Minor flare from allergies

[wembles]

Hi,

My son has only recently been diagnosed with PANDAS/PANS, and I am still learning. He has been symptom free since September, following a bad flare that lasted from May until the end of August. The doctor we have been seeing did some allergy testing, as he mentioned that the inflammation from allergies can work in conjunction with infections to trigger a flare, so he wanted to minimize the effects from allergies. My son tested positive for some environmental allergies (mold, juniper, hay...2 others I'm blanking on) and peanuts on the skin test, but not the blood. It was suggested we take a half dose of Xyzal daily (an allergy med) and remove all peanuts and tree nuts from his diet. My son had no visible allergy signs at the time (his present as eczema and itchy eyes), so when the pharmacy could not find the med to order, and we had to switch to a new pharmacy who told us it would be a week delay, I wasn't concerned. Until Sunday....something we were around (still haven't determined what!) caused a huge eczema flare. And, my son's eyes are so puffy with dark circles underneath, I asked him if he fell at recess! Turns out they are so itchy he can't stop rubbing them. That long background brings me to...he started a minor flare of his PANDAS symptoms today as well Familiar symptoms (stuttering, fears--he cried about losing a penny, having to get his wisdom teeth out (he is 6), that he couldn't find a specific stick on the playground, and baby talk. Much less intense than his last major flare, but going from nothing yesterday, it is quite noticeable today!

 

My question: since this flare is clearly brought on by allergies and not an infection, I don't need to start him on antibiotics, right? Our doctor has a prescription of Azithromycin for us on standby that he said to fill if we started to see signs of a flare (to take once a week), but I wouldn't fill that for a flare like this, would I? I did give him a dose of Claritin tonight, since we still don't have the Xyzal. I am hopeful the Claritin will work quickly and we can avoid a full flare...I am just unexperienced and was looking for advice! Thank you!

[nicklemama]

I would not assume the flare is from allergies. My son has diagnosed allergies. He takes claritin every day. Occasionally, he still gets allergy symptoms of red, itchy eyes. We use Patanol, a Rx allergy eye drop for them. He does not flare. He also takes abx every day, prophylactically. Yes, he needs to be on an allergy med because allergies can contribute. Since he's not on abx, he could have an infection you are not aware of, yet. Typically,symptoms can start before the presentation of illness.

[dcmom]

The antibiotic also has anti inflammatory properties- although I am not sure how a once per week dose will do anything- that is likely not enough in any case.

[Alexis]

My son was diagnosed with Lyme's, ADHD, then they thought it was Lupus and fibromyalgia, what a nightmare. I am a single mom with three children, my husband left us and barley pays child support. We lived in the best place I could afford. I then found out the apartment was mold infested. I got sick and all the kids were sick. All of us had chronic fatigue, my youngest had nose bleeds all of the time, headaches, memory loss, it was a nightmare. The pediatrician told me mold can’t make the kids sick. I was losing my mind. The kids were sick and I had no answers, the doctors had no answers. My neighbor who’s a nurse came over and told me it was the mold in the apartment making us all sick. I went to the blogs and found some good comments on the National Treatment centers for Environmental disease in Atlanta GA. I called and they accepted our insurance. It’s been 4 months and all of us are a lot better. If your kids are sick and no one is sure why you may want to get them tested for mold. These people saved our lives. When no one had an answer they saved my children. This was a life changing event. Special thanks to Dr. Eric, Dr. Michael and Dr. Weekly and the staff at NTCED! . Also they are the first facility to have the M7 mycotoxin test and, endotoxin test for inflammation. This was a great exxpeerience, I hhope this information can help someone.