Claritin for an eight-month-old?

Asparagirl — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:33:24 -0800

Putting a child under the age of two on Children's Claritin for his allergies...advice, or first-hand anecdotes? Our eight-month-old baby has multiple allergies and excema. He's tested positive on skin tests for both food (eggs, oranges, garlic) and environmental (mold, dustmites, weeds, grass, you name it) triggers. His main symptoms are transient excema patches on his cheeks, neck, the insides of his elbows, and the backs of his knees; horribly itchy skin on his hands and ankles; and occasionally a stuffy nose and red eyes. The itchy skin, in particular, often wakes him up in the middle of the night, sometimes multiple times -- and thus, wakes us too. We put long sleeves and socks on him and cover his hands so he can't scratch. It doesn't help much.

We run both a HEPA filter and a humidifier in his room, and I've eliminated his trigger foods from my diet since I'm breastfeeding (though not exclusively). His allergist prescribed him topical steroid cream for his occasional excema flare ups, which works well if you use it every day for a few days, but I would rather not use steroids on a kid long-term. We also give occasional small doses of dye-free children's Benadryl (at night only). That works on his allergies pretty well -- for a whopping four hours. We also use Aquaphor on his neck and other allergic patches, and that seems to work well.

His having allergies isn't so surprising, since pretty much everyone in my family has moderate-to-terrible allergies of some sort -- but we all take (or occasionally take) medicine to deal with it. So I'm really wary about putting such a young kid on anything, because it could easily become a long-term medicine.

But with his persistent allergies, his pediatrician now recommends putting him on half a teaspoon of Children's Claritin every day. While this is over the counter, there is very little information out there on Claritin's effects on young kids, especially under the age of two (nevermind that he's under the age of one!), and nothing about long-term effects. One dose of Claritin also lasts for 24 hours, unlike Benadryl's 4-6 hours, and I really don't want him to be zonked out all day. I've also found disturbing anecdotal reports on the web about kids on Zyrtec (not Claritin, but similar) developing sudden behavioral issues.

So, anyone know a kid who's been on Claritin so young? How did it work out? I really don't want to put such a young kid on a somewhat-untested-on-kids medicine, but I can't stand to see him suffer with his allergies either.

Cats + Me != Crazy Delicious

dw — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 14:32:59 -0800

MedicalFilter: What allergy medications work best against cat dander? I'm hauling the family to Mom's house for Christmas, like always. She has three longhair cats, though, and every year it turns into a game of "how much of this can I stand." Most years I endure, with a mix of bloodshot eyes, runny nose, wheezing, and a lot of standing outside in the cat-free air. It's only a week, though, and then I'm back to my pet-free house.

But now, I've had it. I want to be able to breathe again. I can't make her get rid of the cats (she couldn't have any while I was in the house growing up), we can't afford a hotel room, we have no place for her to stay in our tiny house, and I'd never hear the end of it if Grandma didn't see the grandchild.

I've decided that this year, I'm going to my on-again off-again doctor and asking for an allergy medication that works against cat dander. The problem is that I don't necessarily trust said doctor with having a clue. Last time around I ended up with Allegra... which is not indicated for pet dander. So, I need to know what to ask for (and check to see if it's on my insurance's formulary) so I know where to steer him.

This previous AskMe comment mentions Clarinex and Singulair. Are those the preferred remedies? What about an over-the-counter med like Claritin? Seldane used to work really well, but that's off the market now. Benadryl and Actifed are right out, since they both literally put me to sleep. Any ideas what the right option might be?

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Claritin for an eight-month-old?

Cats + Me != Crazy Delicious