Advice for a seasonal allergy newbie
April 11, 2012 8:44 AM Subscribe
My 3 year old seems to have seasonal allergies now. (As of about 5 days ago, NYC-area.) I don't have them and his father's were adult-onset, so I don't really know how to minimize them at such a young age. Should we be keeping windows closed at all times? Get an indoor air filter? Avoid going outside at all on high pollen days? I'm not sure how much it should change our/his life going forward.
We are also asking the pediatrician, but I've come to realize that she's a bit of a fruitcake (e.g. does "cupping" for her own back pain), so I'm also seeking advice from people that have been there with their own children, or who had seasonal allergies as a child themselves.
(We're researching new pediatricians too.)
The child has swollen eyes that are tearing but not itching. His nose is congested, runny with clear mucus. He gets coughs at times because of all of the nasal drip. The first two days of this, he had a low fever (99.2). The fever has been gone for two days, and we've also been inside all day those same days.
We are also asking the pediatrician, but I've come to realize that she's a bit of a fruitcake (e.g. does "cupping" for her own back pain), so I'm also seeking advice from people that have been there with their own children, or who had seasonal allergies as a child themselves.
(We're researching new pediatricians too.)
The child has swollen eyes that are tearing but not itching. His nose is congested, runny with clear mucus. He gets coughs at times because of all of the nasal drip. The first two days of this, he had a low fever (99.2). The fever has been gone for two days, and we've also been inside all day those same days.
Best answer: Go see an allergist. Get an idea how bad it is, and a baseline to track it the allergies progress.
Finding relief will take some trial and error; things that work great for me don't work so well for my son, for instance.
Most allergy medications are a balancing act of managing side effects vs. symptoms; the cures can be worse than the disease sometimes.
For me, the main thing is air conditioning; The reduced moisture in the air can lower the pollen count considerably, and it's also a filter. Clean the filters monthly. This is best treatment for my allergies ever - no side effects and works awesome.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:03 AM on April 11, 2012
Finding relief will take some trial and error; things that work great for me don't work so well for my son, for instance.
Most allergy medications are a balancing act of managing side effects vs. symptoms; the cures can be worse than the disease sometimes.
For me, the main thing is air conditioning; The reduced moisture in the air can lower the pollen count considerably, and it's also a filter. Clean the filters monthly. This is best treatment for my allergies ever - no side effects and works awesome.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:03 AM on April 11, 2012
Best answer: I, too, have had allergies my entire life and I was really lucky that my mom and dad pushed the doctors to actually do something about it. Back in the late 70s/early 80s the common medical wisdom was that kids would grow out of allergies around puberty. My mom thought it was beyond stupid for me to suffer for 13 years so she went to bat for me.
So first thing, go see an allergist.
While you're doing that here are somethings that helped, although any of the medical stuff I'd check with a doctor on because your son's so young:
*Visine Allergy Eye drops...makes the itchy go right the hell away.
*Benedryl, but this can make for sleepy baby.
*Baths, frequently, including hair washing.
*If you go outside to play or run around, make sure he changes clothes and washes his hands after coming back in.
*Invest in an allergy grade filter for your AC, HEPA if you can get it, but otherwise as good as you can find. Home Depot and Lowes should have thse.
*If you can, keep the windows closed at night.
*There may be no issue with dust and dust mites, but you may want to look into pillow protectors and mattress covers.
*If you can, send the little guy out of the house and do a hard clean, with dusting, vaccuming, and laundry. This should reduce some of the dust and keep from exposing him while you clean.
Good luck.
posted by teleri025 at 9:05 AM on April 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
So first thing, go see an allergist.
While you're doing that here are somethings that helped, although any of the medical stuff I'd check with a doctor on because your son's so young:
*Visine Allergy Eye drops...makes the itchy go right the hell away.
*Benedryl, but this can make for sleepy baby.
*Baths, frequently, including hair washing.
*If you go outside to play or run around, make sure he changes clothes and washes his hands after coming back in.
*Invest in an allergy grade filter for your AC, HEPA if you can get it, but otherwise as good as you can find. Home Depot and Lowes should have thse.
*If you can, keep the windows closed at night.
*There may be no issue with dust and dust mites, but you may want to look into pillow protectors and mattress covers.
*If you can, send the little guy out of the house and do a hard clean, with dusting, vaccuming, and laundry. This should reduce some of the dust and keep from exposing him while you clean.
Good luck.
posted by teleri025 at 9:05 AM on April 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If at all possible, bathing him (including rinsing or washing his hair) before bedtime on high-pollen days. That way he isn't rubbing pollen all over his pillow while he sleeps.
This year's tree pollen is through the roof in most of North America because of the unusual weather. Lots of people who don't usually have allergies are experiencing symptoms, and people with allergies are experiencing extreme symptoms. Next spring might not be so bad for your son.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:22 AM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
This year's tree pollen is through the roof in most of North America because of the unusual weather. Lots of people who don't usually have allergies are experiencing symptoms, and people with allergies are experiencing extreme symptoms. Next spring might not be so bad for your son.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:22 AM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
My daughter (a few months over 3) has also had some allergies lately (which is entirely expected as I used to have pretty nasty nasal allergy symptoms and my husband still does). After a night of extreme eye-rubbing, we ran to the store and surveyed the options for medication. The pharmacist on hand said that Benadryl was not recommended at that age (which is indicated on the package) as the side effects are much more unpredictable. On her recommendation, we went with the children's generic Zyrtec, which was indicated as being ok for over two years old.
Luckily, it seemed to help and hasn't been a big on-going thing, so we won't be talking with an allergist right now, but that's good advice from others.
posted by stefnet at 9:53 AM on April 11, 2012
Luckily, it seemed to help and hasn't been a big on-going thing, so we won't be talking with an allergist right now, but that's good advice from others.
posted by stefnet at 9:53 AM on April 11, 2012
Best answer: I know this sounds really New Age-y, but I have seen amazing results from feeding toddlers a tablespoon of local honey once a day. It makes a weird sense, though. The more local, of course, the better.
posted by zoomorphic at 10:26 AM on April 11, 2012
posted by zoomorphic at 10:26 AM on April 11, 2012
Oh, poor child. This was me at age 4 - my eyes flipped out while I was at preschool playing outside one day.
The things that worked for me growing up:
- Baths/showers before bedtime, including hair. This cannot be overstated enough.
- Washing ANYTHING that went outside (all clothes, jackets, etc) as soon as you can. It doesn't matter if you were only outside for an hour; those clothes need to be washed before they can be worn again.
- My eyes were the worst - and every year I tried a different prescription eye drop for allergies. The OTC ones did not work, and I developed a tolerance to some of the prescription ones.
- Eye drops: let him close his eyes as soon as drops go in, don't ask him to blink, that just stings.
- Cool washcloths - cool, wet, dark room with a fan, over the eyes, maybe TV on.
- Claritin/allegra/zyrtec - took a couple tries to get the right one (claritin is the only one that works for me; others work for my siblings). These came out when I was in middle school and they roooooooocked.
- AC on all the time.
- Vacuum a lot.
- Windows always shut.
- Wash the car, vacuum it, those windows always shut.
- I second the local honey.
Later, hard contacts helped.
Good luck. Poor child.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:54 AM on April 11, 2012
The things that worked for me growing up:
- Baths/showers before bedtime, including hair. This cannot be overstated enough.
- Washing ANYTHING that went outside (all clothes, jackets, etc) as soon as you can. It doesn't matter if you were only outside for an hour; those clothes need to be washed before they can be worn again.
- My eyes were the worst - and every year I tried a different prescription eye drop for allergies. The OTC ones did not work, and I developed a tolerance to some of the prescription ones.
- Eye drops: let him close his eyes as soon as drops go in, don't ask him to blink, that just stings.
- Cool washcloths - cool, wet, dark room with a fan, over the eyes, maybe TV on.
- Claritin/allegra/zyrtec - took a couple tries to get the right one (claritin is the only one that works for me; others work for my siblings). These came out when I was in middle school and they roooooooocked.
- AC on all the time.
- Vacuum a lot.
- Windows always shut.
- Wash the car, vacuum it, those windows always shut.
- I second the local honey.
Later, hard contacts helped.
Good luck. Poor child.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:54 AM on April 11, 2012
I agree with zoomorphic. Local honey consists of pollen from, well local pollen sources. Ingestion of little amounts of local honey helps give the immune system the boost to get used to the local flora.
posted by PJMoore at 11:31 AM on April 11, 2012
posted by PJMoore at 11:31 AM on April 11, 2012
I've had seasonal allergies since I was little, too. It wasn't until some of the newer antihistamines came out that I found any relief at all.
A word of warning regarding Zyrtec (cetirizine): I've been taking it every single day since it became generic (when it was brand-only it was something like a dollar a day, and I couldn't afford it as maintenance medication). When I had to stop cold turkey so that I could qualify for an allergy research study, I discovered a bizarre effect of withdrawal: whole-body, maddening itch. There's anecdata all over the web about it, as I found on day 3 or so after I couldn't think of anything else it could be and Googled "Zyrtec withdrawal."
When I didn't qualify for the study I immediately began taking the cetirizine again and have had no problems with it -- but I haven't stopped again, either.
Cetirizine is a wonder drug for me, and might be for your child, too, but I think you should know about this.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:37 PM on April 11, 2012
A word of warning regarding Zyrtec (cetirizine): I've been taking it every single day since it became generic (when it was brand-only it was something like a dollar a day, and I couldn't afford it as maintenance medication). When I had to stop cold turkey so that I could qualify for an allergy research study, I discovered a bizarre effect of withdrawal: whole-body, maddening itch. There's anecdata all over the web about it, as I found on day 3 or so after I couldn't think of anything else it could be and Googled "Zyrtec withdrawal."
When I didn't qualify for the study I immediately began taking the cetirizine again and have had no problems with it -- but I haven't stopped again, either.
Cetirizine is a wonder drug for me, and might be for your child, too, but I think you should know about this.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:37 PM on April 11, 2012
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posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:52 AM on April 11, 2012