My Son Has Severe Allergies What Types of Things Can I Change to Help Him?

Hi E.,
Unfortunately, until you find out what it is he is allergic to, you really can't do too much to help him. Have you tried taking him to a specialist. Where do you live? I think there is an allergy clinic in Wichita. I believe they do testing and can find out what is causing his allergies. You might want to go this route so you can find out what you can do to minimize his reactions. Also, do you have pets or carpet? I know this is a big problem for a lot of patients who have allergies. Once you get rid of the pet dander, it might help. Two of my sisters are allergic to dog and cat dander. My sister was heartbroken when she had to give up her dog, but it has helped a lot. And they both say having hardwood floors helps out a lot too. Good luck and let us know what happens.

M.

My daughter had asthma. First thing I learned was to change what I was cleaning my house with. Also, I had to change what laundry detergent I used. Once we did that, we (the whole family) didn't have allergy or asthma problems, I would love to share with you what we went changed to. You can email me privately at ____@____.com .

A.

have you taken him to an allergist? My allergies got so bad, I finally went, found out I was allergic to much more than I thought. And I got some great tips on what to do to help. It could be that he is allergic to dust and since you dust alot it might stir up the dust, or could be mold since its been raining alot. Since he is so young there might not be anything medicine wise that he can take, but I would suggest going to an allergist and he could tell you things to prevent the allergies. PS animal dander are major allergy causes, so are formula, may need soy... Hope this helps, let me know!! ____@____.com

I work with a company that helps clean the toxins out of our homes with safer products. It's legit, for real - and really works! My girlfriend just converted her home over to all the safer products and her son, who was always in the allergists' office - hasn't had a single asthma or allergy flare up in over 6 weeks! Feel free to visit my website, fill out the form, and I'll contact you at a time that works for you...
I'd love to help you out. I know how much your heart must ache to know that your baby is sick and nothing so far is working. I'm sure this would help! www.healthyhome4family.com

First thing, stop dusting! Use a moist cloth - not damp really, but just wet enough to get the dust to stick to it. Dusting the 'normal' way kicks up just about as much dust as you toss out. Also, instead of cleaners and waxes, try using white vinegar for glass and even woodwork (as long as it's sealed). Get a good air filter and keep it running overnight if not all day. Make sure you wash his clothes and bedding in sensitive detergent and wipe down his hands if he's touching something that might set off his allergies (before he gets those hands into his eyes or mouth).

My husband's asthmatic and my son has terrible allergies. Fortunately, as he's gotten older, it's been a lot better. His pediatrician said that sometimes kids grow out of it or build up a tolerance to more common things.

Hi E.! Boy do we know what you are going through!! We have lived it everyday for the last 3 years with our little boy jacob.He started showing signs at about 3-4 months old with his face always breaking out when i ate certain foods[i nursed him] and finally he started getting blisters on his feet and spitting up more than normal so we took him to our pediatritian and had him tested for allergies to food and he is severely allergic to peanuts,milk,eggs or anything that has them in them.My suggestion to you would be to have him tested to see what it is he is allergic to because they put him on zyrtec once a day and he is soooo much better.It is worth the money to do it because sometimes it can develop into asthma if it's not treated and thats a scary thing.There is a lot of medicine out there but i think since he is so little zyrtec would be the number one thing because it's a long lasting medicine[24 hrs] and sure helps more than the rest[we've tried them all.Also since i have had him i have developed allergies and i am on the zyrtec too and let me tell you it makes a world of difference!! If you have any questions and want to chat here is my e-mail.Good Luck and God Bless!! ____@____.com

i have the same problem with my 6 mo old! i hate seeing her miserable but unfortunately i haven't been told anything different. saline drops in the nose and saline drops in the eyes. which don't seem to do much. the the saline drops for the eyes are actually sterile saline solution for sensitive eyes and i got this from my neighbor who had gotten from her pediatrician. (just wanted you to know it wasn't first-hand from my dr). my dr said i could give children's benedryl at night but check with your dr first about dosage. it's not for kids under two. let me know if you find anything else out!

My ped gave my baby Nasonex and Singulair.

Hi E.,
I know what you mean my husband has really bad allergies and asthma both and a little girl I watch has them. One thing that has helped my husband is that we took out the carpet in our house, not just because of the allergies but because of the spots on the carpet (it was blue carpet so ot showed everything). We also have a yellow lab, he is not allowed in our room either. The only room that still has carpet is my sons room and we want to take that up also. I would say also get an air purifier this will help and when you dust your son's room use something that won't stir the dust around. I give my 6 month old daughter the dimetap cold and allergy it says you can give it every 4 hours but I only give her 1/4 teaspoon 2 twice a day once in the morning and oncein the evening. I got a sheet(s) from my pediatrician that says how much of each medication you can give for each age/weight this has come in very handy. Claritn seems to work pretty good also for my kids. They don't seem to have near the allergies my husband does he has allergies, asthma, and is allergic to eggs, orange juice, apples, dogs (some), cats (all of them) grass, pollen, I could go on and on. I watch a little girl also that has allergies she gets sinus infections if she not on her zyrtec, they tried claritn and it didn't work. Her mom just had her at the Dr. on Friday and he said for even my kids it would be a good idea for them to take a decongestant and an antihistamine but only with these things in it. I think it's more a weather thing then anything. I don't know if there is anything we can really do other then dust everyday and things like this. I hope this might help you a little, W. mom of 4.

First off, bring the plants back in. They help to purify the air and bring oxygen into a room. Unless they're flowers and your son is allergic to the pollen. I would also suggest to get an air purifier or humidifier/dehumidifier. They're pricey, but in the end it's worth it... especially once they start getting colds and flus. I've suffered for a long time with asthma and allergies. My air purifier growing up helped me a lot. Now that I'm thinking about it... I don't even know why I havent' replaced it yet. LOL. The bonus with the purifier (or if you get a humidifier/dehumidifier) is that it makes white noise which should also help your baby sleep longer. Oh yeah... and vapor bath, that will helo clear up the baby's sinuses. Good luck!

Most drs will not tell you natural remedies but there are several.
#1 Quit using regular cleaners. My husband had horrible allergies until I switched to non-toxic products. Now he has one allergy attack per year and that lasts about an hour--not days!!
#2 Bring the plants back in. Most house plants do not give off pollen and they help clean the air.
#3 be careful about having your air ducts cleaned. I use Melaleuca oil (an open bottle or a bowl of it) in my return air vent and it keeps the mold, fungus, etc out of my air.
#4 Keep a diary of when your child seems to be worse. Take ALLLLLL the cleaners OUT of your house--put them in the garage or whatever. Get up to date on what chemicals are in your cleaners and you will NEVER use them again. go to www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to check out shampoos and such and http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ to check out cleaners. You will be SHOCKED!! These are non-profit websites that are trying to educate people.
#5 look at what he is consuming. He may very well be lactose intolerant or milk allergic. You might consider switching to soy or rice milk.
I wish you luck.
R.
http://cowen.healthyhometour.com

I agree with alot of them. My son is almost 18 now but allergies and asthma started when he was tiny like your son. I have also suffered with them all my life.
Wow! Some great answers so far.
I also found that using Melaleuca laundry products helped. (www.melaleauca.com) They are very gentle and natural. A good Allergy reducing air filter in your furnace/ac will work wonders! Get the expensive ones. They are worth every penny! And always dust with a damp cloth so dust doesn't get into the air. You also have to think about things that you use for your beauty routine, like perfume, hair products etc. All of them can cause the sneezing. Perfume smells are really bad for alot of allergy sufferers. Good luck!

Hi E.,

The best thing you can do is get rid of chemicals in you home, my husband had asthma (well... he still has it but it has improved so much that he hardly use his inhaler). I learned not long ago that almost every product that we use contains harsh chemicals, preservatives and fillers that are very dangerous to our health, specially to children (baby shampoo for instance has formaldehyde by the name of Quarternium 15 or Q15, you can check the labels for this). I switch all my products to naturally based ones with no harsh chemicals and it made a huge difference.
Let me know if I can help you with that. I buy from a company that sells through a membership that it is only $29 one time only and you can get over 350 products that are safer and healthier.
And the best of all, these products are less expensive than the ones you already buy at the store. And just so you know, I don't do the business, but when I learned this, I got so mad that I decided to let everybody know about it. I'd never ask to wash my baby's head with formaldehyde! Or wash her clothing with lye. I couldn't believe it when I learned it.
Hoping to help,

Mariana Abadie
www.mykidsfirst.com

Allergy Clinic of Tulsa is the best in the area. (this is coming from multiple doctors and local medical people i researched)They have dealt w/ both my children. Dr. Love is the best and said it's stupid that Ped. say you have to be 2 to do allergy testing!!

What are you feeding the baby? He could have a milk allergy. Usually severe allergies are food related? Especially that young. Have you tried Soy or alternatives? If you breastfeed you can actually give your child food allergies through foods that you eat.

Doesn't sound enviromental. If you really think it is I would take down any drapes, dust daily, vacume daily, wash bedding frequently (in "free" type detergent...he could be reacting to some detergent) make sure and don't forget to vacume or dust furniture.

Bottom line, get him seen.

I just saw this today, so I hope you are still getting responses! I had some problems myself with sinuses, and my mom and I started looking into what could be causing these. We found out that most of the everyday products we use in our homes (name brand) contain multiple types of harmful chemicals. Most of our everyday house products should technically be disposed of at the hazardous waste dump, and these can cause major problems for people, and we don't even know it because we assume that the products on the store shelves are safe. So, we found an online/catalog company that sells quality products made with non-harmful agents. I switched all of my everyday stuff over to these new products, and have had virtually no sinus problems since. (Two years) I have also had a few friends with allergy problems be helped incredibly. You do have to buy a membership with them (like Sam's) but it's only $29 the first year and $12 a year after that. This has really helped my family and friends. I hope it might be a help to you. Let me know if you want more info. I'll email it to you or something.

My daughter was the same way. She was always congested and sounded like she had a cold. Her peditrician put her on Zyrtec when she turned 6 months. You might ask his dr about trying that when he gets old enough. In the mean time if it gets realy bad you could try 1/4 teaspoon of childrens bendryl. Ask you dr first but that is what my dr told me I could do for Chloe.

Hi E.,

The first thing that came to my mind is my brother's little girl was sooo sick as a baby. Then they discovered there was a water leak under their home that was causing major mold. I am not sure the best way to rule that out, but maybe somebody has some ideas about who to get to test the air quality of your home. Maybe the health department might have some ideas about that. I hope you find a solution soon for your baby boy.

Beth

I found alot of luck with the products from Melaleuca. First of all they have no harsh chemicals but they are antibacterial and antifungal as well. One product in particular is the one that i spray all over the furniture that is impossible to keep clean, spray it on the mattresses when i change sheets. The Melaleuca oil itself, i put a couple drops on the air filters when i change them (do that monthly) and it goes thru out the duct system killing the dust mites. All three of my children have allergies and it was not only to out doors, dust, mold pollen and pets. but they were sensitive even more to the cleaners i was using in the house as well. So switching to a more natural cleaning product not only made the home safer, but it took care of any of the chemical reactions they were developing. C.
____@____.com

We found out that my son had severe allergies and asthma when he was 6 months old. The only thing that has helped us a little is an Air Purifier. It is not a miracle worker, but it helps out some. I will have to check back to see what others say. I hope that you get your son some help. I know how miserable it can be.

What kind of cleaning products are you using? You might consider (if you haven't already) choosing eco-friendly non-toxic cleaners. I've switched to Method cleaners, which is a reasonably priced brand you can buy at Target. I have seen reports that children who have suffered from allergies as well as asthma have less severe reactions to such products. Depending on the types of plants, they may actually be better in the house, since plants help to clean the air. Now I'm not a doctor, so that's not a definitive statement...but I wouldn't be worried about ones that do not have pollen or other allergens associated with them (like spider plants or other iveys). You might also consider having your air ducts cleaned (lots of mold and other things can build up in them). And if you have carpets, be careful to not steam clean too often, or make sure that the steam cleaning is done by professionals and the carpet can completely dry properly so that molds don't build up that way. You might also ask your doctor about something for your son's room like a dehumidifyer. Just some suggestions! I have not had to deal with this, but these are all ideas that I have gathered from friends and family that have dealt with allergies! Good luck!

love,
Missy