Allergies

Could she be an asthmatic? My son coughed all night long and had a really hard time getting over colds when he was 2. He went all winter with undiagnosed asthma until he ended up hospitalized after a particularly acute episode. NOw that we have him on daily nebulizer treatments he does great! Good luck.

i highly recommend www.kidswithfoodallergies.org - great info on all of it, including elimination diets. 12,000+ parents of food allergic/asthma, reflux etc kids.

Could be soy, or soy + other foods. Or Reflux or asthma. or environmental or seasonal allergies.

reflux - food allergies can cause it or they can be 2 separate things.

I agree with seeing a ped allergist first. Mainly for possible asthma - that's my biggest thought. We go to Children's Memorial Glenview annex.

I disagree with not being able to test for allergies until 3. Food allergies can be tested at any time. Seasonal/enviro can be tested after completing 1 full season. Either way, don't hold off on seeing a ped allergist b/co fo what the ped said.

good luck.

K.,
Sometimes any dairy will cause congestion. Have you tried an elimination diet?
My nephew we think, is allergic to dust about a month and half ago he got an air purifier and wakes up much less congested. It has helped him a lot. Good luck.
J. O

HAve the ears and sinuses checked. I have allergies myslef, but suffered from night time coughing, and bouts of dizziness for years...turns out instead of having my nose run like lcrazy like most allergy sufferers do, my congestion runs back and gets stuck in the eustacian tubes (fun) and causes me to have very bad bouts of vertigo (doiuble fun) I take claritin and Flonase daily and that seems to help. Hope this helps. Good luck.

K.,

I highly recommend you do not eliminate diet without a physician's advice.

For example, people are giving you advice to eliminate milk and change to soy. Changing a babies protein based diet can be a tricky thing.

FIRST - go to an expert. My children and I have had allergies for YEARS. It's been torture. The only way we all could have survived this is with the help of an expert. We go to see an allergist who is also considered a pediatric allergist. She is WONDERFUL. Her name is Nirmala Arora.

Here is her contact information and a link to her website: www.suburbancenterofallergy.com

Nirmala Arora, MD

Tower 2 Suite 301
3825 Highland Ave
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Tel : ###-###-####
Fax : ###-###-####

Please go see Dr. Arora before you do anything. I've gone in complaining that a reaction is an allergy and she's figured out it's not at all. I've also gone in for bronchitis and coughing before and she can tell it's something else.

One way she can tell is by the reaction we have at the back of our noses - the color of our skin and mucus. Pediatrician's and regular medical doctors do not know how to treat allergies well. Whenever I take my allergy filled kids to the pediatrician, they give them antibiotics, suggest they rest and send them home. The allergist treats them with the right foods and drugs, she listens extremely carefully and the kids are over their "illness" in half the time.

So I strongly encourage you to go to this allergist - she's very good.

Please tell her that S. sent you - she knows me well - I have gone to her for 10 years.

Best wishes,

S.

if it is a dairy allergy (casein protein, not lactose intolerance), it will take about 6 weeks to get the casein out of her system.

K., I start by saying i am a parent of kids with food allergies and asthma and a Pediatric RN, so i might have some suggestions/thoughts for you on this one..First, if your child has been drinking milk, taking in milk products the chance is slim in my opinion, that this is milk related. It would seem unlikely that milk would all the sudden at 2 cause these problems. Have you recently switched homes to a dryer home/climate? What is the humidity level in her room? Is she taking any medication that might dry out her nose/airway? Is she attending a different daycare that might be drier and so it dries her out during the daytime, causing dryness at night? Have you tried a cool mist vaporizer? They sell them at walmart and pharmacies, there is also a steam version, but it's pretty unsafe, with the hot water and all. And, it's not a humidifier, it's a vaporizer, many people get the two confused for a good reason, they are very similar. With the vaporizer, you can run your hand over the output on it and easily feel the water droplets on your hand, they are about twenty to thirty dollars. Does she have any runny nose during the day or sneezing? Could be seasonal allergies, which is what i suspect. If you try some ordinary saline spray in her nose at bedtime, run the vaporizer at night and notice difference, you know its dry air somewhere. If you notice that doesnt help, and you do notice sneezing/running nose in the daytime, allergies might be your cause. Ask your MD which OTC medication he prefers for this age. If that doesnt help (many take a series of days to over two weeks to work well) a good cleaning, vacuuming of her room, eliminate pets in there, dust with damp cloth to get rid of dust not just flop it around the room, might be an asthma type component. I would be very suprised if this were food allery, I would tend to think more of a dry air/allergy/asthma component, which are all treatable! Good luck.

Our daughter, who is now 12, coughed during the night frequently. The pediatrician would prescribe cough medicine with codine for us to use when the coughing interupted her sleep. Finally at age 7, she was put on singular, which is best known for treatment of asthma, but also treats allergies. It was amazing. Within a few days the coughing stopped. She continues to take Singular and has not needed cough medicine with codine since starting the singular.

My son was diagnosed w/quite a few food allergies at the age of 3. Although we new he had a severe one at 18 months (tree nuts.) Our pediatrician said we can't have reliable testing done until the age of 3, he then referred me to a great allergy and asthma specialist. My son's allergies are dogs:(, dust mites, and recently developed some environmental (pollen) allergies. He has lost most of his food allergies as he has grown- he's 7 now. Your daughter's nightime coughing and congestion in the morning sounds environmental. I purchased hypo-allergenic covers for my son's pillows and his mattress which did help. We had our vents cleaned professionally. I would love to put hardwood in his room but just haven't found the time or money yet. Remove stuffed animals too, or place them in your dryer and let the hot air destroy the dustmites if she can't part w/them. You need to wash comforter's or also place them in the dryer for a cycle. Lastly if she does ever receive a diagnosis of asthma don't fret like I did. Night time coughing is a common symptom. It is extremely common now, (not sure why.) It is very manageable and my son was diagnosed w/it at 18months. He has never had an asthma "attack." We are just able to manage it, before it has ever reached that point. My son started off w/eczema - then allergies, then we discovered the asthma. An air cleaner in the room is also not a bad idea, sharper image makes some good ones. I am in no way a medical expert, just a Mom who went through it, and made it through ok w/her wonderful little boy.

My daughter just turned 3 and we have been going through the same thing since last October. She is on flonase and zyrtec now and it works great. I also run a hepa air purifier in her room at night. I would strongly recommend talking to an allergist, but most will not test and begin immuno therapy until a child is at least 5. However, once you begin immunotherapy, it will only take 4 or 5 years and she should be virtually allergy free.

Good Luck!

My son started coughing and have allergic reactions since he was 8 weeks old! Just when he was able to start sleeping through the night he couldn't because of allergies. He has been on a nebulizer since he was 4 months old. It took us 2 months to figure out that he was actually having an allergic cough and not a sick cough. I suggest asking your pediatrician about being referred to an Allergist or a pulmonary specialist. I made our doctor refer us and it was the best thing! We love our pediatric allergist and he has improved my sons quality of life tremendously! It could be nothing, or it might need a little more. Plus, I'm sure it's not fun for her (or you) to cough all night. I have a couple referrals in the Naperville area. Good luck!

For my older daughter it was teething. Try cool mist humidifier. Make sure it has a good spray and put it over the bed at night.

make sure you continue to work with your pediatrician. My 2 1/2 year old daughter went through a "coughing at night" phase. I thought it was a prolonged cold. Soon she had an "asthma attach". Fortunately my pediatrician referred us to a specialist, who through testing has determined her asthma is not related to allergies. Coughing at night is a sign of distress, and can be related to allergies or asthma. Keep an eye on when it happens, what might help or cause it to act up. I would even suggest keeping a log, so you can discuss any patterns with your doctor.

K.,

It is truly amazing how many allergies can be controlled or even elliminated simply by getting the TOXIC CHEMICALS out of the home. Check out my website for more information:
http://www.livetotalwellness.com/bevk

I'd love to tell you about the healthy, safer alternative that I have found! Give my a call or email. I'm certain that we can help your daughter!

B. and Denny Kittler
____@____.com
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Nightime cough can also be a sign of asthma. Unfortunately, pediatricians aren't very proactive. I also feel that you should go to an expert. I took my son to an allergy & asthma specialist when he was 2 and it was the best thing I could have done for him. He had a dry cough almost every night and was croupy once or twice a month. I kept researching it and finally found that it could be linked to allergies. Once I read that, I took him to Associated Allergy & Asthma in Orland. They started him on allergy & asthma medicine right away and gave me literature on what can be done to minimize symptoms (dust mite covers on pillows & mattresses, replacing carpet with flooring, whole house air filters, etc). Now at 8, he has been weaned off all daily meds and rarely needs his allergy medicine and inhaler.

Good luck!

I was surprised to find out that coughing at night could be due to gastro reflux! Worth mentioning to the doc.

Sounds like nocturnal asthma. My son had this kind. Started when he was a year old. Skip the regular doctors and go straight to a specialist - allergist. We would have saved ourselves a lot of unhappiness and frustration if we had from the start. The whole thing is a long story, but he did allergy shots from age 5-8 and was completely off all medications by age 9.

Did you eliminate all milk products? Cheese, yogart, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, process foods with dairy. If she is getting better but not completely I would try that. It worked for us. And if you want to help the body to fight the allergies I found a great supplement that I have the whole family on. G.

what your pedatrician doesnt know is that 80% chance if yiour child is allergic to milk he or she will be allergic to soy too. That is why man do rice milk or almond or potato milk or oat. She is yound i would start now since it is an aquired taste. Perfect time though she is young and will be easily changed. You should see an allergist to help you though this. Did you start food yet? Mayke sure you make a dirary and I would even wait at least 1 week up to two weeks when trying a new solid. That will help and they do not care if it is the same food each day. THe allregist will try to skin prick test her or rast blood test her. I would not do the skin prick tests yet. It usually takes up to age 5 to be truly valid on the tests. A positive is usually positive but a negative means it could still be positive. The blood RAST test are accurate and at 9 months they test the baby's iron so you could do it all then. A really usesful tool is called patch testing for many people but once again not all. All depends on the child and the type of allergy weither IGg mediated or intestinal or contact etc.
I do like Associated allergist in Highland Park and there is an office in AH and Hoffma estates or schaumber and somewhere near downtown I think. They are good but the HP receptionist are awful and sound fierce. Just talk to the drs they will talk to you they are good and so are the nurses so good calling back etc!
hang in there at least she is not getting ear infections from this and missing school or pheumonia from the runny nose .
J.

Could she be teething? My daughter coughs and gets congested when she is cutting teeth. There is so much saliva in their mouth that they choke on it & it causes a gagging type cough. The congestion could be part of the teething also.

A Hepa filter air purifier helped my son. But his coughing at night when he was 2 was undiagnosed asthma.