Advice on Allergies and Asthma

I took my son to be tested and he had the scratch test...found out he's allergic to several things including dust mites. I bought pillow and mattress covers and it made a HUGE difference! (you can find them really cheap at Walmart) Once you know what she's allergic to the doctor will provide you with instructions as to what you can do to help.

Been there, done that, In the end, it was the cleaners I was using in the house and most importantly, the Laundry products I was using that was giving him the asthma to begin with. Had I known that in the beginning, I would have save myself a lot of heartache, time , travel and money.

I have a website from the "gov" which tells you the dangers and health effects of those cleaning products we are using. 7 of the products I was using at the time were all linked to asthma. G-R-R-R! Who would have known.

I suffer from allergies. and so does one of my daughters. what i do is make sure the air filters in the house get changed i always keep up with dusting and definitely no stuffed animals in her bedroom they collect tons of dust. I wash all our sheets in hot water . She takes zyrtec everynight and uses a nasal spray in the morning. I always make clean all the window blinds and ceiling fans. HTH...

They test them by pricking your child's skin about a dozen times usually on the forearm. On each prick (it hurts a little) they put a drop of different antibodies to see what if anything they're allergic to. These liquid drops stay on the arm for about 10 minutes. They don't hurt but can get itchy. THen they measure the effect of each drop by how big the red bump is (if they're allergic to that thing). So if your childe is very allergic to cats they will have large raised bump but if he is mildly allergic to dogs the bump will be smaller and things he/she is not allergic to will not be swollen. There are allergy slipcovers for pillows and beds that are good. You can buy them most places - I buy mine at target. There are also filters to put over vent in the child's sleeping room. I was also told no more than 2-3 stuffed animals in the bed as my son is mildly allergic to dust mites. Finally, many docs will give your child ongoing medicine to combat allergies - especially if they are seasonal, weather related (hay fever, grass, etc) that really work. My son takes a 24 hour zyrtec and veramist spray almost every day. Hope that helps. And if she also has asthma, they may give her some preventative drugs - like flovent or singular in addition to an albuteral inhaler if she has any serious breathing incidents. Finally, if her coughing is worse at night I encourage you to have her do a sleep study - where they determin if she has any blockage at night. My son had huge tonsils and the sleep study showed he had mild blockage, so we had his tonsils taken out and now he doesn't cough and snore at night like he used to. Good luck. Your daughter will feel much better once you know what is going on.

We had my daughter tested when she was 10, due to constant cold symptoms and night coughs. She had full testing, including about 25 patch tests on her back. Since dust mites came up positive, adding the allergy pillow and mattress covers was an important thing. The other big contributor was our "non-allergenic" dog. Although I don't like medicating kids, we put her on Singulair. She is totally cured! I've heard some people who don't do well on it, but we love Singulair and have no side effects.

The allergy test is a scratch test the asthma test is a blow in a tube test what you do depends on the allergies. about.com and web.md you can find about anything you need to find on controlling allergies geared to that allergy. I highly suggest about over web. real parents real answers.

Hi Sandra,
I have 5 kids, with on the way. Of the 5, my boys seem to suffer from allergies and asthma the most. When I took my son to get tested for allergies the Dr. had a needle similar to the needle they use to test for TB. Very small needle and they pricked my son on his arm with alot of different things to see what food, drugs, and environmental agents he could possibly be allergic to. If he had a reaction on his sink then this was considered a reaction...Because my boys have so many food allergies the only way it has changed my household is at times i have to make two meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) without certain ingred.
As far as the asthma, I do not know how one is tested for this, although I have heard it can be done. With our Ped. he just waited till my kids had an episode that sent them to the hospital gasping for air, then he diagnoised them with asthma...we do breathing treatments at home when needed and try to avoid triggers (things that bring on attacks-ususlly colds)
Also along with allergies, and asthma come eczema they usually exsist together (or so my Dr says) so I use a mild bathing soap, "free" detergents/fabric softners. Use lotions like cephal, eucerin and others without dyes, colors, fragrances...other than that everything else is just take it as we go.

My husband has allergies and they can be annoying. I have two suggestions for you. The first is to make sure you don't use any air freshers and switch your cleaning products to "natural" products. The chemicals and synthetic scents can make allergies and asthma worse. The problems usually get worse in the winter beacuse we are stuck inside and the air is dry.

The second is to have your daughter use a neti pot. You can buy them at Walgreens or other drug stores. Some come with premeasured packets of salt. When my husband uses the neti pot, he feels much better. I have also heard the same thing from many people with allergies. I use it too, even though I don't have allergies.

Good luck!

Hi Sandra,

I've had allergies my whole life.... For the test, they will probably do bloodwork and a scratch test. The scratch test is where the doctor puts a small amount of a potential allergen on your daughter's skin (arms or back) to see if she has a reaction. It's like getting a tiny shot.
Depending on what she reacts to, they will give you a list of things you can do at home and they may suggest allergy shots or a daily antihistamine to help her.
You are on the right track with the pillows etc, but you may want to look into getting mattress and pillow covers designed to help allergies. They prevent dust mites from getting into the bedding. Keeping pets out of her room - esp. if they shed - would help as would vacuuming and dusting frequently. If your daughter is using a feather pillow, you may want to consider switching to something synthetic. One of the things my allergist had my parents do was limit the number of stuffed animals in bed with me.
You can also look into getting an allergy filter for your furnace/ac... that can help things from moving around the house. We like the one made by 3M.
One thing that can help early on in a sinus attack is a netti pot, but it has to be pretty early or the sinuses get too clogged for it to work.

Hope this helps and good luck!

When you get the test, the doctor will have specific advice for you on what to do to help, but I'd make sure when they test they check for allergies to pine and pointsettia as they can cause some major issues in winter.
The allergy test is called a " scratch test" they use tiny needles to inject a minute amount of specific substances under the skin to test for a reaction. It doesn't hurt really and it'll give you a much clearer idea how to help your child.

I have been test two different ways and both involved needles. The scratch test or testing a large area with different possible allergens is the least effective and the one currently used most often. The best testing I have had involved testing one allergen at a time (usually food allergens but has also involved inhaled allergens). They begin with a small amount of the allergen and then asking you to record your reaction in relation to the way you felt before testing began. This is repeated with a higher dose until a definite conclusion is made. This like I said was the best testing I have ever received and the results were far superior to the results from the scratch testing. It is very difficult to find a doctor testing this way and in my experience I have found only one. I know this will be hard on both your family and your daughter. Best wishes as you search for a good doctor.

The asthma test is usually pretty simple. They have her blow into a tube. The tube has #s on it that says how much airflow your daughter is able to exhale.

The allergy testing can be done in one of 2 ways.
1. They take a pad of pre-loaded needle points and they apply them to your daughter's back. Here they usually do 3 pads or 45 needles. Then your daughter lays still for 15 mins. They come back in and read the results. (take a good book or music with you)

2. They can order a blood test and the tests can be applied in a lab. The results take about a week to come back.

Good luck.
M.

I have asthma and allergies, so I see an allergist who also treats asthma (saves another trip to a diff. doctor) and I see one that I REALLY LOVE (if you want their info, PM me and I'll give it to you).

As someone mentioned below, they will test her for asthma by having her blow into a tube as hard as she can and it will register how much oxygen she's getting in and putting out and they will listen to her lungs too (they'll also talk to you to find out what triggers her difficulty breathing).

As for allergy testing, they can do it a few different ways...the way the place I go to is they have a pad of needles (that are, as mentined previously, small like the TB needles) that have the allergens already injected into them setup and they hold it to your back for a few seconds (that way it's one prick instead of 25-30) and they have you sit for 20 minutes to see if you react. They can also do further under the skin testing (I can't remember if that is if you do or don't react). I have also heard that they can just draw blood and test allergens to that (however, that takes more time and you'd have to wait for the results whereas the scratch test {I mentioned above} you get the results that day).

As for doing things around the home...it really depends on what she is allergic to...if it's dust, you'll need to dust and vaccuum more often and wash bedding more often and most likely put covers on her pillows and bed, if it's mold, you'll have to make sure none accumulates in areas that she is in (bathrooms, basements, school, etc.), if it's airborne you can get a better air filter for your furnace (that is what blows everything around the house in the winter) and get the vents cleaned, if it's pets and you have some, don't fret - she can try taking medications or I bathe my dog in an allergen reducing shampoo which makes him shed less dander (which is what people are allergic to, not the hair)...I do allergy injections and take 1 zyrtec a day and it's helped tremendously! I do reccommend the pillow covers and furnace filter, though, because we do those and they have helped a lot too (especially if you have pets)...

I hope this helps...

My dtr has asthma and allergies year round. I've gone as far as removing the carpet in her room and installed tile, no stuffed animals allowed in her room and dust her room often. We need to keep her allergies under control because that kicks in her asthma. Her doctor recommended Claritin 1x day for her allergies. Plus, I run a humidifier all night long when she has cold, cough. That seems to help a lot too. You asked about how the allergy test is performed and I went in with my mom to get her test done. It looked painful, they pocked her back about 50x with a "solution" of all possible things people could be allergic to, like: ash tree, cat, pollen, etc. She looked very uncomfortable, but once its done, you never have to go through it again. Good luck!

I suffered with allergies and sinus infections from age 11 into my forties. My experience with an allergist involved a scratch test. This is where different allergens are applied to many scratches along the arm. Mine was inconclusive although I had always been told what I was allergic to was airborne. I had removed all carpeting, drapes and bought anti-allergy mattress and pillows. In the winter I used several humidifiers making sure to keep them clean. I found the real key to becoming symptom free was a combination of supplements (liquid echinacea) and releasing the emotional causes behind the symptoms (anger & grief). Research has found a correlation between our emotions and most illness. Very young children can even inherit the emotional baggage of their parents.