My kid came back from vacation in one piece . . . Allergy question

[Drama Llama]

DS14 is back.  He had a fantastic time. 

They played a ton of golf, and he went for some nice long runs, and bike rides, and they did some outdoor dining, and as you can expect, my kid with bad tree pollen allergies is a mess.  Red watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, itching.  This is despite plenty of medication.  We had him take a rapid test every day of the trip, because I knew he'd have trouble, and between that and the fact that he looks exactly how I'd expect him to look in late March, I am very confident he does not have covid. 

School has a letter on file from his doctor explaining his symptoms and the seasonality.  He can wear a high quality mask, which he probably needs to do because the windows are open due to covid. But I'm still worried that when he starts coughing they're going to send him home.

Anyone have experience or suggestions?   

Edited March 27, 2022 by Baseballandhockey

[Bambam]

It's too late now, but next time consider encouraging him to shower immediately upon returning indoors. This helps mine with serious outdoor allergies in spring and fall. Saline spray to clean out the nose helps too. The allergy eye drops help a lot as well.  But at least here, it is what it is until the season ends.

 

[sweet2ndchance]

Youngest ds has texture issues. He gags/throws up when he tries to eat certain textures. Despite a doctor's note on file and explicitly explained to all his teachers, ds was sent home on multiple occasions because he threw up after eating one of his texture triggers at lunch or snack. I'd say if the school is super covid cautious, be prepared for ds to be sent home.

I know you said he has plenty of medication but have you tired tag teaming multiple medications? Just as an example, Benedryl then Zyrtec an hour later. Ask his doctor of course for which ones to tag team but when I'm having a bad allergy day, I have to double up on my regular medication (take 2 of my 24-hour, once a day pills instead of just one that I usually take) and then tag team with a different medication to get it under control sometimes. 

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, Bambam said:

It's too late now, but next time consider encouraging him to shower immediately upon returning indoors. This helps mine with serious outdoor allergies in spring and fall. Saline spray to clean out the nose helps too. The allergy eye drops help a lot as well.  But at least here, it is what it is until the season ends.

 

He does all of those things already.  

I am wondering if there's a better eye drop.  We have an allergist appointment coming up.  

[Tree Frog]

5 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

He does all of those things already.  

I am wondering if there's a better eye drop.  We have an allergist appointment coming up.  

There are also allergy wipes for eyes. My allergies aren't as bad as your son's right now, but the wipes make a big difference! 

OCuSoft is the brand I use.

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Tree Frog
Changed the link because it was very long

[Drama Llama]

5 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Youngest ds has texture issues. He gags/throws up when he tries to eat certain textures. Despite a doctor's note on file and explicitly explained to all his teachers, ds was sent home on multiple occasions because he threw up after eating one of his texture triggers at lunch or snack. I'd say if the school is super covid cautious, be prepared for ds to be sent home.

I know you said he has plenty of medication but have you tired tag teaming multiple medications? Just as an example, Benedryl then Zyrtec an hour later. Ask his doctor of course for which ones to tag team but when I'm having a bad allergy day, I have to double up on my regular medication (take 2 of my 24-hour, once a day pills instead of just one that I usually take) and then tag team with a different medication to get it under control sometimes. 

We have, and it improves things.  He's got a ways to go though. 

[Drama Llama]

5 minutes ago, Tree Frog said:

There are also allergy wipes for eyes. My allergies aren't as bad as your son's right now, but the wipes make a big difference! 

OCuSoft is the brand I use.

 

Ooooh I will try those!

[Hilltopmom]

NY Teacher here.

call nurse first thing Monday AM and immediately follow up with email to teacher and nurse stating that his seasonal allergies are acting up due to the recent outdoor activity. Remind them there is a note on file.

Let nurse know about multiple negative tests & test again Monday morning at least.

this is how we are handling allergies in our district this year.

see how nurse wants to handle it from there- re: continued testing.

a few of my kids have pretty bad allergies with a dr note and have been coughing and sniffling non stop lately. None are being sent home anymore.

[Katy]

I’m so glad he had a great time

[Drama Llama]

44 minutes ago, Katy said:

I’m so glad he had a great time

So much fun.

We might have to rethink his current plan of being a public school teacher given how much he seems to enjoy luxury vacations.  

[Drama Llama]

He ate 🐌!

[katilac]

Even if he's in a Covid-cautious school, I can't imagine he's the only person with strong seasonal allergies. I like Hilltopmom's idea of proactively reminding nurse and teacher about allergies, telling them about recent tests, and giving another test on Monday morning. 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Hey, you could describe us!!

I talked with the school and district nurses to see what documentation needed to be on file. We got a doctor’s note stating the existing medical history and signed consent that the school district could test as they desired (but taking the burden of testing off me, where it had been).

Fwiw, the strongest allergy eye drop outside of steroids is olopatadine .7%, sold previously as Pazeo but now sold in generic as Pataday extra strength. It is cheapest at Costco. Walmart is often out, even online, but Target often has it available for shipping. It’s only a 2.5mL bottle but it works.

ETA: ocusoft plus wipes are way better than the regular ocusoft, we tear them in half to split among the kids. Cheapest price is Amazon subscribe and save.. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[Drama Llama]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Hey, you could describe us!!

I talked with the school and district nurses to see what documentation needed to be on file. We got a doctor’s note stating the existing medical history and signed consent that the school district could test as they desired (but taking the burden of testing off me, where it had been).

Fwiw, the strongest allergy eye drop outside of steroids is olopatadine .7%, sold previously as Pazeo but now sold in generic as Pataday extra strength. It is cheapest at Costco. Walmart is often out, even online, but Target often has it available for shipping. It’s only a 2.5mL bottle but it works.

ETA: ocusoft plus wipes are way better than the regular ocusoft, we tear them in half to split among the kids. Cheapest price is Amazon subscribe and save.. 

Thanks, we haven’t tried the wipes so I will check on that.

[Tree Frog]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Hey, you could describe us!!

I talked with the school and district nurses to see what documentation needed to be on file. We got a doctor’s note stating the existing medical history and signed consent that the school district could test as they desired (but taking the burden of testing off me, where it had been).

Fwiw, the strongest allergy eye drop outside of steroids is olopatadine .7%, sold previously as Pazeo but now sold in generic as Pataday extra strength. It is cheapest at Costco. Walmart is often out, even online, but Target often has it available for shipping. It’s only a 2.5mL bottle but it works.

ETA: ocusoft plus wipes are way better than the regular ocusoft, we tear them in half to split among the kids. Cheapest price is Amazon subscribe and save.. 

I was told to try the Pataday drops and successfully used them for about a month. When they worked, they were great! My eyes started having a reaction to them, so my optometrist suggested the wipes and gave me a box. For my eyes, the wipes work better than the drops. I've never tried the plus wipes. How is they different from the allergy wipes?

[chocolate-chip chooky]

4 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

He ate 🐌!

So glad to hear that he had a great time.

And some culinary adventures!

[Carol in Cal.]

Get some Naselcrom if you can find it—it’s a nasel spray that has no side effects and forms a physical barrier to keep allergens from triggering antihistamine response in your nose.  I find that it helps my eyes as well, which is interesting.  It’s OTC.  Takes regular use for a few days to kick in fully but is helpful from the start, and doesn’t have rebound like other nasel congestion drugs can.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Tree Frog said:

I was told to try the Pataday drops and successfully used them for about a month. When they worked, they were great! My eyes started having a reaction to them, so my optometrist suggested the wipes and gave me a box. For my eyes, the wipes work better than the drops. I've never tried the plus wipes. How is they different from the allergy wipes?

The Plus wipes are designed to have a longer lasting impact and they also have an antibacterial and anti-mite formulation. I don’t know that we’ve needed those two specific things regularly, but I do know my kids’ eye allergies have much better control when we use them.

[Drama Llama]

So super dumb question.  My kids doesn’t have eyelid allergies he has eyeball allergies or I assumed he does.  His eye lids are kinda irritated because he rubs them because his eyes itch   How do wipes on your lids help?  

[Tree Frog]

54 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

So super dumb question.  My kids doesn’t have eyelid allergies he has eyeball allergies or I assumed he does.  His eye lids are kinda irritated because he rubs them because his eyes itch   How do wipes on your lids help?  

They clean the lids and dry them out a little. Keeping the lids clean helps keep the allergens away. My optometrist told me to use them twice a day, but I've only used it once a day. I was told to rub down on the upper lid and up on the lower lid. I also usually wipe across the lash line.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Tree Frog

[Tree Frog]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

The Plus wipes are designed to have a longer lasting impact and they also have an antibacterial and anti-mite formulation. I don’t know that we’ve needed those two specific things regularly, but I do know my kids’ eye allergies have much better control when we use them.

Good to know. Thank you.