I think my 3 month old has allergies... how can I know and what can I do?

Question

She's had a runny nose since week 3, and she sneezes and coughs regularly. It's significantly worst at night. My husband and I both have allergies, so genetics are probably not helping. Sometimes the poor dear will choke on her mucus- how can I help her?

Answer 1

As crazy as it may sound, your little one may not have allergies yet. It is not uncommon in an infant to have a cold or congestion every 6 weeks, the first 18 months. My son did this too the whole first year. We ran to the emergency room a couple of times because of spiked temperatures and other symptoms. About a month ago my son had a very odd breathing issue and I took him to a clinic, they checked his oxygen in his blood, listened to his lungs and checked a few other things only to tell me it may just be a stomach flu that is making him uncomfortable to breath. Our little one's immune systems are still developing. One of the best things you can do to help is to breastfeed. This can also help slow or even stop some allergies completely.

If you still think your little one has allergies, push your doctor to do the allergy testings. If he/she doesn't do that, have them refer you to someone who can. Animal allergies and dust mite allergy can be diagnosed by 6 months of age, and food allergies can be detected at any age. A child probably needs three seasons of pollen exposure to develop pollen-related allergy symptoms, so a runny nose during the spring in a 1-year-old is probably due to an infection or an indoor allergy, not due to the pollen.
If you believe your child might have allergies, consult your doctor. Many pediatricians may not be aware that you can evaluate a child for allergies even before their first birthday. Testing is done most accurately by skin pricks. While blood tests may be done, they are not considered as accurate.

Answer 2

Baby Allergies Medicine

Answer 3

My daughter too has had allergies since we brought her home from the hospital. It was trial and error until we found things that worked for her. The biggest was finally finding out what she is allergic to, but they suggest not to get this done until atleast 15 months and older. You don't get accurate test results when you are younger and the testing is painful and uncomfotable. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking it is easy. They had to poke my daughter over 60 times on the back with a needle and over 40 times up and down both arms. She was being tested for everything though. It does hurt and they have to stay still for the procedure which takes about 20 minutes. That seems like an hour to children.

Since allergies are genetic if you and your husband have them then it is no wonder that she does.

Just try to keep her as comfortable as you can. I am sorry you have to go thru this. Nothign is worse than not being able to make them better. Once she gets older you can do a little benedryl which helps so much. She is too young for that right now. I would ask your pediatrician too what you can do and if you do need to see an allergist.

The only things you can do is making sure you keep all the windows shut- more allergins come from the outdoors.

Any pets keep them away from the baby and out of her room

Remove carpets from her room and have wood, tile or whatever. Carpets hold in everything. If you are unable to do this atleast keep them clean and vacummed quite often.

Wash all her clothing in free detergent and do not let hang to dry outside.

You can use a humidifier in her room which will allow for some moist air. Use a pillow underneath the mattress to help prop her head up at night for easier breathing.

Make sure she isn't allergic to her formula. We made this mistake with our daughter and had to switch.

Answer 4

First - talk to the doctor about it.
Sometimes cows milk formula can cause a problem with mucus if there is a slight milk allergy (most babies grow out of it). There are goats milk formulas available that don't seem to cause a mucus problem.
We know from experience that changing the formula from cows milk to goats milk significantly improved our baby's problems with mucus (which also led to repeated ear infections) - I'd never change formula without speaking to a health professional first though.
Has to be said - the sneezing sounds more like an airborne allergy. Detergent allergies tend to show on the skin in the form of eczema.
It is common though for young babies to be snuffly - they get frequent colds - which is good for the immune system, so don't worry too much about it, it is probably a phase which will pass.

Answer 5

Been there, done that. My daughter is 9 months old now - allergies. But we just got in under control a month ago. We were always at the doctor for a "cold" or "sinus infection".

She always had runny nose, cough, choke on mucus, etc.

The last time we went to the doctor - I told her - my daughter is 8 months old, and she's been sick for 8 months. They said they couldn't test her for allergies, but gave her a prescription. She takes 1 teaspoon of her allergy medicine in her bottle every night. And it took a couple weeks for it to tell a difference, but for the first time - she's fine.

So, my advice - tell your doctor that you think she has allergies and if you can try a prescription.

Good luck - I know it sucks.

Answer 6

Everyone is so quick to go to the doctor but you might want to look at the products you are using to clean your house on a daily basis. The chemicals in those products could be the culprit and might be able to save you thousands of dollars down the road when the doctor will only tell you to put your child on this drug and that drug. I know Oprah has done a segment about this issue and I have seen articles elsewhere too that address this same situation.

If it ends up not being these harsh chemicals we tend to use daily, there is only the loss of a few bucks-- but who knows! Maybe you'll find out the whole family seems to live easier this way.

In the end, I guess taking the itty-bitty to the doctor wont hurt but I'd do some research on the cleaning chemicals, etc. too. Good luck!

Answer 7

I'm an old mother of an allergic child, he's now 24.
She needs to be tested. my son nearly should have been born in bubble as allergic as he was to his environment.
The first clue is the nasal discharge. It should be clear. The 3 month old will sneeze alot and have alot of runny nose.
At 6 mos the child will display a green or yellow discharge.
At night is your clue. Is your window open? that lets in Pollegens. Are her sheets washed in a clear detergent? NO fragrance!! No bleach!
Never hang her clothes outside. the pollen attracts that.
Never let books or paper products in her room.
Remove all down comforters.
I'm a mom that had an extremely allergic child that was allergic to almost everything in my home.
Night time is the worst. This is when the "fighters of allergens" try to kick in.
Take her to an allergist. IT's a long and hard road. I've survived it and so has he. He's 24 now.
You can't lose by taking her their. The worst they can tell you is that she isn't allergic to that many things. But they can give you tips as to how to help her.

Answer 8

llergies, push your doctor to do the allergy testings. If he/she doesn't do that, have them refer you to someone who can. Animal allergies and dust mite allergy can be diagnosed by 6 months of age, and food allergies can be detected at any age. A child probably needs three seasons of pollen exposure to develop pollen-related allergy symptoms, so a runny nose during the spring in a 1-year-old is probably due to an infection or an indoor allergy, not due to the pollen.
If you believe your child might have allergies, consult your doctor. Many pediatricians may not be aware that you can evaluate a child for allergies even before their first birthday. Testing is done most accurately by skin pricks. While blood tests may be done, they are not considered as accurate.
Source:

Answer 9

Babies usually do not experience any allergic symptoms within the first 6 months of life., nor do they really get sick that often due to the presence of maternal antibodies. Addionally if you breastfeed this will help some for addional months, generally up to two years with lifelong benefits. The sneezing and coughing is a common characteristic of infants because they were in a womb for nine months and then all of a sudden they are exposed to many things. These are actually used as defense mechanisms. Mucous traps the foriegn substances and yes in can be quite scary when they choke. The hospital should have provided you with a bulb suction to remove mucous from the mouth and nose. If not you can purchase them at many stores. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Poor little angel! It stinks being thrown into a world full of stuff your nose doesn't like! Take her to her doctor, she may have a slight cold or allergies. Avoid pillows! If you can use a thin very clean blanket and a wiped down rubber sheet or just the plain vinyl mattress it would be better than sheets. If it was a used mattress consider getting a new one since mold and mildew can live inside an old stored mattress. Our daughter had food allergies. We had to take her back to not just formula but switch to soy, then add 1 new food at a time. As for pets, they claim kids who are raise with pets are more tollerable. Start with asking advice from her doctor. Good Luck!

Answer 11

Both my kids have allergies since they were born. Allergies runs in my family too. I think that is allergies cuz thats the same thing my kids did before they got allergy medicine. Take ur baby to the doctor and the doc can give baby some allergy medicine.