Alternative Remedies for Allergies?

There are a couple of things you could try: 1) try propping him on pillows instead of flat 2) Vicks Vapor Rub could help 3) a vaporizer may help as well.

D. H

He can take allergy medicine now. Zyrtec can be given as young as 6 months. My 7 month old girl in on 1/2 tsp daily. Take him to the doctor and they can tell you the right dose.

my son (now 8) had lots of the same issues. as far as teh allergist said it boils down to remove any and all dust collecting items and wash linens frequently. cover matresses with a allergen liner.
prop the head and chest area while he is sleeping (as best you can tehy seem to always come down thru the night)
Saline nasal spray (over the counter at walmart) it harmless but helps keep the nasal area lubed. and a humidifier!
My son wasn't advised properly in the early stages and the allergist now says being that he was left untreated for so many years (4 of them) that now my son has nocternal asthma from it. and at least once a week nose bleeds if we do not use his nasal spray regularly. we no longer need the humidifier and we can now keep his favorite bears in his room (on the dresser not in his bed) so its improving!
Good luck
talk to your pediatrician and request an allergist.

Hello A. B.,

Just wanted to let you know that I use a vaporizor with vicks steam. This seams to help my two little one, who are 15 months and also 2 1/2. I hope this helps.

I agree with Mimi's suggestions. It's important to reduce the overall toxins in your son's environment, and his allergies will improve. I would especially recommend you switch to an organic mattress (most baby mattresses contain PVC, pthalates, PBDE's, and a host of chemicals that are not good for babies), and I would switch to all natural bedding - just organic cotton and/or bamboo.

My now 5 year old son was diagnosed with 'general seasonal allergies' about the same age as your boy. However, our new pediatrician took him off of Zyrtec and Singulair 2 years ago.

He is now on low dosages of Rynatan as needed for the night time drainage. It has done wonders without being on the main-line allergy meds anymore.

I'm not a big fan of meds, so my first thought was to recommend a sleepy tea. However, if congestion is your baby's main issue - I would also suggest minty hot baths at night. I use to shower with my babies. So as hot as his little skin can take it just before bed to give his system a good dose. It may sound time consuming, but it'll turn out to be some, of your best baby memories. So at bedtime:
1. cup of sleepy tea (warm with cranberry juice to sweeten)
2. very warm shower with mom or bath with no soaps

Add'l do it at the same time every night and cut back on the milk products.

I live by a vaporizer (warm not cool mist) with the Vick's Vaposteam poured into the water. It really helps my children sleep when they have a cold. You do have to be diligent about cleaning it though. Also, you need to determine the underlying causes of the allergies. I would highly recommend seeing a natropath doctor. You can find them by doing a Google search. They will do tests to determine exactly what is causing the allergies and generally changes in diet will work wonders - no medicine needed. Good Luck!

Hello. You can try giving him some liquid-form vitamins. If he's not on a multivitamin, he really needs to be. You can also get Echinacea and something called ALJ in liquid form from GNC or possibly other herbal stores. You can put a couple squirts of each in his juice. That might help to build up his immune system. ALso, if you're giving him milk, that could also aggravate the congestion. An old pediatrician of ours (who was very old-school) used to tell me I could mix salt and water (can't remember the amounts) and squirt that mixture into his nose. That would help break up some of the congestion. You could ask either a doctor or pharmacist about this. They should be able to tell you. I really believe in vitamins. You could do some research on different vitamins/herbal remedies, to avoid giving him so much medicine. However, if he's teething, it could turn into ear infections. If he gets a lot of those, he will need the meds to help clear it up. You might want to check into an herbal/holistic doctor in your area.
Good luck.

Maybe your little boy is lactos intollerant. Try to substitute all milk with enriched soy milk or rice milk. or a mix of the two together, and eliminate butter and cheese (there exists many healthier alternatives to milk products so dont worry about not getting enough calcium and protien!). You might find that in two weeks he doesn't have any more allergies! good luck, J.

Have you thought about seeking Chiropractic care? Both my daughter and myself had terrible allergies she had hers compounded by severe asthma after 6 months of chiropractic care my beautiful daughter (then 4) was for the first time in her life (since 2 months of age) med free. She seemed to really come alive. We love our chiropractor for everything including behavioral issues, allergies and the wonderful assistance with helping our breech baby to turn around!

Our pediatrician recommends nasal/saline drops, as well as running a humidifier at night. The extra moisture in the air will help keep your son from getting dried out from the allergies, and it should help a lot.

I know you may hate to do it, but talk with your pediatrician. My daughter is 17 months and has been on Zyrtec for almost a year now. If you speak with your ped. they can give you the recommended dosage. We started with Benadryl, but I hated how groggy it made her so we talked to them about alternatives. I was also unsure about giving her any prescription meds, but I hated seeing her suffer with allergies. Just a thought.

Nasal saline drops/sprays work well for congestion, although I'm not sure how it differs with congestion from colds versus allergies. You could try a humidifier, but none of this gets to the root of the allergies. Do you know what he is allergic to? Do you have pets? Anything you can do to get fur, animal dander, carpet, draperies, plush toys, etc. out of the house is supposed to help allergies. At the very least, using a HEPA vacuum will help. Good luck.

Hi A.!
I know you want to stay away from "medicine" but I have suffered from allergies my whole life and know how miserable it can be without medicine. After watching both of my infants suffer through the same allergy symptoms, their doctors put them on Zyrtec before bed at a very young age. My daughter was 9 months old and my son was almost 12 months old. They are now 5.5 years old (she only takes is seasonally) and almost 2 (he has taken it the past year b/c he also has major food allergies) but they would be miserable without it!
~P.:)

A., You might try 2 things: 1. Thoroughly damp dust everything in his room..in other words make it as free of dust as possible. Stuffed animals can be dust catchers. Pillows, etc. need to be allergen free also. If you have central heat & air, make sure the filters are clean. 2. Use a cool moisture humidifier in his room at night; however, it has to be cleaned properly to prevent "bugs" from growing in it.
Good Luck!

My wonderfully happy baby turned into a cranky, sick, miserable baby this month (she is 14 months old). It started with some kind of "cold" fever, runny nose, and cough. Then for a couple of days she was fine and the pollen started to come out and it started all over again, fever, runny nose, cough. Back to the doc we went and we tried some allergy medicine (Zyterc). I've been giving her a 1/2 a tsp of Zyterc every night and my wonderfully happy baby is back.

I really don't like having to give her medicine every night, especially this young, but to see her suffer with the allergies so much, and home remedies not helping, I had to try something. I know another mom who had to start giving one of her children allergy medication and; started even younger then I had to and, her daughter is a beautiful strait “A” athlete.

My daughter has never been had an allergy prick test done, but living in S. Georgia it’s not hard to look around and see what is causing her allergies. At this time of year everything turns to yellow as spring peaks its head around the corner. Hopefully this is just a seasonal allergy and I won’t have to give her medicine all year round.

Good luck,

A.

I understand your desire to avoid medicating your child. Our society is quick to pounce on it and in some cases it is unnecessary. However, if your child has allergies, left untreated they will almost certainly develop into upper respiratory infections. You have to get his dried out so there is no wonderful place for all of those germs and bacteria to multiply.

See the pediatrician and ask for homeopathic remedies. Some doctors are better versed in this area than others. If yours is not and you are convinced it's the route to take, seek out a like-minded physician. You will need him or her many more times over the course of your child's life so there's no time like the present (especially since you are about to go back to work) to find one. Hope this helps, S.

Hi A.,

I don't feel like I can give you much info. but I did want to let you know that my son was perfectly healthy and out of no where developed allergies to pollen at 18 months when we moved to Florida. Within two weeks we were in the emergency room with him and almost lost him. He spent a week in the hospital. Two weeks after that it happend again. His allergies have turned into full blown asthma now and he is on multiple medicines. To this day, even with all the asthma meds. my sons nose clogs up everytime he goes to bed. He now sleeps on three pillows to keep him proped up. Some nights it works and others it doesn't. I hear that the Neti Pot is good for allergies but don't know how young you can start using it. Good luck and keep a close eye on him.