Dr. Hive... DD allergic to mold, grass, and elm. Allergy drops? Anything else to try?

[staceyobu]

DD age 11 has always suffered with seasonal allergies. She had a blood test that showed allergies to mold, grass, and elm. We moved a year ago, and her allergies have been much, much worse since we moved.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on allergy drops. Anything else we should try first?

 

In our former house we ripped all the carpet out and replaced with vinyl flooring. It made zero difference. This house is all laminate flooring.

 

She takes zyrtec daily. We've tried claritin and benadryl. Nothing seems to really faze her anymore.

 

If you've gone the drops route, any thoughts on if it worked?

[Only me]

Have you tried something like Nasacort spray? it makes a huge difference for me. It can take up to a week to work but it's worth it. Actually it worked much faster for me. It helps me when everything else doesn't (Zyrtec, Allegra, Benadryl etc) My bottle says it's ok for kids 6-12.

[staceyobu]

Have you tried something like Nasacort spray? it makes a huge difference for me. It can take up to a week to work but it's worth it. Actually it worked much faster for me. It helps me when everything else doesn't (Zyrtec, Allegra, Benadryl etc) My bottle says it's ok for kids 6-12.

We've done flonase and another prescription only one that I am forgetting the name of. I might grab some nasacort tomorrow!

[Miss Peregrine]

Allerplex by Standard Process.

[Miss Peregrine]

Dp.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Miss Peregrine

[kubiac]

{soapbox}

 

I had ALL the allergies. Like, literally scores of environmental and food allergies. Getting allergy shots for the environmental allergies was the best medical decision I ever made in my life. I didn't do it until my late 20s, just because I was clueless. I wish I'd had the chance to do it in my early teens; it would have transformed my young adulthood.

 

{/soapbox}

[Spryte]

Another idea: VOCs.

 

My son has serious environmental allergies, and takes a ton of meds. He did a year of allergy shots, to no avail. Haven't tried drops.

 

Another doc, not his allergist, tested him for VOCs and heavy metals. Both were high. :( We worked on the metals, and started seriously reducing VOC exposure. And it seemed to help.

 

What you wrote about replacing carpet with vinyl, and now laminate, and how she reacted or didn't react ... Made me think of VOCs. I could write a book about our son, but trying to keep it short ... Vinyl and laminate both offgas VOCs. We put both in our old house and it definitely impacted DS.

 

If you suspect VOCs, an air purifier that has charcoal filters will help. There are probably other brands, but we use a Blue Air with special "smoke stop" filters - we are not smokers, but it catches the VOCs. It won't hurt with her allergens either.

 

Just a thought you might not have considered.

[staceyobu]

Allerplex by Standard Process.

Do any chain stores carry this? Or just amazon?

[Miss Peregrine]

Do any chain stores carry this? Or just amazon?

Look on the website for chiropractor offices near you. Amazon is 3-4 times higher.

[luuknam]

Allergy shots. Also, shower before bed, so the allergens don't get tracked from outside onto the bedding. And obviously, dry clothes in clothes dryer, not outside on a line. Allergy shots most of the time didn't particularly hurt (occasionally they must've hit a nerve), and if they work, it's a long-term solution, which is probably better for your liver/kidneys than taking meds all the time.

[bluemongoose]

I'm in the process of drops and yes they are helping. I chose them over shots because I can do them at home and not have to go into office once a week.

 

I'm highly allergic to grasses and mild trees and weeds. My drops are grasses.

[ktgrok]

I have family members that did the drops (they live in La Crosse, WI which is apparently a big area for doing this?) and SWEAR by them. I'm considering them for my son. Or at least testing. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We're saving up to put three of us through the drops. They are just now coming to allergists in our area even though they have been used in Europe for forever.

[kbutton]

No experience with drops, but shots probably saved my life. 

[staceyobu]

I'm in the process of drops and yes they are helping. I chose them over shots because I can do them at home and not have to go into office once a week.

 

I'm highly allergic to grasses and mild trees and weeds. My drops are grasses.

This is my biggest reason for considering drops. Driving 4 kids to an allergist to shots twice a week is less than appealing.

[RootAnn]

DD#1 has allergies to just about everything green outside plus pet dander of all kinds. She's been doing allergy shots for almost two years & they have made a big difference.

 

 

Have you tried locally (as in, within 5-10 miles of where you live) produced honey?

[luuknam]

I'm in the process of drops and yes they are helping. I chose them over shots because I can do them at home and not have to go into office once a week.

 

You can do allergy shots at home. Not right away, because they want to observe you for 15 min or so to see you do get a bad allergic reaction, but we moved just a couple of months after I started allergy shots, and they taught my wife to give them to me, as well as how much epinephrine to inject if I were to have a bad allergic reaction.

[Luckymama]

The drops have changed my 21yo dad's life. She's allergic to all trees and grasses and her OAS reactions to related fruits and veggies had been worsening over the past two years. She successfully ate apples for the first time in five years after 9 months on the drops.

 

She says she'll be first in line when drops for her soy allergy become available :)

[OnMyOwn]

The drops were ineffective for both of my kids, but the shots helped them quite a bit. Also, we found the nasal spray allergy treatments far more effective than any oral allergy meds.

[bluemongoose]

Luuknam...i did ask to do that. Don't have issues with shots. I was told by more than one allergist up here that they do not do those out of clinic. Maybe it is different in different areas/states?

[RootAnn]

Luuknam...i did ask to do that. Don't have issues with shots. I was told by more than one allergist up here that they do not do those out of clinic. Maybe it is different in different areas/states?

 

DD's allergist won't do them out of clinic unless they are being given by a nurse. (One guy locally is married to a nurse, so after the first several months, he can get the shots at home.) 

 

Another allergist in The Big City allows them to be done at home once the maintenance dosage has been reached - as long as you agree to give them during the day when it is easy to get to a clinic/hospital and you don't have a history of reactions. Depends on the provider here.