Hayfever. Son is 12 and suffered badly last three summers.?

Question

Takes medicine (from Doc), eye drops, nasal spray, etc. I have heard little about an injection you can have if you are really bad? He is off School because causing a bad cough which keeps him awake (he also was diagnosed with asthma 3 years ago after hayfever attack but this is under contol. Any ideas PLEASE

Answer 1

Oral antihistamines are the only way forward.
Sprays and drops only treat the symptoms, an antihistamine tablet stops your body making the histamine that causes all the symptoms of hayfever.
This will also help prevent it aggravating his asthma.
Cetirizine hydrochloride ( piriton is one of it's brand names, but generics are cheaper) is great. You take one each day, and suddenly you can live with the symptoms.
There's also Fexofenadine, available on prescription, which does the same thing, but is a bit stronger.
I'm also asthmatic and a hayfever sufferer, so your son has my sympathy. But you can learn to control it, so have hope!

Answer 2

Sound like he needs allergy desensition shots. He is old enough to get them. First they test him to see exactly what he is allergic to and then they give him shots which are a tiny fraction of the pollen. I had a series of shots lasting nine years. They really helped a lot. I went once a week for five years and had three shots per visit. It took two years before they started helping. I'm surprised the nasal spray is not helping. Is it a steroidal nasal spray? Beconase AQ and Nasonex work great for me. However, they do take up to five days to start helping. Doctors recommend starting the nasal spray a week or so before hayfever season starts.

Answer 3

I agree with the other answer that antihistamines are a way to controll the symptoms associated with your son's disease, however you made a comment that makes me wonder if you son is just suffering from Hayfever. You state that he is kept awake at night, if this is the case i would like to know if your son has been skin patch tested for dust mites. Children who do not get enough sleep have multiple challenges the following day and most have a difficult time performing well at school, this over time if not corrected can lead to poor academic performance and it is cerrtainly not the child's fault.

Check to see if your son has dust mite allergies, if he does, encase his beds with and allergy encasement for his pillow and mattress, look for one with a pore size of 1 micron or less like cleanrest. The reason I recommend this one is because it offers the highest level of protection commercially available and you can get them at bed bath and beyond which is normally very simple for most people.

You really need to start thinking about an agressive behavior modification program to help your child AVOID contact with the allergic triggers that can make him sick. Take a look at the healthy sleep tips at cleanrest.com. Dehumidification, removing area rugs or wall to wall carpet, freezing stuffed toys, etc...

Once you achieve a clean living environment for him, then you can get a better idea of how much medication your child actually needs. But it makes so much more sense to first make sure you have done the very best to remove the triggers that will make him sick from his surroundings.

Good luck.

Answer 4

There are many good medications on the market now. Your son really should be seeing an allergy specialist. The asthma is most likely allergy related. When his allergies get bad his asthma will flare up.

Are you using a HEPA type air purifier in your home? They are wonderful. His bedroom and the living area should each have a filter.

Another thing for you to consider, if your child is allergic to grasses he may also be sensitive to gluten in his food . Wheat is a grass. Keep it in mind.

I am allergic to virtually everything, all the trees, all the grasses , all the weeds, dogs cats, latex and cockroaches. I found all that out with allergy testing. Now with meds and avoiding gluten my health has improved.Shots weren't an option for me but they do help many people.

Answer 5

A friend recently recommended to me a "netti pot". There are URLs below. It sounds a bit gross, but it is a little pot in which you prepare a saline or herbal solution and pour this through your nasal passages. Apparently they are connected so what goes in one side drains out the other. This is supposed to clean them and reduce the allergic reaction. I will likely try that this fall when my allergies kick in. Another hint I was given a long time ago was to eat a spoonful of local honey. Be sure it is local honey as it contains some of the pollen and will help desensitize the body. If you search Google or Ask.com for "neti pot" or "netti pot" you will get many hits.

Answer 6

When i was younger i had really bad allergies. I usually had injections (once in two weeks) every winter, so my body would b prepared and i wont suffer that much. I think now when the season started is too late for the injection,but u can try maybe that have some special one.
what helped me a lot these days is FLIXONASE ALLERGY spray - it's just one spray but it is against everything- noes, eyes, uncomfortable feelings, everything. if u spray it once a day it lasts whole day. it really is good. u can buy it in boots or superdrug...
hope that it helped

Answer 7

I also heard and tried Bee Pollen Capsules.. I had limited results but it's different for each individual (Assuming your not allergic to it!). Its not expensive and worth a try? I also find that washing the nasal passages as mentioned elsewhere here in your answers works too, not long term but it helps get the worst of the 'reaction' down and controllable. Again, different for each person...

Answer 8

A member of my family recommend reducing the level of dairy produce. I used to drink lots of milk in the summer, but cut this right down to just on my cereal. I kep eating eggs though, but by reducing my milk in take was much much better to the point of almost not need to take medication.

I think it has something to do with dairy = higher congestion. Non scientific answer here but It worked for me and I have heard this theory branded about. The other thing though being a younger sufferer you will need to consider his protein and calcium intake to maintain a helthy balanced diet.

Hope this helps?!

Answer 9

dont panic!!!!!! i have hayfever too. my eyes used to swell so bad that i looked like a frog!!!!
my mum heard about the injection and i never looked back.
the injection is like an antihistemine and 1 shot usually lasts me about 3 good summers. i can actually walk across a freshly mown field,i kid you not!
he will need to get the shot about october so that it is in his system properly for the summer.
check about the asthma tho, cos i never had that.
good luck.