Teenage Son with Severe allergies...need Suggestions/solutions

I started with allergy shots when I was in my 20's (3 shots 1/wk). I stopped after I went into anaphylactic shock. So please do not even consider giving shots at home.
My allergies have been so much better since I started using over the counter Saline Spray (2x's /day, morning and night). Since then I do not have chronic sinus infections and my allergies are not nearly as bad.
Good Luck!

Hi, S.:

Contact the lab at Elisaact in Sterling, VA to get his blood tested for
sensitivities.
Good luck. D.

I didn't read the responses below but thought I might throw out there...The neti-pot. I just read an article on CNN.com about it. I know many people who have tried it and now swear by it! Hope he finds some relief!

He needs to take his Claritin everyday. It takes a while to kick in, so make sure he at least begins taking them. He may need an inhaler.. Also get him a neti pot. They are wonderful as a relief of the pressure.

We had to invest in a an electric air filter for our daughters room. It changed our lives. We had to change the filter every 4 weeks and during a really bad season every 3weeks..

One strange we thing that also works for us and is Alka Seltzer Cold Plus effervescent tablets. They taste terrible, but they kick in pretty quick.

One of my girlfriends has a daughter with super crazy bad allergies. On top of her allergy meds, her doc told her to get locally made honey and take a teaspoon a day, every day, before allergy season even starts. Because it's local, the bees that make the honey from flowers (thus local pollen), you build up a tolerance to the allergen. She just started so I'm not sure if it will work or not, but hey, it's honey, it's not going to hurt anything by trying :) Hope he feels better! Best wishes!

The pollen has been high for the past two days. I would try some zyrtec they have it over the counter now. I give some to my son and it seems to help him. I do think you need to find an allergist that is closer that could provide him with shots. That will help build up his immunity to the things that he is allergic to. Spirulina is good also for allergies. You can buy it in GNC. Make sure to have a air purifier in his room. I know they say rugs carry a lot of dust and stuffed animals. I would also keep the house vacuumed well and use a vacuum with a built in HEPA filter. Make sure to also keep your air filters at home changed on a regular basis. Good luck.

Well, my 7 yr old just started having these issues. We went to the lung doctor and found out he has a sinusitis infection. So, he put him on an antibitotic and singulair has worked the best for allergy relief so far. Outside of that, short grass, no flowers, an air purifier always helps. Good luck.

Both my teenage sons have REALLY bad hayfever. They go to the medical doctor once every 3 months for a kenalog shot. It helps alot! Your primary care physician can give it to him and it is not that expensive.

The combination of an antihistamine plus a nasal steroid during peak times can really help. The nasal spray (NasaCort, Nasonex, etc) is prescription, so your allergist will have to send in a script for it.

Zyrtec sometimes works better than Claritin, and is available over the counter as a generic, so you could try that. It makes me really sleepy though, so try it on a weekend to see how your son reacts before he takes it on a school day.

And for all antihistamines (Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, etc), they all work better if you take them as a preventative, rather than waiting for symptoms and then taking them. Since you know it's allergy season and will be for a while, have your son take his Claritin first thing in the morning, even if he feels ok, for the next few weeks.

Will your allergist permit you to give your son the shots? If not, do you know a nurse or someone else in the medical field who could help you on a regular basis? My allergies went from almost incapacitating at times to barely even a nuisance after taking the shots. I was comfortable giving them myself, so my allergist trained me to do it at home each week. I just had to make it to his office about every 6-8 weeks to pick up new vials and syrnges.

As for the allergy meds, you didn't indicate if Claritin helps him or not. In my case, it didn't help nearly as much as Zyrtec (or the generic equivalent) did. My allergist said that each person is different as to which meds are helpful and what symptoms they cause. You may have to try a few to see what works best for him. Also, they are much more effective if you take them before symptoms have started (I know, tough to know which days are going to be a problem). I know how frustrating it is for him, so I wish you the best~

I am dealing with allergies here too. Sorry I just asked a question similar to this the other day!

Is there anyway you could learn to do the injections. It is fairly easy, and lots of people learn to inject themselves or others for a wide variety of medical conditions. If you are able to get the med, your doctor should be able to set you up with a home care agency that would supply needles/syringes, biohazard box, alcohol pads, etc. A nurse may even be able to come to your house to train you and your son (he's old enough!). It would decrease the time you spend going to and from the doctors.

Zyrtec-D ....HUGE difference between claritin d and zyrtec d it doesn't take it away completly but take it every 12 hours and he will feel better I've had allergies for years and this is the only thing that works for myself my daughter and my mom hubby is lucky and doesn't have them bad like us...claritin is useless in my opinion...and don't give him regular zyrtec...made me shake and didn't help my runny/stuffed up nose. give zyrtec d a try :)

And to the poster down the bottom who said "d has too much decongestant in it" is wrong it has been proven suphedrine works much better if continually in the system it is a 12 hour slow release it isn't like all of the suphedrine kicks in at once. If you keep it in your system which the regular sudafed won't do he will feel better and keep it under control.

Try local honey or bee pollen

Allergies have to do with immunity. Building his immunity really could help him improve. There are things that can do just that. I am a Shaklee Independent Distributor and I truly believe we have the best products. I would be glad to give you a few suggestions. Email me if you would like some.

My husband used to get multiple sinus infections yearly. Now that he is up to speed on vitamins he just doesn't get them anymore.

i buy this awesome cleaner that you can dilute into a spray and spray all over your house it kills dust mites, which are the leading cause of allergens. Well, i guess technically its their poo, but you catch my drift. it has done WONDERS for our allergies. you can also add it to laundry and stuff like that too.

My sister used to need allergy shots, so my mom learned to give them to her - and trust me, my mom NEVER thought she'd be able to give someone a shot. Then, my sister had to learn to give them to herself when she went off to college. The best part is that she eventually outgrew the allergies and hasn't needed the shots for years!

Do you know what your son is allergic to? Keeping him away from allergins is the first step. If he is like me, however, that would mean moving to another planet. Assuming you are talking about typical environmental allergies, I will tell you 1)Get good HEPA filters for the house, rabbitair.com has great ones. 2)Don't allow any pets or plants in his room 3) He probably needs more than just a pill. Most people with allergies are suffering terribly this spring because of all the rain and they are finding that adding a nose spray (rhinocort or omaris or other) is needed to relieve symptoms. The science teacher obviously has not suffered from terrible allergies...

Hopefully this will pass as pollen counts are just insane right now. Does he possibly have asthma too? Perhaps consider evaluation and treatment for it.

Get a jar of bee pollen from a local bee farmer. It needs to be local because allergens are area specific, so what we have in our area may not be the same for you. Have your son start out with 1/8th to 1/4 tsp and see how he does. If he does ok up the dose to 1/2 tsp. Both my husband and I take it daily and it works great. Good luck.

Have you thought about giving your son the shots yourself? My 16 year old son has horrible allergies and I didn't want to make weekly visits to the allergist for the shots, so they taught me how to do it. It is really easy and my insurance pays for everything.

I suffer from horrible allergies also and this year is just unusually awful. If the Claritin isn't doing the trick, see if the doctor will prescribe another antihistime- maybe Allegra or something. Some antihistamines work better for some people than others. Claritin never did anything for me. For the past week I have been taking Benadryl whenever I don't need to be alert (it makes you very sleepy) to help the symptoms. Depending on what his worst symptoms are, there are over-the-counter eye drops that can help with eye itchiness and irritation as well. Other tips- shower after being outside to be sure all the pollens are off his body. Make sure all windows and doors are closed. Consider getting an air filter for his room. Unfortunately this is just an awful allergy season- my husband and I are both absolutely miserable even when taking antihistamines, etc.

Do not give allergy shots at home! The reason they must be given at a doctor's office is that people can have severe anaphylactic reactions and would need to be treated immediately. It is dangerous to give the shots at home since you would not be able to treat the reaction. I got shots for a couple years and had anaphylactic reactions twice and had to stop the shots because of that.

However, there is a new thing called Vireo which can be administered at home. I'm not sure where you live, but there are several Vireo centers around Greater Philadelphia. It's drops that go under the tounge daily and basically do the same thing as allergy shots- build up the person's immunity to the allergens. But the doses are much lower and the chance for an anaphlyactic reaction is almost nothing, so they can be given at home. They are super expensive, but in my mind worth it if it eases the allergy symptoms. Unfortunately it won't work immediately- it's meant as more of a long-term solution, but it may help him feel better for future allergy seasons.

use the netti pot. Have him bathe frequently to rid pollens. I would try new meds. My son is on Zyrtec and Nasonex, be we swith them up every couple of years. Some was telling me about a new drug on the market, I do not know they name, just recently out on the market. I will be asking about next time my son goes in. I would see another allergist or even discuss it with his primary Doc.

I am very surprised they only have him on one med. Pollens are so bad this year that I am being treated for asthma symptoms, and my son is on the verge of needing breathing treamtns too.

Get a new allergiest, or a secondary allergist, who is close by.

Hi S.,

Allergies are an immune response and a healthier diet with lots of fresh fruits veges and less pop and processed foods will help.
BUT, I also am an RN who lives a very healthy life and use supplements in addition too. I drink lots of green tea, use ground flax seeds in smoothies and eat a ton of vegetables.
Nationwide, pollen counts are out of control. I have a friend in Florida who has had problems with her allergic asthma for the first time in years. A friend a Chicago who is miserable. I know here in the Kansas City area the "normal high" pollen counts are about 1000 at the highest. The last couple of weeks the pollen counts have been 8000-to over 9000! I would imagine there isn't much that will help right now.
I've been a huge Claritin fan for years but this week tried the generic Zyrtec and think it may be helping a little. Have him take whatever at night because pollen counts are highest first in the am so it will have a chance to kick in. I also don't take the extra "D" in anything because it is WAY too much decongestant. You can get over the counter sudafed and he can take just one or two at time.
Hang in there and pray for a good rain!

I got rid of most of the allergies I had since childhood by completely changing my diet and healing chronic gut damage.

Allergies are often a side effect of an overactive immune system which is being kept in high gear by something. Often that something is the fact that large particulate is making it through the gut walls and the body thinks it needs to attack it like it does a virus.

There are still a couple of things I react to, but for the most part they have settled down. I now eat organics, lots of raw plant material, as little preservatives and additives as I can possibly arrange. I stopped eating wheat which was tearing up my intestines and I didn't know it. (Milk is often a culprit, too). And I switched away from the high flash point oils in food, and most processed foods. I also started taking Peptizyde and Zyme Prime which I order from Amazon, with meals. And I did various things like lots of probiotics and aloe for a period of six months to help things heal.

Oh, and I stopped consuming soda and anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.

In the end it got rid of other problems like a pain disorder and migraines, too. But most of the things that made my eyes itch and and my sinuses swell up don't seem to bother me anymore. When oak goes nuts I still get a little reaction, but it used to be every weed, grass and tree that made me nuts.