Allergies in 4 Year Old Son

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My four year old son is showing signs of allergies - sniffling and sneezing. At times I've seen what I thought was darkness under his eyes. At first I noticed his symptoms mostly after we had been next door where my parents raise horses. They have plenty of shavings, hay and a barn cat. We ourselves have chickens and a dog. Now he is even waking up in the morning with the sniffles.

My husband's family has a history of allergies. For that reason I breastfed my son for an extended period. My father-in-law is bothered by food allergies as well (cabbage and nuts). My husband is allergic to cats and he had the scratch tests as a child that showed he was allergic to just about everything they tested for.

At my son's 3 year old check up last October I asked the pediatrician about it. Her only suggestion was a trial of Claritin to be taken during allergy season. Well, I already know that allergy season for him is going to be year round. It looks like Claritin has a number of side effects like most prescription medicines. I'm not willing to start a 4 year old on something like that at this point.

I've read some on allergies and the problems dust mites or bed bugs can cause. I'm wondering if it's worth spending the money on all the bedding covers and a HEPA air filtration machine for his room. I just can't be sure exactly what all he's allergic to BUT I'd be willing spend whatever it takes to help him. The doctor did say he was too young for testing.

I'm just looking for suggestions, advice or comments for what may have worked or at least helped others with allergic children. Are there any particular books that were helpful? I haven't happened on to what I felt was a really good book on children and allergies from an alternative approach yet.

I feel discouraged at the moment because if I knew all he was allergic to - the easiest solution would be to keep him away from those things. Unfortunately, all the things I suspect are causing the problems are things a little boy in the country is just drawn to and I can't blame him. I love all those things too!

Any responses would be MOST APPRECIATED!

Mel in North Carolina

-- Melanie Carroll (frank.a.carroll@worldnet.att.net), March 26, 2001

Answers

I would call an allergist .A nasal inhaler greatly helps my kids .The special bed covering also work and the air filter is great .Ban any animals from his room , a/c in the summer helps even just in his room so he has a safe place .Shots did help my children , also lots of rest .Allergies make you tired .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 26, 2001.

Hi Melanie, I live in North Carolina too! I think the number one cause of allergies is milk or dairy products. I guarantee if you would take your son off dairy for 1 week that you would see a 100% improvement. I have done alot of reading on allergies and most allergies always seem to be linked to dairy. I know my son always had congestion and sniffles and I took him off dairy and he improved 100%. It is just a suggestion! I tend to think doctors over exaggerate on allergies. Everybody I know there children are allergic to something and they are either taken claritin or an inhaler or both. Well that is just my opinion! E-mail me if you have any more questions. Have a blessed day!

-- Sarah from NC (Caswell995@cs.com), March 26, 2001.

Read the book "Home Safe Home" by Debra Lynn Dadd. I'd talk to a good naturalpathic(sp) doctor AND a nutritional chiropractor. a nutritionist at a helth food store can be helpful. Books by Dr. Lendon Smith and Adelle Davis would be very helpful.

-- Cindy (SE In) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.

My twelve year old has developed asthma over the last couple of years, and I know that it is frustrating trying to figure out the triggers. From experience, I know that dust will make him wheeze. I don't know about your area, but here there are a lot of natural allergens as well. I suggest you have him be in a different room when you are doing dusty jobs(vacuuming, etc.) You really have to keep your eyes and ears open to watch for triggers. I know it seems like it could be anything. Good luck.

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), March 26, 2001.

Your son has my sympathies but he can lead a normal life with a few good helps!!!

I am the one who lost down to about 85 lbs. and nearly died several times from my ADULT allergies after "outgrowing" childhood allergies many years ago.

A good air filter for his room would definately help while he sleeps.

Also, you are wise to question what the doctors do. I am the only one who can really know what's going on in my body and you must do that for your son...you must be the responsible person.

I was on steroids for 11 years and weaned myself off of them about 4 years ago (against my doctors advice). Anyway, when I had the big scare with my eyes this year they were afraid I had developed low pressure glaucoma from the long history of steroid use. Thankfully it was something else but that just goes to show you that the drugs they say are "safe" are really never safe.

If you hang his bed clothes on the line after washing, put them in a clothes drier for about 20 minutes on hot to kill dust mites. It's good to put all his pillows and all his quilts and other covers in there for the heat treatment too.

Don't have carpet in his room and have curtains that you can take down and wash OFTEN.

I was allergic to practically everything, food and environmental, as a child, but got better during my teen years.

Then when I hit my 30's they returned with a vengence! We built a new house after ours burned and that new house almost killed me. The paneling, carpeting, etc!!! In that house we eventually put in central heat and air conditioning with HUGE electro-static filters.

AFter my dad died and we bought this house, I ripped out all the carpeting.

Be extremely careful about what he eats. He might eat peanuts once and be o.k. or several times and be o.k. and then suddenly develop a life-threatening allergy to them.

My major foods that I must avoid include chocolate, peanuts, eggs, and any kind of fish. But I showed up allergic to EVERY food and EVERY environmental thing they tested me for (more than 200 things) about five years ago.

I did take allergy shots again this go round, giving myself eight shots a week for about three years. But I don't know if they really helped or not. But I am better now and can eat a few more things than before.

You also need to watch because some of his allergies may manifest themsselves as gastro-intestinal upsets. Some doctors won't agree allergies are the cause but in all my research I see that more and more and that was a MAJOR problem for me. If he says his stomach hurts after he eats something or he has diahrhea, take him seriously and remember or write down what he ate that time.

I wish you the best of luck!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.



What ever you do, do not give him continual doses of cold medications. This is what was done to me for my allergies, and now I am immune to the cold medications. I must take twice the maximum dose to get any relief.

With allergies, you must make the decision on just how miserable the child is. Is he really hurting or suffering? Or is he just a little down? You must be the one to decide and don't let the doctor's shove meds down the child's throught at every opportunity.

Do look for triggers, the best way is to keep a diary. We found out that I am allergic to the mold that grows on the pollution in the air. A rather rare one I guess. But that means when it rains after a dry spell, I get stuffed up with a sore throught.

Good luck with finding out what your son's triggers are. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.


Wow! I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has responsed so quickly! Just a few more thoughts since hearing your responses.

Sarah, I have read that milk can be a "hidden" culprit and have actually thought about eliminating all dairy products in my son's diet. A few weeks ago I bought some soy milk to see if that would be acceptable to my son. Of course, he didn't like it. Any way, I know eliminating dairy would include milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream. What about milk in baked goods? I have some bread recipes that I put milk in. I could easily substitute another liquid but I'm just curious how strict it would need to be. An item like milk could easily be hidden in a food you may not suspect. It would be worth a try if it would take just 1 week to tell if it's going to make a difference.

My son hasn't had any trouble with his vaccinations in the past but I'm concerned about the ones coming up this October at his 5 year old check up. DPT is one that will be given. I've read part of a book about DPT called something like "A Shot in the Dark". It sounds like there have been some real problems with the pertussis part of the vaccine - particularly in children with allergies. I'm thinking I should pass on the pertussis.

My husband doesn't think our son is suffering too terribly (yet) and I am hoping he should know. I just want to start trying to help him now so it doesn't get worse or develop into something more.

I think a daily diary would be helpful. All the adjustments to his room sound like they would be worthwhile. I have read Debra Lynn Dadd's book "Home Safe Home". Since becoming a mother I'm so much more concerned about what we are exposing ourselves to each day. I feel like I can't learn enough about it.

I, too, have suffered at the hands of conventional medicine. I took antibiotics for around 3 years straight for acne. I didn't think it sounded right but at that point I didn't know what to do but trust the dr. I ended up with major problems with yeast. I finally found an alternative dr. (which my health insurance wouldn't cover) who finally helped me get back on the path to health.

Once again, many thanks! It's wonderful to know like-minded folks exist!

-- Melanie Carroll (frank.a.carroll@worldnet.att.net), March 26, 2001.


IS THIS YOUR CHILD? by Dr Doris Rapp. It is fantastic.

Did your son have ear infections when he was young? Colic? Cough? Red cheeks? That would be dairy. Not sure? Take all dairy away for five days. (Including what is in mixes. Casin and whey also) Is there any difference? Give him a glass of milk on an empty stomach on the sixth day and give him a coloring book. Does he have trouble concetarting on staying in the lines? Does he feel dizzy? Is he hard to handle or argumentive? Did his one ear turn bright red and is hot to touch? This test can be done with any allergic food (I did the test with my son and found that I was also allergic to milk. The next day, my son was uncontrollable in school. I was nasty. Delayed reaction)

Keeping a journal is really worth while. Enclude what he has smelled, eaten and touched. Having an airpurifier in his bedroom at least will help alot. If you cannot avoid the airborn allergins, at least keeping the food down will help him clean out his system faster without an overload. (The book explains it much better)

Good luck and if ever you'd like, e-mail me anytime. Oh, there is also a good web site, Parents of Allergic Children. They also have alot of information.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), March 26, 2001.


You might be interested in the PBS show tonight about chemicals in our environment. There's a thread here on it: http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004rjr

I don't drink cow's milk myself. I use rice milk on my cereal. My favorite was actually a blend of rice and soy milk, but I am sensitive to soy, so I quit getting that. I get Rice Dream by Imagine Foods -- but of course, you have to go to a natural foods store to get it.

If he doesn't like them, why not have him drink water or nothing (his choice)? I think we all get way too much dairy anyway.

-- Joy F (So.Central Wisconsin) (CatFlunky@excite.com), March 26, 2001.


I would consult an allergist first to see what he may be allergic to. Claritin will only suppress the symptoms and you really need to find the cause and treat that. Kids can be allergic to many things--common culprits are milk products, eggs, chocolate, peanuts, strawberries,wheat, gluten, corn, dust mites, molds, cats, dogs. From a natural perspective, herbs can be used to build up the body so that when allergy system arises the immune reaction is lessened. Usually herbs are used to optimize liver function (the liver has a significant role in the allergy process). Herbal allergy regimens must be started before allergy season and used for months. It can take a couple of seasons to see results. The other thing to do, obviously, is to remove the culprits from the environment and keep the house clean and dust free. You may want to get an air purification system for his bedroom and living areas. You may also want to consult a homeopathic practitioner and other complementary modalities. Modern medicine alone has little to offer except diagnostics and suppressive medications.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), March 26, 2001.


I agree with Joy and Dee, try eliminating the dairy products for a week and see if a difference is made, sometimes this alone is the culprit, sometimes there are multiple food "triggers", you have to go through the elimination diet to discover them. All this is way better than just "covering up" the symptoms with antihistamines though, it's far better and healthier to figure what the body needs to operate at optimum health.

Also, try giving your son Ester C in the weight appropriate doses at least twice a day ( it can be bought in powder form and mixed with food or liquids) and see if this natural antihistamine helps him.

The mechanical forms of allergan elimination are very helpful too, you did not say if you use a woodburning stove, these, unfortunately, are a real aggravation to people with allergies! One whiff of woodsmoke and it's instant migraine headache for me and my allergic husband! Doesn't matter if the stove is airtight, cost 3000.00, or not, the woodsmoke has to go!

Hope some of these ideas help, they are worth a try.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 26, 2001.


I am in the same category as your husband. The only two things they tested for the first time that I WASN'T allergic to were trees and grass. They did five rounds of testing, and nothing much changed the results. Know how hard it is to have dogs, cats, rabbits and plenty of ripe compost?? Not really that hard.

Now... all my life I've spent at least six weeks out of every year down with 'allergic pneumonia'. In the past 8 years I have only had three colds, none of which went into my chest.

The answer in my case was a deviated septum. Took the blasted medical profession and all their many experts 28 years to find that!!! Check into it!!!

See, turns out the whole left side of my face was clogged for my entire lifetime. Since it couldn't drain out, it drained down. Had sniffles every day before that. When they finally did surgery, the doctor found an infection that had been hidden in there for "years" he said.

Don't let the idea of a surgery scare you. First of all.... This is just me. Might not be your son's problem. Second, I still have allergies - just don't bother me as much as curbing my lifestyle would. Third - its simple - and its painless afterwards.

I have also heard that certain herbs help allergies, but I haven't tried it...

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 26, 2001.


Melanie- One of the problems with milk is all the antibiotics, hormones, etc. that the cows are fed. I was warned away from cow's milk by my doctor after I had cancer 10 years ago. BUT, he told me to buy raw goat's milk because goats are usually not treated with antibiotics the way cows are. The concern was that my immune system was being affected by the antibiotic residue in the milk. My nephews did not like the goat's milk at first, so I started by mixing it 50/50 with their milk, then gradually decreasing the amount of cow's milk until they were drinking 100 percent goat's milk. Now, they say the milk at Granny's tastes "funny". We never tried soy milk, but I imagine you could try the same thing.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), March 26, 2001.

I've heard it said that the major reason for the "asthma epidemic" we have these days is that when clothes washing is done now, we no longer boil clothes, then sun-dry. We are not killing the dust-mites, and continual exposure to dust-mites and their droppings also primes us to become sensitised to other potential allergens. So - hot-water washing, preferably line-drying, and maybe if there are still problems then as suggested above use a dryer to suck off pollen from outside-drying.

Also, use a quilted mattress-protector which you can wash frequently, also wash pillows and ALL bedding freqently - this may dictate what kind of blankets and bedspreads you can use. In addition, vacuum mattress often before skin flakes, scurf and house dust can work their way deep inside.

As above, similar problem with carpets - fitted carpets can't be taken outside and cleaned regularly. Carpets used to be taken out and beaten. Anyone who's ever cleaned under a mat knows that simple vacuuming on top doesn't get everything - a lot works it's way into and through the mat (or carpet).

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 26, 2001.


Definately have allergy test done as soon as the dr will do them. I suffered for years until I found out that my main allergin was dust mites. I have taken shots now for 4 years but I had an immediate improvement when I purchased the mattress, boxsprings and pillow covers. They were fairly expensive (about $100 for a full size bed and 4 pillows) but worth every penny. I no longer wake up with cloginess in my throat. I also started washing sheets and towels in hot water (always used cold before)and I still hang them out to dry. I ordered my covers from National Allergy Supply 800-522-1448. It is also helpful not to have carpets in the house. Hope he gets some relief soon!

-- CJ Popeck (cjpopeck@amexol.net), March 31, 2001.


You would all have me in the hospital line drying my clothes. With all the pollen blowing on them!

Make his room his safe room. I have tile floors, blinds instead of curtains, and I keep my door closed. Nobody would ever think of coming in my house smoking. No shoes, or barn clothes allowed also. I shower before bed time to keep my bedding free of animal dander and pollen in my hair. Nose sprayers (perscription) but even the Nasal Crom from Wallmart work great, targeting only the allergy triggers in the nose and not going in the blood stream. I save any allergy meds for really bad times, since with my asthma meds I am not supposed to use them. If I start my nose spray early, and keep using it, my sneezing from pollen never happens. Do not smoke, do not have pets in the house. Even parents who smoke "only outside" still have hair and clothes full of smoke coming into the home. Don't used perfumed soaps in the bathroom or on his clothes.

You may want to try the BRAT diet on him, Bananas, Rice, Apples and Tea. Bananas, Rice can also be rice cereal, Apples as in 100% applejuice or applesauce and Tea is anything to drink that is not red and that you can see-through. If after 5 days he is better, than you are dealing with food allergies, and you need to start adding one at a time, new foods. Mine are wheat, corn and tomatoes. If he is having trouble with a sour stomach when he awakens, it is from post nasal drip, odor-free garlic pills taken each day will help with this. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 31, 2001.


Melanie, I forgot to say that I had both the scratch test and RASP (blood test) done for allergins. They both showed I was allergic to different things. The RASP test said I wasn't allergic to dust mites, while the scratch test showed I was highly allergic to it. My sister and I both figured it was because the RASP test shows a delayed reaction while the Scratch test shows an immediate reaction.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), April 01, 2001.

MANY TEACHERS DON'T UNDERSTAND

As a classroom teacher of 30 years, I see that many teachers do not understand children with allergy and asthma problems. YOU MUST PUT IN WRITING AND IN PERSON WHAT YOUR CHILD'S PROBLEM IS. It is not enough to just tell the school nurse, or write it out for her. It very often does not get to the teacher. Make sure a substitute has the information. Don't assume a teacher will remember to send your son to a nurse for medicine (inhaler before P.E.) Make sure a P.E. teacher understands you child's problem. Take him out of P.E., if he is having problems breathing with asthma. Check his medicine with the nurse, to make sure it is not out! Recess is a problem, if there is a lot of dust or someone is burning nearby and the smoke gets to the child,the teacher on duty may not know about your child's health problem. If grass has just been mowed and the air is coming in the windows, your child can have an asthma attack, if allergic to the grass. I, the teacher had this happen to me. My 1st grade students saw me, unable to breathe or talk when I had my asthma attack. I did have an inhaler in my pocket. The next year I moved by class to the north side of the building away from the grass. You might need to move your son to another classroom, or put an air conditioner in the classroom, if he is alergic to the grass. If your child has a food allergy, be sure the teacher is aware of it and doesn't allow him to eat or drink at a school party, Halloween, Valentines, etc. If your child is super allergic to bee stings, you may need to have medicine in her possession at all time. The nurse is often in another building, even across town, or absent with no substitute nurse. At this rate, I guess you'll never let your son go to school. If your child has very serious problems, possibly you might consider part time school attendance and then home schooling or tutoring, at least until your son is old enough to manage his own asthma and allergy problems. Be a protective "Momma Bear, its okay", he is the most precious little guy in your life. Best of Luck! A Missouri Caring Teacher 4-17-2001 Yvonna Goehring (e-mail: larrygoehring@yahoo.com)

-- Yvonna Goehring (larrygoehring@yahoo.com), April 18, 2001.


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