Allergies

[LeeAndra]

So I evidently have allergies now.

My poor babies do, too. Nate is not even 2, and his nose was running like a sieve Thursday. It's not running anymore but now he has a cough from the drainage.

It started happening to me yesterday.

Oh joy.

Ellie said her throat is scratchy but I haven't seen any outward symptoms.

What do y'all take for your allergies that is OTC? As usual, there isn't anything I can give Nate because of his age but if you have some tried-and-true safe allergy remedy for a toddler, please let me know!

[KristinCB]

Just curious (since i'm dealing with a cold right now) how do you know it's allergies and not a cold you're passing around?

[staciahall]

I take generic Zyrtec (cetirizine hydrochloride) and have for years now with no side effects. I do take it at 10 pm every night, not sure if it makes me sleepy because I take it before bed.

[jacinda]

My girls and I use essential oils only. Lemon, lavender and peppermint in a roller bottle, applied to the back of the neck. I've not had to use OTC drugs for allergies in nearly 2 years. I use the Young Living brand.

[Traci Reed]

Finn is on prescription Flonase


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[luckyme]

My eyes are horribly affected by allergies. I have tried OTC Claritin and Reactine and Aerius and they only helped a little bit. Now I'm doing extra-strength Reactine pills and prescription Pataday eye drops (antihistamine directly in the eyes). It seems to be helping the most.

[luckyme]

Originally Posted by tx-nana-scraps

My hubby has used Patanol and Pazeo scripts for his eyes and they are in the same class as the one you use. He has good and bad days with his eyes and they bother him mostly in the evenings. Fluorescent lights and wind really bother his eyes. Lots of wind year round in TX! His eye doc told him to buy OCuSoft Lid Scrub Plus...these are pre-moistened small pads that he uses every morning to clean his eyelids. It cleans the eye lashes too. Sold OTC.

Fluorescent lights are awful! I have very light blue eyes so I'm super sensitive to light and I need sunglasses on even overcast days. I'm with your husband - wind is hard on the eyes too. I have a desktop humidifier at work too to help keep my eyes moistened.

I wash my face/eye area when I get home from work and that seems to help a bit and I use lid wipes too - Systane brand. I also use single-use capsule (no preservative) eye drops when needed and a gel drop at night when my eyes are really bad.

Goodness - I sound like a mess, haha!

[lovely1m]

I think I have developed them in the last year, too. I have never had them, how can they start in my mid-30s? What would have changed?

[kristalund]

i too developed them but i thought it was b/c we moved to the "valley" where all the icky stuff settles. i just bought claritin and have been meaning to try oils.

[mariewilcox]

Pataday (eye drops - my eyes get soooo itchy!) is a lifesaver for me during the spring (when the trees are starting to bud out and the pollen is heavy). The rest of the year I take loratadine (generic Claritin) just about every day - doesn't make me sleepy and takes away the irritating sneezing and stuffiness I get from many different things.

[mariewilcox]

Originally Posted by lovely1m

I think I have developed them in the last year, too. I have never had them, how can they start in my mid-30s? What would have changed?

Fun fact - (well not so fun really) but your body goes through chemical changes every so many years and you can become allergic to things you never had a reaction to before. I was never allergic to shellfish/fish until I was 21 years old.

ETA: There is the myth that the body "replaces" itself every 7 years but this isn't the same thing - the chemical makeup changes due to varying factors and allergies can develop due to these changes Your environment can also change.

[LeeAndra]

I don't know for sure, KCB, but our symptoms are different than they have been in the past when we've been sick.

Usually Nate doesn't eat, especially meat, & doesn't sleep through the night when he is sick. He has been eating & sleeping regularly and hasn't been moody or irritable, either. He just has an on and off runny nose with some coughing/congestion.

My eyes are really bothering me this time which has never happened to me before when I've been sick.

[glumirk]

I love my Claritin, my brother's allergies dramatically improved with the combo of the essential oils Jacinda mentioned (except he uses Doterra), as well as regular chiropractic care. He was always miserable no matter what meds he took, and now he barely notices allergy season.

[icindi]

Wow, might have to try the essential oils, we are an allergic mess in this house! And the eye wipes - had never heard of that and my son refuses eye drops. We are all on Allegra (OTC). There are generics but unfortunately they contain lactose, which my son is allergic to. What a crazy thing to put in an allergy med!!! We were on zyrtec years ago but it made us tired. Allegra does not do that.

[~Cindy~]

My two year old takes zyrtec nightly. The doctor gave us a prescription. He has really light blue eyes. So I also had to get some eye drops for him because, they're really matted in the mornings when he wakes up.

My six year old takes zyrtec and flonase nightly. He's highly allergic to grass. All the types of grass that are grown in the south where we are located unfortunately. (Mommy is pretty sure she passed that gem on)

I take alavert daily otherwise I'm a sneezing, watery eye, runny nose mess! It doesn't make me tired/groggy like zyrtec does.

[stormchaser]

I need to try the essential oils. My allergies are so bad <sneeze> I never had them so bad until moving to northern California UGH! I am using eye drops constantly.

[Valgal]

Well, I just found out YESTERDAY that my son shouldn't be using Zyrtec D for more than 2 weeks at a time... and he takes that stuff all summer.

YIKES! I had no idea! So he's going to take reg. Zyrtec and go back on Flonase and see how that works. I also have to keep on him about 1.keeping his bed linens changed (esp. pillowcase) 2. changing his clothes after an outdoor event 3.showering after an outdoor event.

He used to have horribly itchy eyes and used drops, till he started wearing glasses. I thought it was a coincidence, but the dr. said that glasses protect your eyes from allergens blowing into them, so you can even wear sunglasses outside if you don't have to wear prescription lenses.

Also, make sure you keep up to date on changing your air filters in the house., and consider having your air ducts cleaned if it hasn't been done in a long time. You'd be shocked out much stuff is trapped in there! Makes a BIG difference.

[Valgal]

I had allergies so bad as a kid that my eyes would completely swell shut, and now... nothing. I think my body built up an immunity. I really do.

[clucaswvu04]

Also as much as it's no fun, when mine get really made a nasal rinse helps keep my nose/sinuses from getting too stuffy. We also try and use local honey as much as we can, and use essential oils as well.

My two youngest also are on singular. My middle kid takes allergy medicine morning and night, shots once or twice a week (depending on spacing/days), and a nasal spray - he has them awful. I have allegra and a nasal spray, prescription eye drops and think I am soon going to have to go to shots too

Also just developed food allergies - because yes your body does go through changes chemically every few years fun stuff :/ not really! We keep our air filters changed regularly and also have an air filter in the middle one's room during spring and fall to help (poor kid just has a super sensitive system)

[JMC1988]

I have allergies year round! Mine became so bad I went to have allergy testing and am highly allergic to dust mites and cockroaches which hello, they are EVERYWHERE! And slight allergy to pollen which is really, really bad here in the south right now.

I use Zyrtec/Allegra OTC (daytime), Benadryl OTC (nighttime), RX Flonase nasal spray, RX Singulair and RX Bepreve & Pataday eye drops. I also have a allergen cover over my mattress and pillows. I also use an air purifier.

My allergy doctor recommended Zatador eye drops OTC as the best for allergies/itchy eyes.

La, I would definitely check with his pediatrician about children's Claritin as a coworker has a 1 year old and she gives her Claritin regularly.

Also ladies, it is recommended that you alternate OTC allergy meds every 3 to 4 months as your body/system can become immune to it and hence not work as well. I alternate between Zyrtec and Allegra every 4 months.