Seasonal Allergies in 4yo- Do I need to worry?

[Veslemor]

My son is probably reacting to juniper pollen.  Yesterday his eyes looked a little irritated in the am.  We left the house around 6 pm and I thought he would fall asleep in the car because he looked so tired, but it turned out that his reaction was getting worse.  This am he's really puffy around the eyes and has a stuffy nose.

We've given him some local honey and bee pollen.  There's almost no chance of him doing a netty pot.  That's pretty much my whole bag of tricks.

Is there something else I can do while we're in the thick of this reaction?  I have benadryl on hand, but I hate using pharmies, especially on kids.  Is there anything dangerous about puffy eyes?  I know when I've had puffy eyes it's somewhat uncomfortable, but I've just waited for them to subside.  Given that the pollen count isn't going anywhere for now, I don't imagine that this'll go away by itself.  And on the same hand, I don't want to be giving benadryl for the entire season.

Thoughts, ideas, experiences?   

[symesa]

I just came here to find out more info on seasonal allergies myself.

My DD is nearly 6 and this is the second year of her suffering from seasonal allergies.  Last year (our first year), I floundered around and eventually gave her Benedryl from time to time and then Claritin and/or Zyrtec.  This year, I am still looking for better answers but I am also completely unwilling to let her remain miserable. 

I try to keep her at a certain level of comfort by giving daily (ugh, I hate daily) doses of Claritin or Zyrtec.  That keeps her on a relatively even keel unless she spends too much time near all these newly blooming trees.  So, for acute issues, I give her a dose of Benedryl.  Acute being - swelling & extreme redness of the eyes that itch uncontrollably.  I just picked up some anti-histamine eye drops because her reactions are primarily focused on her eyes.

It drives me crazy to dose her with drugs every day.  But every homeopathic remedy I have tried provides little to no relief for her.  I will keep looking for better/different ideas but until then, she deserves to be able to be comfortable.

[Veslemor]

I've had the same non-success with homeopathy on this issue.  I'm ramping up on this issue starting today after listening to this interview  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZGOtVJ32Ns&feature=player_embedded#at=28   yesterday where I learned how allergies can have a pretty devastating effect on pallette/tooth formation.  I went to listen to my kid breathe last night out of curiosity (I'm usually sleeping when he is) and was shocked that he was actually doing the apnea thing- mouth breathing, not breathing, struggling to take a breath, etc.

So I'm cutting out all milk products (mucus causing), and I'm going to try to get him to take some apple cider vinegar (mucus reducing), and I'm going to buy a nettipot (who knows, maybe he'll try it?) and some saline nasal spray.  This is all aimed at helping the breathing, but I have yet to find good info on eye irritation.

[QueenEsther]

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1304172/season-allergies

Check that thread, too. I wish to try some of those remedies for our son's allergies!

Our only vaccinated child is now 10 and is the only one who has been suffering through these seasonal allergies every Spring since he was about 4 years old! It hurts me to see him that way...uncomfortable, red puffy, itchy eyes and runny nose. He hates it, of course. Every year, I try to help him and do things the more natural way. My new friend swears by butterbur, so I need to get some of that for him. Also want to get him to try the Netti Pot. What we've been doing is making chamomile tea for him to drink and then he puts it directly on/in his eyes, too. He loooooves it because it brings such relief! He said that it soothes his eyes and takes the itch out. I also have him rinse his eyes out with really cold water several times a day, especially when he comes inside after having been outdoors. I believe it really helps wash stuff back out of his eyes and he likes the way the cold water feels on them.

Hope everyone finds something that works for them and that everyone starts feeling better very soon!