5yo diagnosed with enviro allergies and asthma

[attached2mason]

Hey all . I have a 5yo who has been very healthy all his life - has been on abx once in his life, never had much more than a cold here and there. A year ago he started having a chronically stuffy nose and a few months ago he started coughing/clearing his throat lots, esp during physical activity, at night, in the cold.

Two months ago our GP put him on an inhaler (flovent at 50mcg) and I agreed to give it a try until we saw the allergist (today). The results of the allergy test today indicated that his primary allergy is dust mites and, to a lesser extent, cats and a certain type of mold. He reacted a tiny bit to everything he was tested for but, according to the Dr, not enough to mention. I feel as though I didnt' get enough information from him and left the appt feeling unsure about what to do.

He prescribed Nasonex (a spray in each nostril 1x per day) and an allergy med like Aerius 1x per day for 3 weeks (when we will see him again). He told us to get covers for his pillow, blanket, mattress etc, keep the cat out of his room (but not to get rid of it quite yet - we are expecting twins right away and that is a lot of change already for a little guy), that sort of thing.

I asked him if he thought that the meds he prescribed would be a long or short term solution and he said it would depend.

Bottom line is that I don't feel comfortable having him on 3 types of medication indefinately. There has GOT to be a better way to deal with both allergies and asthma . . . and I figured this would be the best place to start! Help!

Thanks so much in advance, wise mamas!

[rhesp1212]

Sometimes, once you get the allergies under control the asthma will follow suit and you can drop the inhaler part of the treatment. It just takes a while sometimes to get the nasal stuff under control and to treat that part so it's not triggering the asthma. Give it a couple weeks to get everything in his system working. Then, more than likely the dr. might suggest weaning him off the inhaler to see if the oral meds alone will help keep it under control.

[teachma]

We are in this exact same position with our 6 year old daughter, who will visit the allergist for testing tomorrow. Three wks ago, her pedi put her on three meds as well (Zyrtec, Advair and Singulair). I am hoping the allergist can consolidate or eliminate some of these. I, too, am unhappy about them.

[kjbrown92]

My DH is allergy-induced asthma to dust, oak, grass, cats, and dogs. He's on Zyrtec, Flovent, and Rhinocort. In the summer, he doesn't take them at all. And he may not need all of them anymore during the rest of the year, but he takes them anyway. DD1 is allergic to cats and dust, and she was on Zyrtec year round for about a year and a half. I did all the dust-abatement things with her room (we didn't have a cat because of DH's asthma). She also eats healthier because 3/5 of us are on a no dairy-gluten-soy-corn free diet. She went over to my father's house a couple month's ago (2 cats) and had no reaction. She slept over there last weekend and was fine. Again, with no meds at all. She used to sneeze, get itchy eyes, and start coughing about 10 minutes after getting in their house. Not sure what the issue is, but I'm strongly in favor of removing every allergen possible.

[littlemizflava]

my dd has asthma plus allergies. at 3 she had allergie testing and only had a dustmite allergy. then at 7 she now has allergies to dustmites, dust, indoor and outdoor mold and cats. i will say that i know her allergies got worse and she gained allergins and asthma due to me not knowing and not told to do as much as i have now done.

you will be able to get him to a point you will not need to give him any drugs unless you see a reaction. teach him to know when he needs his puffer. i tell my dd to tell me when she feels her chest is tight or when she is caughing. you can watch the lower part of the neck between the Adam's apple and top of the breastbone. its the place they do a tracheotomy. if it is gong in when he breaths (like some one who has been running till out of breath) he needs his puffer and meds.

on top of the covers for the bed and the pillow dont forget about the box springs. you need to cover everyones bed in the home and treat them all the same. you need to have bedding you can wash regually. allergy dr. said to wash sheets weekly and everything else monthly. i have bought feather pillows and blankets i find they stand up to washing in the machines better then the regular kind. i know all feather bedding says to dry clean but mine do fine in the building machine washed on hot with cold rince then dryed in the dryer it takes 2-3 hours to dry a king sized blanket with flipping to get wet parts out. my dd likes to sleep with a stuffie i made sure it was one that can be washed all the time.

you should also get air purifiers for the home one for his room and atleast one for the main living room. another things is to try to change out furinture that can hold mites and go with things the mites cant live in. in my eyes carpets are bad because you truely cant get them clean. i got rid of our sofa and got a futon that is latex. dust mites dont like to eat it they can be there eating the skin cells but if it is cleaned regually. i think it is a better choice.