Help with Seasonal Allergies in kids

[alarmom]

Any help and advice would be great. My 6 year old son is suffering with his seasonal hay fever/allergies this year.

I don't want to give him benedryl or similar meds. We've tried chiropractic, almost all organic diet. Nettle/Eyebright currently. He also takes Quercetin and Bromalain. Obviously these things aren't working. Is there anything out there that has worked for your kiddos?

[StephandOwen]

We finally broke down with my son and started him on Nasonex at the beginning of this year (started at once a day, now he's at twice a day). That usually works for him but on the super bad days we also do claritin (redi-tabs, 24 hour kind so it's only once a day). It sucks, but so does seeing him miserable.

[SpottedFoxx]

Originally Posted by alarmom

Any help and advice would be great. My 6 year old son is suffering with his seasonal hay fever/allergies this year.

I don't want to give him benedryl or similar meds. We've tried chiropractic, almost all organic diet. Nettle/Eyebright currently. He also takes Quercetin and Bromalain. Obviously these things aren't working. Is there anything out there that has worked for your kiddos?

Why don't you want to give him medicine if he's sick. I don't understand this. I have no problem with people trying homeopathic remedies but if they don't work, then it's time to take conventional medicine.

When my son's allergies are bad, we give him claratan. We tried zyrtec but it did nothing for him. Speak with your pediatrician about the right option for your child.

I hope he feels better.

[alarmom]

If they are bad I do give in and give him benedryl, I just want to find something that isn't so full of crazy ingredients. I wish someone would figure out the CAUSE of allergies.

[SpottedFoxx]

Allergies are very difficult to diagnose.

Example - my SIL is a pediatrician. They did RAST testing (blood work which is supposed to be more accurate than skin testing) on a child which came up positive for a severe peanut allergy.

One problem... the kid ate peanut butter every single day for lunch. Not so much as a hive or an itch.

The test was inaccurate.

If he is suffering daily from allergies, he needs a daily allergy medicine such as claratan, zyrtec, etc. You need to sit down with your ped with your concerns and find out what is the correct drug for your child.

[mama1803]

Vitamin C is a natural antihistimine. It works really well for us when allergies flare.

We've also had less severe allergy flare-ups overall since we've started eating raw local honey.

I also disagree with the above advice that that the solution is conventional meds or nothing. I don't like the idea of taking Zyrtec or Claritin everyday - those meds alleviate symptoms but do not address the root cause of the problem. Seasonal allergies are a symptom of inflammation and sluggish methylation. If you pick through the Allergies forum you will find threads about methylation, which are chemical reactions that turn genes on and off--methylation regulates lots of things in our bodies, including the production and destruction of histamine.

http://www.enzymestuff.com/methylation.htm

I'd also suggest Dr. Kenneth Bock's book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics. It explains how inflammation is the root cause of allergies, asthma, ADHD, and autism.

Hope your son gets some relief soon.

[JaneS]

most emphatically!

Whole food Vitamin C has kept my severe hay fever away for many years now. I am hugely less sensitive to dust and other environmental triggers. I slacked on my whole C at the start of spring and I started getting the sneezing and watery eyes... and it totally went away with some camu powder.

Magnesium is also excellent for allergies.

Whole vit. C has the bioflavonoids... unlike chemical forms ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate. Quercitin and Bromelain are still isolated compounds aren't they? For a child I would take 125mg. of whole C divided into 2 doses per day.

Acerola powder from Mountain Rose Herbs and other whole C products were discussed a few pages back. I used to take NOW's Acerola until they changed it, so mad at them.

Studies many years ago showed hay fever responding to vitamin C. But there's no money in patenting a natural compound... so we are duped into thinking chemical medication is the only option to serve the bottom line of corporations.

[LauraLoo]

We've also had good luck with Vit. C & quercetin. We also take magnesium. I have found that we need to take these year round. I've also heard that netti pots work well in addition to supps, but think that would be pretty tough to do with my dc's. A saline spray may help, too, though we've never had to do that.

ETA -- found the Acerola on MRH!

[SpottedFoxx]

Do you have any idea how much vitamin C you need to take for it to be effective? I think that is fine for an adult but I'd be hesitant to give a child that much C. Yes, it's water soluble but that doesn't mean it's safe. I would, as previously recommended, speak with a physician about ALL your options before proceeding.

Here is an interesting article about mental health, allergies & Vitamin C. http://www.articlesbase.com/nutritio...i-1004524.html

Edited to add: ACEROLA??? I LOVE ACEROLA!!! Link pretty please with organic cherries on top!

[JaneS]

Just search for acerola at MRH in the search box, it comes up fine for me! And if you use the "Buy Herbs" link at the top left of this MDC page they will get support.

I've heard 250 milligrams of natural C is the recommended upper level for adults but it's not like chemical ascorbic acid (which many people take in grams). You can certainly start with less than that for kids, depending on their weight.

[True Blue]

This is old but I thought I'd chime in. Our doctor said for medicinal levels of C, my kids should have 3-4,000mg. Yes, thousand.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by SpottedFoxx

Do you have any idea how much vitamin C you need to take for it to be effective? I think that is fine for an adult but I'd be hesitant to give a child that much C. Yes, it's water soluble but that doesn't mean it's safe. I would, as previously recommended, speak with a physician about ALL your options before proceeding.

The tolerable upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000mg (that's basically the level you can take where you should be free of any unpleasant side effects). As far as I know, the only potential risks to more than that are gastro upset/diarrhea, slightly increased risk for kidney stones, and increased uptake of iron (which can cause issues for some, for most it is a benefit of C).

There is a study I can't find at the moment that shows 2,000mg of C a day reduces blood histamine levels by 50% in about a week. For my son, that and methyl B12 (which shuts off histamines - any methyl donor, like quercetin, will do the same thing), kept his histamine levels under control until we improved his methylation. Now he does fine on much lower doses of C. He could never handle the whole foods C (salicylates sensitive), but I plan to try them again for him soon.

[emilysmama]

Yesterday, my dd's pediatrician suggested ginger root as a natural antihistimine. Have any of you tried it, and if so, what did you think? I tried to give it to my dd as a tea, but my dd, who likes her food bland, said it was too spicy. How do you consume ginger?