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seasonal allergy help for 3 yo

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 

My son has always had mild-ish seasonal allergies, but this season is pretty horrible. Coughing that wakes him every night (and then he's up for at least 3 hours, so it's pretty disruptive to his whole day), and extremely itchy eyes, so much so that his rubbing broke the skin.


Last spring/summer/fall our ped wanted him on Claritin - I didn't like its effect on his personality - hard to pinpoint, but seemed to make him more on edge, less himself? So she suggested Zyrtec, which seemed slightly better. But I really don't love having him on any of that stuff. We've been using Hyland's Complete Allergy 4 Kids (homeopathic), which seemed to help a lot, but in the last week or so hasn't been enough. So I've tried the Zyrtec again, but that's not enough either.


I'm open to all suggestions, homeopathic, OTC, anything, that will ease the discomfort and not alter his personality. If it makes a difference, major allergens here right now are oak, maple, and poplar, according to pollen.com.


Thank you!


X-posted in Allergies.

post #2 of 6

Local honey is always good, changing the pillow case often (at least 2x a week), sinus rinses (my kids were both able to do them at 4).


Are you opposed to going to a board certified pedi allergist? It sounds like he is really miserable. Perhaps a specialist could advise you further and give more options than your ped. You would also find out exactly what he is allergic too.

post #3 of 6
My dd takes Zyrtec, but during a real rough patch this year I was offering her Benadryl once a day and we did nightly decongestant baths (with extra eucalyptus oil). After 3-4 days with the additional Benadryl did I was able to stop that and she'd be fine with her regular medicine.
Zyrtec does tend to need to build up in one's system, with a maintenance dose, so you'd find it working best after taking it regularly for a week or two.

I will say my BIL loves and has found the local honey very effective. My dd(also 3) would hate sinus rinses - but dh does use a neti pot for his allergies and finds it pretty effective. We were recommended basic eye drops this year by our ped for the more extreme symptoms dd has had this year (like generic zatidor). Our dd has refused to use them so far - but dh tried them himself anyway and found them very helpful, Especially for the really itchy eyes.
post #4 of 6

I tried not to laugh when our pedi suggested sinus rinses thinking my kids would never do them - but she gave us a sample squeeze bottle so I decided to try it one night - you should have seen my ds dancing and singing "I CAN BREATH" after he did it the first time. He still gets a bit anxious when it is time to do one and we have practiced deep breathing so he can relax. Every time he does it I ask if he is glad he did. The answer is always a resounding yes. We use the neil med squeeze bottle and do it over the bathtub so there is no temptation to try to look in the mirror over the sink. All that to say I think it is worth a try at least! If it doesn't work for your kid that is fine but it can bring great relief if they can handle it.

post #5 of 6

pbjmama - thanks for sharing how you do the rinses with your kids.  Dh has found sinus rinses so helpful esp. with his pollen issues.  And I suspect my dd has a bigger hangup than others with anything in her nose (d/t once being hospitalized with all kinds of things in her nose and some nasal medications she's had to try since that -- now she really really hates things like that) but I wish she'd try it herself sometime.  I'll have to see if I can work her toward that.    

post #6 of 6
Thread Starter 

Thank you SO much, everyone. I had completely dismissed the idea of a sinus rinse for I'm sure the same reasons you laughed when your ped suggested it, but maybe we'll have to try it. He's a new 3, so maybe not quite ready now, but maybe introduce it now and he'll be more ready by the time fall allergies come around, or at least next spring?


A ped allergist may be the way to go. This got so much worse so quickly that I really first needed something immediate, just to get us through the weekend. We usually do a lot of outdoor time but stayed in all weekend after the bad episode. I would love to find one open to non-Rx options, so that'll probably take some research.


I didn't know it takes time for the zyrtec to build up, so that was really helpful. For some reason his nose hasn't seemed that congested or runny - just eyes and cough, which I guess means there is some post nasal drip going on even though nothing shows. I went out and bought the zaditor drops this morning. He hates eyedrops, but he really hated the itchy eyes, so he may be more open to something so immediate, even if the sinus rinse is more of a stretch at first.


Again, thank you. I always learn so much here!

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