Allergy meds question?

[Suzybearybake]

My 10 year old son was tested and is allergic to trees, grass, ragweed, dust mites, and mosquitoes. He has eczema, chronic nosebleeds, large tonsils/adnoids, speech issues, and perpetual nasal congestion. The doctor prescribed NasacortAQ (trimcinolone acetonide) nasal spray. One of the cautions on the printout listed problems with growth as a possible side effect. I was concerned and asked if there were other options for meds. She said that this was really our best option and a one dose a day it shouldn't be a problem. I really do not feel comfortable giving him this medication but I feel like a horrible parent if I allow him to suffer. Does anyone has experience with these meds or know of a better option? She also want to a series of allergy shots to be given every few days working up to once a month for the next five years. There is only a 50% chance this will help at all. Should I put the child through this? Our family doctor says I should speak to the allergist but she really isn't giving me choices and I am unsure which way to go with this.

[Aubrey]

First, I know absolutely nothing about this, so I can't actually help you, BUT...dh has similar allergies to your ds, plus asthma that put him in the hospital frequently as a child. (He's at work right now, or I'd ask him about the meds for you.)

 

As an adult, he's had other issues that *may* be related to the meds he took as a child. Did he have a choice about the meds? Who knows? We don't even know if *they* caused his problems.

 

My point is simply that I think it's valid to want to be well-informed. If your allergist won't *at least* give you more detailed info (or hopefully better options), I think I'd seek a 2nd opinion. Not to say your allergist is wrong--at. all.--just that if he's right, maybe you'll find someone who can make you more comfortable about that choice. And, of course, if it turns out there's another option, that's even better!

 

GL! I imagine that it's a tough decision either way.

[Vicki]

I took allergy shots growing up, for 12 years. It really helped. I'm allergic to grass, a lot of trees, dust, molds, most animals, mosquitos, weeds, etc. I went from being sick all the time to feeling great with allergy shots. My sisters were the same way. Allegery shots are not painful and they do work or did for our family.

You could always try allergy shots for a year and see if there is an improvement in your sons health.

God bless,

Vicki

[rafiki]

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[xxxxxxxx]

Last spring my ds was so bad I decided we needed some help. He could not go out side to play without his eyes and nose running constantly. Then at night when he would lay down to sleep his nose would stuff up. In the morning he would have sore throats from the drainage.

 

We went to the allergist. He takes a shot once a week (for the last year). He will have to continue this for 3 more years but I have already seen a huge improvement. He can play outside without being miserable.

 

If you are unsure, I would get a 2nd opinion. The right dr. will really be able to help.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Really, it was so worth it!! I used to be miserable 6 months out of the year with chronic sinus, asthma, puffy-eyes, sleep problems. After 2-3 years of shots, I was SO MUCH BETTER.

 

I'm not sure what the downside is to shots vs. life-long allergy meds.

 

K

[Stacey in MA]

He started on Nasonex, and then switched to Flonaise (due to insurance change), and now it's generic Flonaise. All of them are about the same - steroid nasal spray. He started this b/c he was having terrible sleeping issues - snoring, apnea, waking, stuffy at night, etc. Additionally, he had terrible breath issues, which often indicates mouth breathing too. It was due to his enlarged adnoids, and also stuffy sinuses from allergies. After starting the nasal spray (plus Zyrtec and Singulair for the allergies and breathing difficulties) he was a different kid! Much happier, slept better, behaved better, etc.

 

FWIW, I was told that the nasal spray would help shrink the adnoids while he was a kid. Supposedly, when kiddo hits pueberty, the adnoids may naturally shrink due to chemical changes involving testosterone. At that point, we could take him off of it I suppose. Every time we are at an allergy appt., I ask and reask if it's OK that he's been on it so long, and no one seems to think it is a big deal. He is fine and normal otherwise.

 

HTH and GL! - Stacey in MA

[Ottakee]

Well, in my experience, I would RUN to a good ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor and see about removing the tonsils and adenoids. That could help with sleep issues, his speech issues and the nasal congestion. I have done that 4 times and never regretted it (3 different birth families of kids).

 

Have you considered looking at food allergies? Often those are related to eczema. It could be that finding any food allergies and eliminating those foods might really help him. Milk is often a big one for eczema and congestion.

 

I would not worry much about the nose spray. If it helps him breathe and live a more normal life for a kid, it is worth the very small risk of a slight growth delay.

 

You could also try http://www.nasopure.com and see if that works well enough to not use the nose spray. This is just a saline nasal wash but really helps clean out the sinuses.

 

None of my kids have done the allergy shots but I did as a child and while they were a pain to get weekly---just the time, etc. the shots don't relly hurt, they really seemed to help. I have almost no allergy symptoms now. I would though try the other things first and go from there.

[ChrisN in NY]

I'm wondering why this doc didn't prescribe an antihistamine along with the nasal spray.

 

Nasal sprays are inhaled steriods (as opposed to something like predisone, taken orally, which is systemic). Systemic steriods are known to delay (not stunt!) growth in children; localized steriods like the nasal spray could, I suppose, do the same, but it is my understanding that the potential for that is quite minimal. You have to weight the risks with the benefit.

 

As an allergy sufferer myself, I would not make my children suffer such severe allergy symptoms when the liklihood of this side effect is practially nil. I received shots when I was young, and they helped immensely. I still have some problems in the spring and when the ragweed pollen hits in August, but not nearly like when I was a child.

 

Three of my dc have allergies and asthma. They take nasal sprays for their allergies as well as inhaled steriods for their asthma. These are well worth the risk of delayed growth, imho; under controlled or uncontrolled asthma leads to permanent lung damage which is a far worse consequence.

 

My oldest allergic child is off the inhaled steriods, as he began allergy shots when he was 11 or 12. I intend to begin the same with the other two when they're about the same age.

 

HTH

[cin]

Allergy shots never worked for me, but I too, wonder about removing his tonsils and adenoids. I also have to say, as someone who has SEVERE allergies, and has for years, I would give him whatever provides relief. I am on eyedrops, a nasal steroid, and Zytec. I take zyrtec almost daily. My quality of life is more important to me than side effects that MIGHT happen in 20 years. I have to SURVIVE those 20 years. My allergies are such that I sneeze and sniffle until my nose is red and peeling (with lotioned tissues) and my eyes have swollen almost shut. And that's inside. I just avoid outside unless I am loaded up with my meds.

 

jmho :tongue_smilie:

 

One thing I almost forgot. If at all possible, keep his room shut down, have him remove his clothes and bathe completely (hair too!) before he goes to bed at night. No need to wallow in the allergens all night long!

[Suzybearybake]

When we had him tested milk and wheat where 2 things we looked for. He had no reaction to either. We are looking in to finding an ENT to remove the tonsils/ adnoids but so far it it alot of red tape . First we have to get a referral from the allergist then one from the family doctor before we can even get scheduled to see a EMT. We tried this route with my oldest and after finally seeing the EMT 8 months later for chronic ear infections he still opted not to do anything and we were back to square one.

 

It sounds like most of the people here have had a positive experience with the shots/ nasal spray. It makes me feel better knowing that the risks are minimal. Thank you so much for your input and wisdom in this area.

[Harriet Vane]

I will just add my own experience.

 

My mother did not take my allergies seriously. They were "just allergies." If I had a particularly bad day she might give me an OTC remedy, which was awful as well because every OTC anti-histamine I have ever used has shut me down so badly (sleepy, practically comatose, painfully unable to function for the sheer weight of my need to sleep). To this day I can only take child-sized doses of many meds.

 

For me this meant MISERY every spring. I dreaded it. It shut down my life.

 

When I was 16 I was able to finally see an allergist and prescription meds absolutely changed. my. life. I was able to function, even go outside, during my allergy season.

 

I still hold deep resentments against my mother for not exploring options to address my allergies.

 

Nasal steroids are a good option for your son. They are not systemic and appear to have almost no side effects.

 

I urge you also to consider having his adenoids/tonsils removed and to consider allergy shots.

 

One final thing--I have found that the worse my general health is, the worse my allergies will be. When I am exercising and taking vitamins and eating well my allergies are much better.

[girligirlmom]

Classical Homeopathy, meaning single remedy, smallest dose, given in water, with a classical homeopath who follows the classical homeopathy principles as described in the 6th edition of Samuel Hahnemann's Organon, has helped us stop needing seasonal allergy or asthma medicines. My children no longer take or need Zyrtec, Rhinocort, Albuterol, Advair. I no longer take or need Allegra, Intal, or Albuterol. I am no longer using a nebulizer on my son, although I only used it briefly. I am no longer running to the doctor to get on a nebulizer treatment myself.

 

My children all had some combination of severe seasonal allergies and one child has severe food allergies as well. We are still working on ds's food allergies, 4 are gone, 5 may be gone but we need to food challenge and at least 11 remain. We know his father and his grandfather both had similar food allergies. We are also still working on dd's oral allergy to apple skin.The seasonal allergies we had included trees, grass, weeds, feathers, roaches, and some have dog or cat or both and all had dust.

 

The tree allergy was so strong for one child that she cried intensely not due to the jabs but afterwards during the testing because of how itchy she felt. She even broke out in hives twice due to the severeness of her tree allergy especially during the first week in May when the grass and tree pollens are both high. Benadryl did nothing for her hives and I gave it two or three times and called the on call allergist. The next morning I called our homeopath when her office opened and within 15-20 minutes of her suggesting and my giving Arsenicum Album, dd's acute reaction was gone. It came back 12 hours later and one more dose cleared it up. The hives showed up another month or two later and again Arsenicum Album worked wonderfully.

 

We still take our individual homeopathic remedies and have gradually increased the potency and reduced the volume and frequency of the remedies since we started in the spring of 2006. My oldest is still taking a remedy from a remedy bottle that he started in February 2007. That remedy was one pillule from a Calc Carb remedy bottle, put into an 8 oz. bottle of spring water. I take 1/4 tsp of that remedy and put it into a cup of filtered water, stir and then he gets 1/4 of that solution!

 

My daughter just started her next remedy bottle and it's one level higher. She also has one Pulsatilla pillule in her 8 oz. remedy bottle. She only gets 3 drops into the 4 oz. cup of water, then after rinsing the dropper, she gets 3 drops into her (on a spoon so we don't overdose). She took her remedy 10 days ago and we are waiting to see if/when she needs it again.

 

My youngest has a similar setup as the oldest with 1/4 tsp but with Sulphur. I take Sepia in a similar fashion as well.

 

One of the greatest unexpected benefits of classical homeopathy has been the behavioral improvements I have seen in my children and me. They are not nearly angels nor perfect now but some days are close. If one has a meltdown it's likely that we went past when he needed his remedy. He used to have daily and sometimes several times a day "meltdowns". Now these are few and far between and easily gone within 5 - 20 minutes of the next dose. Another one of mine was crying or weeping or sulking at anything that did not go her way. That is nearly gone now. The youngest expresses himself through anger and that is also significantly reduced.

 

I learned about homeopathy about 8 or 9 years ago from a La Leche League Leader and I thought it was either wacky or fake and it took me until spring 2006 to try it. I wish I had tried it sooner, but I have realized that there are many who claim they are using homeopathy properly and they are not, that's why many believe it does not work. I am glad that through some thin threads/ people connections, I found my homeopath. So far everything that she has recommended has worked!

 

Anytime I have heard about homeopathy not working it's when the person is a naturopath (generalist) rather than a homeopath. This person uses dry doses or doses in the X range instead of the C, M and LM range. Usually this person also gives more than one remedy at a time, meaning on the same day or within a few days. That goes against many of the principles in the Organon. I am actually reading an English translation of the 6th edition of the Organon myself now, but I am still in the nearly 60 page introduction.

 

There are two types of treatments, acute and chronic. Anything that lasts for more than 3 months is considered chronic and would need a different approach than an acute set of symptoms like the flu.

 

My homeopath is actually in an advanced training class this week with Dr. Luc deSchepper. Here is an article he wrote about Allergies . Here is a list of many other articles he wrote about how homeopathy can help.

[rafiki]

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