Singulair vs claritin for kids?

[Stayseeliz]

We went to an ENT in the fall and had DD9 allergy tested. She came up positive for mold and a few fungi. She wasn't having issues at the time so I didn't give her the singulair the dr prescribed her. She is now struggling with allergy symptoms and I was wondering if I should go straight for the singulair or try claritin first. Thanks for any thoughts!

[Spryte]

Try Claritin first.

 

And if you do try Singulair - please, please do some research first. Our pediatrician thinks it should have a black box warning. It can cause major behavioral issues. Major. Not to mention nightmares (actual nightmares, not just behavioral nightmares).

 

Singulair was a nightmare for our family, on so many levels. :( We are still dealing with after effects.

[Unicorn.]

Does she have asthma? If she's asthmatic, I would go get the singulair. Ds took singulair and zyrtec for about a year (along w/ an inhaled steroid), and we were told that for his allergies, we should start him on allergy meds before allergy season, and keep him on them until the end of April or May. So, for us, that meant Oct-April. His "asthma" was allergy related.

 

All that to say, you might need to do both.

[Spryte]

Here's a link to the FDA page: http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/postmarketdrugsafetyinformationforpatientsandproviders/drugsafetyinformationforheathcareprofessionals/ucm165489.htm

 

All kids don't have issues with Singulair. But you need to know what to watch for if it becomes an issue for *your* kid, like it did for mine.

 

Good luck finding something that works!

[Stayseeliz]

She does not have asthma. I was a little surprised that he prescribed singulair as a "first-line" treatment as I'd heard things about it. To me, Claritin or Zyrtec would be what is tried first.

[Mrs Mungo]

My son developed behavioral issues from Singulair. It builds up in their system over time, so it isn't something you might notice immediately. But, the issues went away about 2 weeks after stopping it. I would only use it as a very last resort for severe problems.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Singulair works great for many kids. But proceed with caution, my son had hallucinations from it. We are still, five years later, dealing with the fallout from those hallucinations. I did not know at the time that it was even possible to have such side effects with Singulair. I found out after it was too late when I looked on the internet to see if anyone else had these same things happen.

[Little Nyssa]

For my son, Singulair is a maintenance med that relieves his allergies so he doesn't get asthma. Claritin is something I would use for an occasional allergy symptom, but for DS Benadryl works better in that case. If I ever give Claritin it doesn't help him much.

 

FWIW my son has no problem with Singulair, but Zyrtec was awful for him-- he could not sleep and actually became combative, hitting out! Fortunately it was easy to discontinue and the symptoms went away.

 

ETA: Allegra had a similar effect to Zyrtec for him. We had to stop it too.

[Jeannie in NJ]

my son also had hallucinations with singular. He was so scared that he begged to stop taking it. We took him off it and put him on Claritin, he has had no problems with it.

[KrissiK]

My son was prescribed Singulair, but does just as we'll on Zyrtec, which we prefer. He's got cough variant asthma and it's allergy-induced. He didn't have any problems on Singulair, but I just felt uncomfortable with all the controversy.

[charcat13]

I'm obviously not a child but Singulair gives me some wicked and realistic dreams. No problems while I'm awake but those nightmares are crazy to the point of waking up feeling the "remnants" of pain from the dreams. I can imagine what it can do to a child.

[momto3innc]

Just to provide another option. Claritin is very ineffective for my son, Zyrtec caused very odd and weird side effects, Allegra was okay. I did not want to go the Singlulair route. Last year we started using D-Hist Junior. It's a more natural one. I got mine on Amazon after 7 or 8 people told me to try it. It has worked SO well. You can give 1-2 tablets twice a day. We vary the dose depending on if he has a flare up but he has been very stable since being on it.

 

Just another idea.

[Alyeska]

My daughter had severe sleep disturbances and sleep walking issues with Singulair. We had to put alarms on the doors and windows becauase we were afraid she would get outside at night.

 

She has never had an issue with Claritin.

[annabanana1992]

Severe behavioral issues on singulair at our house - both children and adult.

[In the Rain]

Two family members here have done okay on Singulair. They were already on multiple antihistamines and still having breathing issues, so this was seen as a necessary next step. The thought of using it freaked me out, and I was hyper vigilant about watching for side effects. In your case, I would definitely try antihistamines first.

[Stayseeliz]

Thanks for the input! I think I'm going to try Claritin first then go from there. I think I was right to question the singulair. I just don't understand why he jumped straight to that. It seems like an extreme step.

[DarlaS]

Singulair made my son sick to his stomach. He wasn't even able to take it a week. I guess that was a good thing.

 

Now he takes Claritin.