Should I Keep My Daughter Home Because of Allergies?

One thing to try.... have her wash her hair in the evening, and get it dry before she goes to bed. Also, I know it is a hassle, but put a fresh pillow case on her pillow every evening...

One thing that may be a problem is that she is bringing in the pollens in her hair, and that transfers to her pillow, and she essentially rubs her face in it all night long. (I am assuming it is allergies to the pollens outside.... but if it is dust mites, you may need to get the special pillowcases that can help block the material from the dust mites getting to the top of her pillow....)

Give that a try and see if that helps any!

Poor baby...sounds like my oldest son. I have let him stay home on days when his eyes were swollen and he looked and felt like hell. He's older now (14) so more often than not I tell him to suck it up and get to school, but I do let him come home if things are really bad.

He was on Claritin starting at age 3 and that stopped working well a few years ago. Now he takes Zyrtec and eye drops (Opcon-A or Naphcon-A or something like that) and then on his peak days when that doesn't work, also I throw everything else at him - chlor-trimetron, benadryl, other non-drowsies like Claritin or Allegra, etc. This is all with his doctor's blessing, of course.

I think the idea below about washing her hair and having a fresh pillow case at night is a good idea, and would make sure that her windows are closed in her room. It might be a good idea to get a small air purifier for her room as well - it seems a little unusual that she would wake up with the swelling vs. having it occur during the day. My son usually starts off the day functional and then by late morning is a total mess. It might also help to give her Benadryl before bed - it will give her system time to calm down overnight while she's sleeping anyway and may reduce the swelling that she gets early in the morning.

ETA: someone recently shared a tip with me about using a nasal spray for him as well - the idea is that you can coat the inside of the nasal passages with stuff that will collect some of the pollen and prevent it from getting into your child's system and triggering the immune response.

I give my son Zyrtec in the evening.

He used to get SO snotty that I did keep him home.
His eyes were never like that though.

Zyrtec, Flonase & Afrin are gonna be her BFF's.
The key is to keep ahead of it.
Good luck!

You need to work with a doctor preferably an allergist to figure out how to control this. This year is especially bad for allergies. If the symptoms are as bad as you say I would get her to the doctor to prevent future absences. I don't know if you know what she is allergic to but if it is animals and she is that bad, you either get rid of the pets or listen to the dr and see what he says. My kids take OTC allergy meds, and two sinus sprays and still sometimes it is not enough. I wash sheets in hot water every two weeks. I own three room air purifiers. I have hardwood floors. I change my furnace filters every three weeks. My kids have allergy protectors on their pillows and mattresses. Somebody mentioned showering the pollen off. That is a good idea. I know it's tough. I have three kids with this and sometimes I feel I can't do enough for them.

If her eyes are swollen, better yet ask her how she feels. If she is miserable she isn't going to learn anything anyway.

When I read your title I thought heck no! but after hearing your description I would keep her home. I am miserable when my eyes are itchy, they just don't want to work right, ya know? Swollen she must be miserable.

When allergies become debilitating it is time for an allergist and possibly shots.

My daughter's allergies became progressively worse and no amount/combination of antihistamines helped. I took her for allergy testing and shots were recommended. Of course she was not thrilled with the idea but I kept stressing the payoff. The allergist said she would respond quickly to the shots since she was young. He was not kidding! Within weeks I saw a dramatic improvement.

Also an allergist could give her a short term dose of steroids to stop the inflammation from the allergies.

If you do decide to keep her home, make it a productive and take her to see an allergist to get everything under control. Otherwise it doesn't sound like tomorrow will be any better.

PS. If you need nasal sprays get a prescription steroidal spray or use Nasalcrom not Afrin. I have heard of people becoming 'addicted' to Afrin to the point where they could not breath without it.

PSS. If you're sleeping with the windows open stop! All of the tree pollen etc gets pulled into your house. That's one of the first rules of allergies - never sleep with the windows open...heck we're not supposed to ever really open our windows. Drastic yes but it works!

There were times my parents would let me stay home. When your allergies are really bad you feel just like when you are sick with a virus. Allergies are your immune system attacking something that normally is not a problem so your body is reacting similar to how it does when you are sick.
Even now, as an adult, when my allergies get really bad it is the hardest thing to do anything and barely function one step above being outright sick.
If it's so bad that her eyes are swelling shut then absolutely keep her home. She's not going to be able to learn anything, she might not even be able to see the board in class.
Are you seeing an allergist or just going through a general doctor? If you aren't seeing an allergist I highly recommend it.

See how she is in the morning. If she's just dragging, keep her home.
I'm a preschool teacher and often tell parents "school is work for the kids". I can't imagine how awful it must be for her--and I know it's hard for you. Do what your heart tells you in this case.

For what it's worth, my son takes a Claritin every morning during this time of year. I hated to have to give it to him, but it does make a difference to give him a regular maintenance dose. Can your pediatrician recommend something specifically for eyes? Might be worth asking (and forgive me for assuming you hadn't if you already did).

Does she have allergen free pillow cases and mattress cover? How about removing curtains and a lot of fabric type items from her room. It will help. I have allergies, but not to the point of swelling. They feel tied and they burn though. If it is severe and lasts all day, I would keep her home, but I would take her to the Dr and get her on something that works and make any changes I could in the home to help. My husband has gotten a shot for his allergies, it works for about 6 months until he needs another.

Have you seen an allergist yet that can work with you to get the right medicine? I have horrible allergies and without Zyrtec I would be miserable. But I also tried about 10 other meds before I finally found a match with Zyrtec. You can also find out exactly what she is allergic to. My allergies get worse with pollen, but it is house dust that really sets me off.

You didn't mention her age but if you are using children's Allegra/Claritin etc... those can take DAYS even up to a couple of weeks before they can kick in, if they ever do. A pharmacist explained it to me once in regards to building up their histamine levels. My kids have NEVER found relief from OTC allergy meds UNTIL....

I started shopping the natural remedies section. There is a homeopath allergy remedy called Sabadil by Boiron. There is no side effects and no risk of overdosing. This stuff is GOLD at our house! You give them 5 small pellets to dissolve in their mouth every 15 minutes for the first hour then you just do the same dosage 3 times a day. Within 24 hours, my kids allergies are cleared up. It costs no more than the OTC meds either. I pay 9.99 for two vials of 80 pellets each at Whole Foods but I bet you can find it even cheaper than that if you did a search online.

I think she needs to be in school. I had allergies and I was so bored at home. I wished all day I could be at school with my friends.

Ask her what she wants to do but I would send her.