Hi I just found out the my 2 year old has seasonal allergies. Unfortunately I learned the hard way when he developed a sinus infection (I had no idea kids can get this). My question is I want to get some time of personal inhaler. I've seen some at Walgreens and CVS is it worth getting? Should I contact my doctor on some sort of breathing machine. His nose is always blocked and I've been giving him steam manually (boiling hot water putting some vapor rub in the water and having him breath in the steam) but its not doing the trick.
Please help thank you!
CLARIFICATION:
I think my question totally confused everyone sorry I wasn't clear enough. I meant a Walgreens Personal Cough & Cold Steam Inhaler (not for asthma but for congestion). At the moment I give him Claritin during the day but maybe I should switch it to night time instead. I also used saline drops on him at least 3 times a day. The Claritin does help but night time is when it gets bad. I've heard about the nettie pott but I don't think he will be still enough for that. Thanks so much for all your inputs!
Thank you to everyone who answered. I decided to call the peditrician and got a call back. The nurse said that for congestion they recommend cool air mist humidifier because its safer than a vaporizer for children that young. So went ahead and got one. But I will definitely be more diligent about the saline drops.
Talk to your doctor.
They might put him on some kind of seasonal allergy meds (like Claritin or the like).
I would NEVER EVER get an inhaler without talking to my doctor first.
I could be completely wrong here.. but I thought inhalers were for asthma, not seasonal allergies? I think I would talk with your Dr. first before self medicating with OTC inhalers?
Also, my son suffers from seasonal allergies and we simply use Childrens Claritan every evening before bed to help for the next day.
Good luck!
An inhaler is for asthma and works in the lungs/chest - does he have allergies AND asthma? If you are just wanting to reduce his congestion in his nose - that is not an inhaler.
If the humidifier/steam treatment isn't working and you don't want to start him on allergy medication, then you can use saline solution and squirt up his nose to loosen and then use the bulb syringe.
You can also do a nettie pot - I'm not sure if there is an age range. I have a friend who started using a nettie pot about 5 years ago and doesn't take any allergy meds anymore and has not been sick since.
Before you do an inhaler, check with his ped. I would have that be only with input/prescription from his ped.
Try a teaspoon of Benedryl... Works great for my 2 year old son.
Morning O.! :)
How unfortunate that your little man has allergies! I would try Benadryl first to see if that clears up his symptoms. Plus try a dehumidifier in his room at night to help him sleep. :) Also if he will allow you try a sinus nasal cleansing pot. My daughter hates it but it does work to get all the bacteria out of her nose to clean it out.
The breathing machines and inhalers are only for asthmatic children and adults. It wouldnt help him but make him more sick.
If the symptoms dont go away within a few hours, I would take him back to the doctors to get something alittle stronger.
Good luck! And I hope your little man feels better soon :)
When my 6 month old grandson is stopped up from a cold, I use Little Noses Saline spray/drops. I drop about 2 drops per nostril, let it sit a bit & then suck it out with a nasal aspirator. This helps him breath very well and I don't need meds for him. I don't think he'd tolerate the Nettie Pot either, heck I would have a hard time sitting still for that. My daughter used one & it helped but she was a teenager too.
BUT what I use in his room (he & his Mom are living with us while she has surgery & Dad is in CA with the Navy) is Vick's Steam Guard Vaporizer with some VapoSteam poured in the water (just follow directions) This is wonderful, smells great & he can sleep well without getting congested.
Also they make a Vapo Bath stuff you can bathe them in that helps too.
Hope it helps and that this will pass quickly.
We are from Virginia which is quite bad when it comes to pollen allergies. My daughter has been suffering each season since she was 2 years old. I did not give her any medicine till she was 4 years. Besides general precautions e.g. washing hands after playing outside, keep windows closed, take bath before getting in the bed, etc, we used a lot of saline drops and that big dropper to get all the yucky stuff out from the nose. During night we always kept her head a bit high for easy breathing. That's for my daughter.
My son (3 years) got some allergies from "ragweed", which i found out yesterday. I give him zytec in the night as he is not able to rest whole night. You need to keep a steady dosage of allergy medicine to give them time to build in the system to help ease allergy symtoms. Worst part is he likes to sucks his thumbs in the night and with blocked nose it is just not possible for him, which makes him uncomfortable, but medicine, saline drops and dropper are working now.
Hope your son feels better soon. I know it is quite bothering for little ones and for parents too.
