Our child with LD has has seasonal allergies for several years and sometimes she has asthma symptoms. She has an inhaler for that. Back in the fall the doctor gave us several samples of common allergy medications such as Zyrtec, Allegra, Clarinex. Our older daughter is taking Singulair, which is a possibility as well. She basically eliminated some of them by how bad they tasted. She really prefers small capsules, but nothing by Benedryl comes like that, apparently.
I was just reading something disturbing about antihistimines causing learning problems. It said those can be worse than no treatment! And we can’t afford that for a child who is already LD. But when I think of her having to take those state tests in a few weeks all congested and with a drippy nose, I feel like we need to try something.
Have any of you researched this area and can you tell me if there are any safe and effective allergy medications that can be taken for a few months at a time?
Thanks!
Re: Allergy medications
When it comes to what we put in our bodies, there’s a lot of variation. I’m sure the*wrong* antihistamine woudl be worse than nothing. That comment may also have been in response to doctors who make the claim that LDs are caused by inner ear imbalances and can be taken care of with antihistamines.
Problems with Antihistimines for LD (or any) kids
I’ll give the link. It is from a doctor (Dr. Alan Greene of Stanford) who says antihistimines impair thinking and learning. I think this is very important for parents to know. Here is the quote:
“Of far greater concern is the effect of antihistamines on thinking and learning. We know that kids who are experiencing allergy symptoms don’t think or learn or remember as well as kids who are feeling well (Annals of Allergy, Aug 1993). Careful studies have now been performed to determine whether this reduction in learning ability could be reversed by using over-the-counter antihistamines to relieve the allergy symptoms. [b]The surprising results were that even though kids felt better on the antihistamines, their learning abilities were even worse than with no treatment [/b](Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Mar 1996). Children are better off congested than drugged. (Better yet is having the symptoms relieved in less problematic ways!)”
And here is the link:
http://www.parentsaction.org/learn/healthsafety/drgreene/allergy-medication/
Scifinut, thanks for the suggestions. I think I may try the Nasalcrom considering what I read in the article above.
Re: Allergy medications
Thanks! That’s fascinating…. though I am afraid that my first thought, given the current state of affairs, was “Does Dr. Greene work for the company that sells NasalCrom?”
Re: Allergy medications
That would be a concern if I hadn’t had previous experience and the recommendation of a very good allergist. :) Ms. 14 was taking Nasalcrom when it was still a prescription. The other nice thing about Nasalcrom over other prescription nasal sprays is that it is also non-steriodal.
I’ve never heard of antihistamines causing LD problems unless they are talking about the problems of drowsiness or mood/behavior problems that can come with some of them. My dd only uses Rhinocort AQ during allergy season and it hasn’t caused any change in the severity of her LDs. She can’t take oral antihistamines because they do cause mood issues for her.
Another option would be Nasalcrom, which is OTC. Its very mild, needs to be used 3 times a day and can be used in very young children. Dd’s allergist recommended it when she was 2 yo.
I’ve used SinoFresh several times this year when I’ve had severe colds. Usually with a severe cold it will turn into a sinus infection but this year that was prevented. I also take Mucinex daily. Its not an antihistamine, just a decongestant.
Hope this helps some.
Oh, if you have access to a naturopath who uses Standard Process produces, I highly recommend their allergy formula, Antronex.