Seasonal allergy question

[Neera]

Got no replies in the Toddler section so trying here to see if anyone here has any advice. Thanks

First year of full blown seasonal allergies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the past I've noticed dd not doing well during a change of season. But this season it's sneezes every morn right after waking up, slight wheezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, cough. Basically, the works. Instead of fighting conventional treatments as we have done in the past (not wanting to use the nebulizer is one e.g.) we are giving her a prescribed cough syrup and claritin (over the counter). Want to avoid claritin in the future, if we can. Has anything natural worked for you. DD is 3.5.

Thanks in advance.

[velochic]

Around that age, dd was able to start using a neti pot. It can be difficult for one so young and can kind of make them gag a little at first, but once they get the hang of it, that's been the best. Also, daily showers and frequent changing of clothes if out and about a lot. You don't have to suds up every time in the shower, but rinsing off the skin and hair to get rid of the allergic particulate, especially before bed, is important. Frequent cleaning of sheets. Also have the indoor air quality checked. We run a dehumidifier and try to keep our humidity at 50% or lower and that helps. The A/C helps with this. Even if it's 72F out, if the humidity is high, we'll run the A/C because the humidity causes all sorts of problems (I also have a mother with COPD who lives with us.) Make sure you have good air filters and look into investing in a high quality HEPA air filter system. HTH!

[fritz]

I'll tell you what works for us (both myself and 5.5yo DS suffer from seasonal allergies): Hyland's tablets Seasonal Allergies (small, slightly sweet tablets that dissolve under the tongue), running the humidifier 24/7 (b/c other wise we end up with nosebleeds), using a good air filter and changing it about once a month (or whenever it's looking dirty), cleaning the ceiling fan blades frequently, drinking plenty of fluids.

[Holiztic]

You must read Perfect Health For Kids by John Douillard--it changed our lives!! I don't believe DS ever had seasonal allergies, but the seasonal colds were abundant. DH, on the other hand, has had bad seasonal allergies for years. I read Douillard (3 Season Diet is another good title by him) and implemented his Ayurvedic recommendations a year ago and we noticed a marked improvement right away (though we felt like it was constant triage at the time) but now that we are a year in we can see the preventive benefits--meaning we just aren't even getting close to sick any more. DH's had a bit of very mild allergy symptoms in the last few weeks, but it is so mild. We're hoping with another year under our belts he'll have nothing next year!

[happydog]

My son had bad seasonal allergies. They seemed to get worse every year. When he FINALLY agreed to give up dairy for a month just to humor me, he was amazed to discover his allergies cleared up completely.

http://www.notmilk.com/a.html

www.notmilk.com/forum/884.html

[Holiztic]

Mucous formation associated with dairy foods is a huge part of the book I recommended above (though there's a lot more in it).

Dairy is the most mucous-forming when taken cold (milk from the fridge, ice cream), when taken first thing in the morning or in the last few hours before bed (best at midday) and especially when it dominates a child's diet (mac n cheese, pizza, cheeseburgers, etc).

Also, the harder the milk is to digest the more trouble it will cause. This means things like pasteurization and homogenization (if you aren't comfortable with raw milk, at least getting non-homogenized and non Ultra-Pasteurized).

Then there is the season--Dairy in wet, mucousy (allergy-time) spring is a strict no-no. Better in the heat of summer and moderate (midday, not too cold) in winter.

Then there is the issue of "kid type" (Ayurvedic Dosha). Kapha (spring-type) kids are more prone to mucous (allergies, colds, asthma, etc) and should be most careful of dairy, especially in spring.

We happen to think dairy can be a very healthy food, so in Summer we do a moderate amount (midday) and then a little in winter, but we warm it up with gentle heat (its raw) and spices--we do this with milk, yogurt, and kefir.

We do no ice cream and use cheese sparingly (sad, I know, but you get used to it!)

We do no "milk substitutes" unless you count bone broth in winter for calcium.

Finally, if you are being careful of milk but just have to give in (pizza party), just make sure to give them something very warming/digestive aid along with it. Ginger is ideal (the sugared crystalized ginger works around here, though we limit it to necessity because of the sugar).

[Neera]

Thanks everyone. I will be trying as many as I can once we're done with our upcoming move.

[happydog]

Originally Posted by Holiztic

Dairy is the most mucous-forming when taken cold (milk from the fridge, ice cream), when taken first thing in the morning or in the last few hours before bed (best at midday) and especially when it dominates a child's diet (mac n cheese, pizza, cheeseburgers, etc).

Also, the harder the milk is to digest the more trouble it will cause. This means things like pasteurization and homogenization (if you aren't comfortable with raw milk, at least getting non-homogenized and non Ultra-Pasteurized).

Then there is the season--Dairy in wet, mucousy (allergy-time) spring is a strict no-no. Better in the heat of summer and moderate (midday, not too cold) in winter.

Then there is the issue of "kid type" (Ayurvedic Dosha). Kapha (spring-type) kids are more prone to mucous (allergies, colds, asthma, etc) and should be most careful of dairy, especially in spring.

We happen to think dairy can be a very healthy food, so in Summer we do a moderate amount (midday) and then a little in winter, but we warm it up with gentle heat (its raw) and spices--we do this with milk, yogurt, and kefir.

We do no ice cream and use cheese sparingly (sad, I know, but you get used to it!)

We do no "milk substitutes" unless you count bone broth in winter for calcium.

Finally, if you are being careful of milk but just have to give in (pizza party), just make sure to give them something very warming/digestive aid along with it. Ginger is ideal (the sugared crystalized ginger works around here, though we limit it to necessity because of the sugar).

I found this extremely interesting. We bought a milk cow last spring just so we could have a source of CLA rich, grass fed, hormone free, raw milk. Before we got her I had to beg a man at the farmers market to sell me bootleg raw milk.

If I couldn't get raw milk I would give up milk completely as I've read so much about how it's contributing to the skyrocketing rates of asthma and allergies in kids. I sure don't need that.

Not to mention how the hormones that are routinely given to cows to make them produce more and grow faster, are passed through their milk and meat and making little girls hit puberty alarmingly early. Having raised 3 teenage daughters and looking down that road once again, I'm not anxious to prolong the misery, lol. And I sure as heck don't need any more hormones either.

We are all vatas here (except dh, who's pitta) and I'm seriously considering not even refrigerating my drinking milk. I've found I do better with kefir than milk anyway.

My cow is dried off now, preparing to freshen next month. I'll be trying your idea of warming the milk with warming spices, that sounds lovely in our cold winters here.

Thanks, for posting. The book looks wonderful. I bought a copy on amazon. Ayurveda has been great for me, I'm looking forward to applying it to my 2 little ones. Don't know why that hadn't occurred to me before.

[emilysmama]

Originally Posted by Neera

Got no replies in the Toddler section so trying here to see if anyone here has any advice. Thanks

First year of full blown seasonal allergies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the past I've noticed dd not doing well during a change of season. But this season it's sneezes every morn right after waking up, slight wheezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, cough. Basically, the works. Instead of fighting conventional treatments as we have done in the past (not wanting to use the nebulizer is one e.g.) we are giving her a prescribed cough syrup and claritin (over the counter). Want to avoid claritin in the future, if we can. Has anything natural worked for you. DD is 3.5.

Thanks in advance.

I thought that the active ingredient in over the counter cough syrup has recently been considered not safe for children and not effective for children? I don't know what the active ingredient for your prescription cough syrup is. When my dd was your child's age, the pediatrician gave us come samples of prescription Dimetane, and I found them not to be effective for my dd because the cough was just the symptom, not the problem. Plus, she said that you are not supposed to use it for more than a few days, and this seasonal allergy was clearly a much longer term problem for my dd. Given the choice between claritin or a cough syrup, my personal choice would have been the antihistimine (except that claritin didn't work for my dd either.)

I want to second the suggestion from the PP about the Neti Pot. When my dd was 4, we taught her to use a sinus rinse bottle, but at 3, she was afraid to use it. It makes a huge difference.

Even then, we still had problems with seasonal allergies. We recently bought an air cleaner called the IQAir, and that has made a very big difference for us.

Our pediatrician knows that we are into natural stuff, so she suggested trying to get our dd to consume more ginger, as a natural antihistamine. I.e. ginger steeped in water to make tea, or ginger in cooking. Don't know if it's effective, because my dd doesn't like the taste of ginger and refused to even try more than one sip. So we are sticking to the conventional allergy medicines. But maybe you'll have more luck.

Oh yes, the pp's suggestion about removing dairy from the diet is a good one. It helped us a lot.

[Holiztic]

Originally Posted by happydog

I found this extremely interesting. We bought a milk cow last spring just so we could have a source of CLA rich, grass fed, hormone free, raw milk. Before we got her I had to beg a man at the farmers market to sell me bootleg raw milk.

If I couldn't get raw milk I would give up milk completely as I've read so much about how it's contributing to the skyrocketing rates of asthma and allergies in kids. I sure don't need that.

Not to mention how the hormones that are routinely given to cows to make them produce more and grow faster, are passed through their milk and meat and making little girls hit puberty alarmingly early. Having raised 3 teenage daughters and looking down that road once again, I'm not anxious to prolong the misery, lol. And I sure as heck don't need any more hormones either.

We are all vatas here (except dh, who's pitta) and I'm seriously considering not even refrigerating my drinking milk. I've found I do better with kefir than milk anyway.

My cow is dried off now, preparing to freshen next month. I'll be trying your idea of warming the milk with warming spices, that sounds lovely in our cold winters here.

Thanks, for posting. The book looks wonderful. I bought a copy on amazon. Ayurveda has been great for me, I'm looking forward to applying it to my 2 little ones. Don't know why that hadn't occurred to me before.

I am so glad you found it helpful! I only learned about Ayurveda one year ago exactly when my then 2.5 year old had a major pitta aggravation (angry red rash around his mouth, hives, etc). I have been passionate about natural living/holistic health/nutrition for almost a decade and knew nothing about Ayurveda! Now one day, one meal doesn't go by that I am not applying Ayurvedic lifestyle and/or diet principles to my family! We actually headed off a cold this week with ginger, turmeric/raw honey, echinacea, and warming foods (and dairy avoidance, of course) and ear oil.

Enjoy the book, I am in a constant state of re-reading it!