Safe allergy medication for young toddler?

[AimeeM]

I'm going to call our pediatrician in the AM, but does anyone know of a safe allergy medication (obviously liquid form) for a young toddler (14 months old)?

He's rubbing his eyes and hitting at his nose (which is running and getting somewhat caked underneath). I have no doubt that it's allergies - I've been on a steady dose of Zyrtec or Claritin for months now.

 

... which leads me to my next question. If I give him something, do I need to take into consideration what *I* am taking? I still nurse him occasionally. I would think that if it's going through to my breastmilk, it would be helping his allergies too, but it doesn't seem to be.

[athena1277]

I don't know about nursing, but 1/4 tsp is ok for a child that young.  I gave it to my kids when they were that young and sick.  Both my kids were determined to have seasonal allergies around 18 months and have been on daily zyrtec ever since.  I would talk to a ped or nurse first, but that may also be safe at 14 mo.  Oh, and saline spray is totally safe and helps little kids, especially if you use it before naptime/bedtime. 

 

 

[Peace out muffins]

Benedryl. They took out the baby recs from the box because too many people were urban legend-ing about knocking their kiddos out with it. But you can still use it.

[Whereneverever]

My dd2 has taken Zyrtec since she was one. The doc gave me the dosing info.

[Loowit]

My DS has been on Zyrtec since he was very little.  It was prescribed by his allergist.  I didn't use Benadryl because it makes him very sleepy and irritable.

 

As for nursing, antihistamines are safe, however, they can lead to your milk drying up a little or sometimes a lot.  I had to take some for a while for a bad allergic reaction and had no ill effects from it, and my DS was fine.

[AimeeM]

Benedryl DOES make my kiddos drowsy, so I hesitate to use it during the day (night might be fine, but he's clumsy enough during the day without that, lol). If I gave it to him at night, what would the dosing be?

 

If I want to give him Zyrtec, the ped would be able to give me dosing info then? I've noticed that NONE of the children's allergy meds I have on hand have dosing directions for this young.

[Peace out muffins]

The doc can, or St Louis children's hospital have instructions on their website if he won't do it.

[Whereneverever]

Yes, if you call your pediatrician they should have proper dosing info for you.

[sbgrace]

My son was on Zyrtec from "toddlerhood" as well.

[wapiti]

We never had much luck with zyrtec though a lot of docs seem to like it (made my kids too cranky).  I probably wouldn't feel keen on long-term use of those types of meds for a toddler without a doc visit at some point.

 

Consider trying Xlear, a xylitol nasal spray, that my ds10 said worked better than Claritin when he first tried it.  I'm not sure if there's something in the air but he's stuffier again so he's back on OTC Children's Allegra in addition to the nasal spray.  He swears the nasal spray helps him and keeps it by his bedside in case he wants to use it during the night (all natural, no limit to how much he can use).  (My ds sees an allergist, who prescribed the OTC Allegra or Claritin and has some hefty asthma so I like to keep his sinuses clear)