Allergies UGH!!

[Anonymous]

Have you had actual allergy testing done? My DD was miserable the first two years of her life.. we used to joke that if she wasn't coughing/barking at night in bed, we would check to make sure she was still breathing. Pale skin, tired grey eyes all the time, eczema, constant thick green stuffy noses, crusty eyes -- just a generally miserable child..

When we finally had allergy testing done, we found out she is allergic to:

apples

tomatoes

wheat

milk

corn

garlic

coffee

lamb

crab

chicken

sooo, pretty much everything we fed her (minus coffee and crab of course) she had an allergy to, which made themselves known through the eczema, runny noses, cough, crusty eyes, etc. This was in addition to being allergic to sagebrush and queen palms (we lived in CA at the time) and cockroaches and grass. She was also diagnosed with asthma/reactive airway disease which meant that all of those allergic reactions compounded the symptoms of her asthma and sensitive lungs.

Once we started controlling her food intake & eliminating the allergy foods, it helped her in soo many different ways. We now live in NoVa as well, and are having her tested for the local pollens here, since she seems to be allergic to EVERYTHING.

We also find if we don't keep the filters changed every 45-50  days in the A/C units for each floor of the house, she starts reacting immediately. We buy the expensive (relative to other brands) $15 air filters and they help a LOT for her.

[Math_Rocks]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I know it might sound a little old fashioned, but putting honey in some hot green tea helps my allergies. I don't know what to do about my eyeballs. Benedril helps me but my body doesn't agree with the after effects, it definantly isn't something I would want to take often. 

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Not old-fashioned! Very wise! If you eat locally grown honey, it will help (not necessarily cure) with allergies. It has something to do with how bees break down local (big emphasis on local) pollen to make the honey.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest taking him to an ENT doctor.  My son went through the same thing at just around the same age. It was horrible, all the testing, bloodwork, the grid on his back with all the little needles, ick. Anyway, the allergy meds never worked for him. He started getting so stuffed up he has stuff coming out of the corners of his eyes, this barking cough at night, it was awful. I was working with my pediactrician and an allergist, they tried to tell me he had asthma (which I have and I knew this wasn't it!) and finally I snuck behind both of their backs (we had discussed it before but neither thought it was necessary) and went to see an ENT. 

Within 5 minutes the man told us he need tubes in his ears and his adenoids removed. I went home all confused because it seemed like such a big deal (even though it wasn't he was eating fine the next day! Was much harder on ME) and I dind't know if I should put him in for surgery, and how could this guy know in 5 minutes that he need surgery. So, then I went back again to him and asked him to explain why he though this would help my son and he did (swollen this, this gets clogged up causing mucus to come up through his eyes instead of his nose, etc). 

Can I tell you something? The kid came home and entirely different person. Laughing and smiling, even after surgery.  He has NEVER taken an allergy medication again, not even a benedryl and he's been diagnosed with a few different allergies as well (ragweed, some sort of mold, penicillin and a few others, it's been so long and he's been fine, I'd have to look at the paperwork). I'm telling you, this simple surgery brought my child back to life and I never would have thought of it. Not saying that your child needs this, but think outside the box and see if there is another Dr. that may be able to help - if you have not tried an ENT yet, I highly suggest it. 

Message Edited by UpUpUp on 05-07-2009 09:42 AM

[Junejer]

As a child, I was misdiagnosed a zillion times: heart murmur, adenoids need to be removed. This happened from ages 3 to 12. Finally, I was diagnosed with hayfever. The shots I used to get worked, but they were a PITB. I can't stand any of the medicine. I kind of works, but the side effects are often worse than the symptoms.

FTR, both of my daughters have had their adenoids removed, due to excessive mucus, and it doesn't seem to have changed much for them. They are both still chronic nose blowers.