Hay Fever?

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Olessaty
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Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 4:40 pm
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by Olessaty on Fri May 20, 2011 5:05 pm

Hay Fever?

My little girl is almost three years old.

For as long as I can remember she has been particularly prone to having a very runny nose. It has been commented on by various family members.

Following a chest infection she was put onto inhalers for possible asthma. Ventolin and Clenil Modulite. The nasal irritation continued, though the cough did clear up somewhat.

I took her back again and it was decided she might instead have (non-specific) allergies and she was prescribed Cetirizine . At the time there was a cat at home, which I re-homed to see if symptoms improved. Her symptoms cleared up and for the first time she had a clear nose most of the time. After each course of antihistamine I stopped to see if symptoms returned, which they did. Another doctors trip after about six months of the medication (to ensure that being on it long term was okay) and the doctor said that if the symptoms cleared around about the end of October it was likely to be hay fever.

Symptoms were clear, barring the occasional cold, from the end of October to the end of February , where they returned with a vengeance. We started back on the Cetirizine again, but two months into the treatment and she had not improved at all. The nasal congestion/mucus was significantly affecting her, she developed another rattling cough, and was now also complaining about sore eyes and looking very shadowy beneath the eyes.

An appointment with a walk-in clinic nurse and we decided trying a different antihistamine might help and to begin using her inhalers again for the cough. She went onto Chlorphenamine Maleate 2.5mg every four hours in the day. This has been used for about three and a half weeks now and there is no improvement in her nasal congestion/mucus and she is still coughing.

Do I need to continue for longer or should I see a doctor about further treatment? At three is she quite young for this sort of allergy and will it develop with time? What else could I do to help with her symptoms? What is the usual course of action with children and this sort of allergy? Do the doctors confirm what the allergy is actually to via testing or is it a trial by elimination thing?

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AnnaB
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by AnnaB on Wed May 25, 2011 7:16 pm

Re: Hay Fever?

Hi
The new meds your daughter is on is also known as Piriton, so keep an eye on her that it is not making her feel sleepy. My son still suffers with bad eyes and terrible nose even on cetirizine. He has eye drops and a nasal spray. It is certainly worth a visit to the GP as there are more things they can try. Also we can combine the cetirizine and the chlorophenamine on bad days. Good luck and keep us posted Anna
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williamsmummy
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by williamsmummy on Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:58 pm

Re: Hay Fever?

it does sound like your child may have tree pollen and hay fever allergies, it might be worth mentioning this to your doctor.
my son has all the environmental allergies, and because of his very high rating for dustmite, he is on a daily antihistamine, nasal spray .
however, its recommended that you start antihistamines at least 2 weeks before your allergy season starts, and use the nasel sprays and eye drops.
other ways in which you can make your child more comfortable are,
keeping bedroom windows shut,
dont put bedding or clothes on the line to dry.
dab vaseline on inside of nose, to catch the pollen grains before they go in to nose.
shower and rinse hair before bed time or when you get home from being outside at the park etc, to get pollen of clothes and skin.

also it sounds like your child may have more than one environmental allergy, has she been tested for more than one allergy? have you asked to be refferred to a immunologist? have you tried nasel sprays?
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