwave it (without water in it) for 20 sec, you will kill any bacteria on pot. One suggestion, there is a product that is like a saline spray but is an aerosol form. It is wonderful. It sprays a really fine mist and the ph is perfectly balanced so there is no burn. It is neal...something or other. It comes in a small metal can and the applicator is longer and skinnier so it really fits nicely into a child's nasal passage. It is a little pricey but worth it. I have used this on my ds three times a day during allergy season and it works well. How about allergy shots?

[Hopeny]

Quercetin has really helped the environmental triggering of my daughters asthma. I gave it to my au pair and it worked much better than meds. Worth a try, good luck

[beeskneesmommy]

Thx! I will look into Quercitin and up the Benedryl. he did well on it last night and he slept better, as evidenced by a happier kiddo this morning. LLM, Dr. B prescribed Nasonex when DS was really messed up with sinus problems...which had gone on all his life! DS got much better and we use it only when we have a problem now - I try to be sparing because Dr. L has also told me that Nasonex may create an envronment in the sinuses that is condusive to harbouring bacteria.

 

Have heard about Pepsid...will see if Dr. B will prescribe disolving tab when I talk w/him at the end of the month. DS does not swallow pills yet. Also, can I get Quercitin at Whole Foods or a place like it? Any brand names that are reliable that you might suggest?

 

Went thru the whole dust mite, bed covers, air purifier scene. The bed covers made no diff at all, but he sleeps w/ a purifier on full blast in his room and we do not alow the dog to come upstairs. The primary problem right now is seasonal pollen and perhaps mold allergies (due to tons of rain)....I worry about the idea of shots as I fear they may cause an upset in balance that would lead to flare...plus, it is seasonal, not year round.

 

Again, Thank you!

[MomWithOCDSon]

We've purchased quercitin at both Whole Foods and The Vitamin Shoppe. We use the SolaRay brand called "QBC Complex," which is blend of quercitin, bromelaine and Vitamin C. These are gelcaps, so you could take them apart and stir it into something cold (applesauce, yogurt), I'd think, without harming the supplement overall.

[LNN]

Bees - my DD did allergy shots for 18 mos (Dr B mailed us the extracts and local VNA gave the shots). The shots worked great but DD hated the needles and it was always high drama. It actually got worse as we graduated from once/week to once/month because her coping tools got rusty in between visits. Between the trauma of holding her down and my concerns about what was in the adjuvants (never could find out for certain if it contained aluminum), we discontinued.

 

But our ENT does allergy drops http://www.allergychoices.com/WhyAllergyDrops/ It's one drop under the tongue, 3 times/day. No drama. Just the need to remember to give all three doses. We only started in January, so they didn't make a huge difference this past spring but she was slightly better than last year (when we'd stopped shots). But I'm willing to continue at least until next summer to see if they help her for next spring. Here's an NPR article on it http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/26/175348886/allergy-drops-under-the-tongue-may-be-fine-alternative-to-shots

[Hopeny]

I use Pure brand quercetin for DD

[T_Anna]

Thanks for this thread. I just bought down alternative down blankets and a mattress cover to seal out everything.

 

Mostly for my own allergies which have been going crazy. I live off Flonase.

 

T.Anna