D.G.
My whole family has allergies. My son has asthma and my daughter has had constant sinus infections because of the drianage turning into infection. Our house is full of air filters, one in every room. Plus an ozone one in the main room which we use at really bad times of year. We use a hepa vaccuum and well, you get the picture. The truth is you are probably right in your gut that your son has allergies. It really depends on what type of insurance you have that will determine your future, to tell you the truth. If you have a PPO you can go to an allergist yourself, and I say go. If you have an HMO then you have to follow the procedures. Your son's doctor will not send him to an allergist until there is sufficient evidence on paper which will back up a referral. So, instead of taking him when he is sick only, you have to take him more often and complain of his symptoms when he is not sick. Just be honest with your doctor about how you feel about the clairitin. Eventually your doctor will get sick of seeing you and hearing you ask to be sent and he will send you. Both my kids have been to an allergist, and the great thing is that I now know what they are allergic to, but all they could do for them was give them prescription meds to control the symptoms and offer me weekly shots to help build up their resistance to the allergens. After some research, I refused the shots and decided to just use the prescription meds. I know your baby is very young and I would feel the same as you as far as the meds go, but sometimes to keep the constant snot from becoming an infection, you have to clear it out. I suggest using vicks vapor rub, or the vicks plug ins, they really help clean out the stuffy nose, so it doesn't get plugged and start growing bacteria and turn into an sinus or ear infection. There are also some things you can do naturally to help, go to a health food store or see a naturalist. If you can afford it definetly buy an air purifier with an ionizer for the rest of your house. Stay away from any products that have fragrance listed on the label. Check out his website: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com and click on the link on the right that says "what is fragrance", you will learn a lot. Use fragrance free lotions, like Aveeno and laundry detergent and fabric softener, downey makes one, also fabric softener sheets. For the skin, we deal off and on with eczema, but not the same thing. A great product that really helps is called surgeon's secret. There's nothing like it when you are dealing with a major skin problem. Hope this helps.
