![]() ![]() But Zyrtec or cetirizine has the best cost benefit ratio. The majority of my allergy patients are on loratadine or Claritin. It doesn’t hurt to do them every day, but if you’re not doing them consistently for several weeks at a time, you’re really missing out on their benefit. I tell folks you don’t necessarily have to use nasal sprays 365 days a year but if you know that spring and fall are problematic, use them in March, April, May, and then again, August, September, October. If you stop using them after a few days and start using them again in a couple of weeks, you start that clock over again. They have to be used consistently, and they’re going to take about five days to really start working. These are some of the most misunderstood and misused medicines. The third medicine that we recommend using are nasal steroid sprays, which are all over the counter. Keep those in the fridge because they feel a lot better if they’re cold going in the eye. If your child is fine Monday and Tuesday, spends a lot of time outside Wednesday, and comes home with itchy eyes, you can use eyedrops for breakthrough relief. Topical antihistamines, like eyedrops, are great for breakthrough eye symptoms. So, with those drugs, it’s fine to give a second dose 12 hours later. When we give them the prescribed dose on the packaging in the morning, they’re just miserable when they get home from school. Kids tend to metabolize antihistamines like Zyrtec, Claritin, and Allegra faster than adults do. They’re not going to work for congestion because histamine has nothing to do with congestion. ![]() They are really only going to help with sneezing, itchy nose, and to a lesser degree, a clear runny nose and itchy, watery eyes. In all actuality, these are very narrow spectrum drugs which people expect more out of than they can actually provide. Oral antihistamines tend to get billed as a multipurpose “allergy pill.” We’re talking Cetirizine, which is Zyrtec loratadine, which is Claritin and fexofenadine, which is Allegra. Bell: The three classes of medication that I typically use are oral antihistamines, antihistamine eyedrops, and nasal steroid sprays. Q: Are there any medications that we should have on hand at home to help with allergy symptoms?ĭr. Minimize outdoor activities, especially between the hours of about six to eight in the morning especially on days that are dry or windy. Pollen loves early morning hours, and it loves dry, windy days.Fans can also be an issue because they’re constantly circulating that pollen and keeping it from settling.But again, with that fresh air, anything that’s in that air is also coming inside the house. I know it’s that time of year when it’s finally warm, and everyone wants to just pop those windows up and really enjoy that fresh air. What you’re looking for is a MERV rating of nine or higher. The old school blue fiberglass ones that you can see through will allow almost anything to pass through. They all have a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating, which tells you how big the pores are and what they will allow through. Upgrade the filters on your HVAC unit.I recommend washing the clothes frequently, nightly baths and washing the hair for any kid that has seasonal allergies. ![]() But we can do things to decrease how much we’re exposed to pollens during times of year when there’s a lot of it out. I consider pollens and mold spores to be kind of unavoidable, but that’s not entirely true. Avoidable allergens would be like dogs, cats, horses, dusts mites. Bell: I divide allergens as being either an avoidable allergen or an unavoidable allergen. Q: As a parent, is there anything that that we can do to keep allergies at bay?ĭr. So your typical two-year-old has only had about two weeks total of maple pollen exposure, which may not be enough time for an allergy to develop. For instance, maple trees pollinate for about seven to 10 days every spring. Seasonal allergies tend to develop between age two and five because it takes repetitive exposure to an allergen to develop allergies. A two-year-old is going to have symptoms of a viral respiratory illness about 200 days a year, which is really crazy! I can count on one hand the number of two-year-olds I’ve seen with six significant seasonal allergic rhinitis. Typically, what we see in those kiddos is just their immune systems still maturing. While it’s possible for a child less than two years old to have allergies to year-round triggers such as dust mites or dog and cat dander, the likelihood of a two-year-old having pollen allergy or seasonal allergy is very, very, very low. Bell: We have parents who bring in their babies with concerns about allergies. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |