My 6 year old son ALWAYS has a runny nose and his head is constantly stuffy, If his nose is not running, He gets severe bloody noses. He had so much inflammation in his head that he runs a low grade fever every once and awhile. We have gone through a round of antibiotics which did nothing so we are thinking that it must be allergies. Does anyone know natural things we can do to help? He had been taking allery meds but they do not seem to do much but cause behavior issues. ANy ideas?
Little Remedies has a product called Allergy Blocker, or something like that. It's in a tube like oragel and it's a gel that you put on the nose that blocks the allergens from getting in. My husband and middle daughter have bad allergies. My husband tested the product for me and it's been amazing for him. He's bought some that he keeps on him at all times.
Neti pot, neti pot, neti pot! Do not use a nasal spray unless it is a saline spray. My 9 year old son has allergies where twice a year (fall & spring) he gets a low-mid grade fever for 3-5 days - this has been going on for 5 years. Only symptoms are stuffiness and maybe a cough. We tried the antibiotics in the beginning with no results as you did. We use generic brand Clariton - with no side effects. Zyrtec has never worked for us. The other nasal medications wig him out. Look into possible food allergies. But really, it probably is seasonal allergies. The one thing you do not want to do is dope him up on a bunch of medicine. All you can do is make him comfortable. If you really want, you could go to a allergy specialist. Good luck!
I have allergies, I tested positive for 74 out of 80 things they tested me for. I can tell you that the meds they are giving him may be drying him out too much. That is a huge problem I have had. When the kids are dry and in pain and can't even make snot because they are so dry it is uncomfortable and they act out the only way they can.
I have taken so many things and usually use childrens liquid so I can take a minimal dose. Talk to the Pharmacist first, they know drugs, I start out by reducing to the minimal for kids. For example, if I am going to take Benadryl. An adult dose is 4 tsp., I take 1 tsp. and see if the symptoms go away. If not I take one more tsp. I have tried so many things for allergies. it really is just try and find what works for him. You might want to schedule allergy testing and see what it is, it may be something you can get rid of.....
Another thing I do is take liquid Sudafed. I buy it at the Pharmacy, usually the hometown type ones that local people own. Maybe a compounding one. I can't use the fake Sudafed it makes me nuts. Plus it doesn't work for anyone I know. It's a delicate balance but Sudafed allows my sinus' to be moister and cleaner deep inside. Look up decongestants and anti-hystamines on Wikipedia. It explains it a lot better than me. That pressure he is having could be a clogged sinus, could be he needs to rinse out the allergins, etc...so many things. A good ORL doctor could really do him wonders, allergy testing, med visits, coordinating his meds and environment.
I feel for your little guy, R.. And you! I do know a number of natural things that have helped other kids with allergies, stuffiness and inflammation. I am blessed to be able to share these natural strategies in my mom-owned business. If you'd like to explore some recommendations, you can send me a private message with your e-mail address, and I'll get in touch (there's too much info to put it all here and this way we can talk more specifically about what, of all the things others have found helpful, might work best for your situation).
Blessings,
A.
Nasonex helped our son for a while. But you'll have to take him to the doc for a diagnosis and prescription. These days we tend to use the Allavert or Claritin.
It is def worse depending on what is putting out pollen. Right now is especially bad for some reason.
I have heard that sometimes milk sensitivities can show up as runny nose and stuffiness, and we cut it out for 3 weeks once to see (my son LOVES milk) but it didn't seem to make much difference for my son. So I let him has his milk back (he was 9 years old at the time so he knew exactly why we were doing it and knew that it wasn't making any difference).
Take him to the doc and ask if it is seasonal allergies/hayfever. The "technical" term is 'allergic rhinnitis'. Usually, there is a "classic" wrinkle across their nose from where they are constantly sniffling and wiping their hands.
My three-year old and her daddy are both allergic to cedar, grass, and dust mites. Here's what we've found to be helpful:
Change your HVAC filters frequently. (You can buy special three-month filters, otherwise, change monthly.)
Wash his hair every night before bed. (The dust or pollen or dander or whatever he's allergic to gets in the hair, and is then next to his face all night. This was the last step a good friend of ours needed to get their son off of allergy meds altogether. We wash our daughter's after school days, days when her allergies have been especially bad, and days when she's spent a significant amount of time outside. Every other day, at the LEAST, often every day.)
Dust-mite covers for the pillows and mattresses. National Allergy Supply, at the recommendation of DH's allergist. (www.natlallergy.com)
And you might want to check out the website for the American Academy of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology. They have a counter for the previous day's ACTUAL pollen levels. Keep an eye out for days when your son is especially bad, and then check out the levels for that day. It's not for a diagnosis, of course, but it might help you find a correlation. (http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=pollen)
Hope this helps, and your little one is feeling better soon!
hi there
IF it is a sinus infection, sometimes antibiotics can take a LONG time to work.. if much at all. :( it could be allergies and at such a young age and being as he is so young, the pediatrician will probably suggest it's dust mites.. (As did ours) my son has been allergic to "something" for some time but because he is so young , the allergist told us he has not yet experienced truly enough seasons to really know for sure what it is.. apart from outright food allergies.. he is most likely allergic to dust mites.
Have you taken him to a children's allergist? I would suggest doing that.. they will probably say it's dust mites in which have you get those plastic bed encasing for the boxframe, mattress and of course change the pillow cases everyday.. it's not the dust mites that cause the problem but their waste.. :( We did all this and it helped somewhat... I too would prefer NATURAL cures but so far, apart from different food eliminations in his diet, nothing much has worked except: Children's Zyrtec.. unlike Benadryl, it doesn't make him tired or put him in a bad mood. We have used it for awhile now (once a day) and it has worked tremendously. Upon returning to his next doctor's visit, I do plan on getting a full allergy panel workup..he is old enough now that we can narrow the problem down more closely.
in the meanwhile, you might truly want to take your little one to an allergist, to give you peace of mind. OR take him to an ENT... << those doctors specialize in the ears, nose and throat and can often NARROW down the dilemna and will refer you to an allergist IF in fact they think it's allergies.
IF you live in the bayarea, Doctor ALLAN Rust is very specific and knows his stuff. or ask your pediatrician for a referral. Often , a regular doctor will put you on antibiotics when really, he might need something allergy specific.... the antibiotics will only really clear an infection IF one exists but they don't take away the allergy...
best of luck to you :)
Hi R.,
I did not have runny noses growing up, but bloody noses...oh my it was bad! My parents did not know what to do with me & switched Dr.'s continuously.
Finally one Dr. suggested allergy scratch tests be done. I did not have any food type allergies but did have allergic reactions to cat dander and dogs, dust. My case of nose bleeding was severe enough to be put through the tests. Hope that you can get some useful answers soon from your Pediatrician, he may suggest putting your son through the same tests, if so, do not be alarmed it maybe the only way to rule things out and get to the bottom of whats causing all of the problems.
I did grow out of all these allergies as an adult so that is the possible bright side of the picture long term for your son.
This situation calls for lots of hugs for your little guy, hang in there,
Mary
Try a neti pot. You can buy them at any pharmacy, basically (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) They flush out the nasal passages and the sinuses and bring relief, although it often hurts the first or second time you use it, until you get used to it. Also, if you have carpets, make sure you have a bagged vacuum (bagless are convenient but put a lot of dust particles back into the air, even with hepa filters). You can buy covers for pillows and mattresses to contain the dust mites, and make sure you change all the filters in your house frequently. I wish you the best of luck.
My oldest son had the same thing. In addition to the symptoms you describe, he also suffered from puffy eyes and bad breath for 6 years (6-12). In 6th grade, he failed his vision exam at school. After a visit to the Opthomologist, he was diagnosed with allergies and was put on pseudoephed decongestant (we use Claritan D). It has changed his life. He no longer has bad breath, puffy eyes & seasonal allergies. He hasn't missed a day of school since.
I've discussed it with many physician friends and they assure me that since he has no other problems (heart, hyperactivity), this is the perfect treatment. This drug has been around for at least 50 years so side-effects are well known. I now take it when I have the first signs of congestion and it nips it in the bud.
My daughter, however, does not do well on it. She gets very lethargic.
Good luck!
Neil Med Sinus Rinse is a alternative to the neti pot but might be easier for 6 year old to do it himself or you can do it for him.
I also read about a natural medication called Sinupret and you can check it out at the link below:
It sounds like seasonal allergies. Go to your local fruit market or health food store and get some honey from the area. Have him take a teaspoon a day (in his oatmeal, in a smoothie, etc). It will help him build a natural immunity to the pollens in the air.
You may also want to try some immune boosters like EmergenC. As far as the netty pot goes, I've actually been doing something similiar for years. I use the little nose bulb that is used for babies. You can pick one up at the drug store or even the dollar store. It fits perfectly in your nose, squeeze a little bit of warm salt water up and spit it out through your mouth.
Dr Greg Steiner is Allen totally fixed this for us with accupuncture. It was easy and painless and eliminated the allergies without any medicines. Wish we'd have tried it much sooner. ###-###-####
Food allergies can cause this. You can get IgE testing for true food allergies and IgG testing for food sensitivies. Some docs don't believe in the IgG but if you have an open-minded doc just order the test kit from Alletess (they are the cheapest I've found at $85) and have doc draw the blood.
Check out these website. Www.allergytx.com. www.naet.com. Both work great getting rid of allergies. Good luck.
I'd start by taking him off of all dairy for a minimum of 14 days to see if you see any improvements. Most dairy can be replaced with soy, nut, and rice products. Dairy is the #1 suspect in potential allergies/sensitivities when it comes to anything mucus related. Once you've tried eliminating dairy, other suspects could be eggs, wheat, corn and/or soy. It may help a little, or he might suddenly improve drastically, or there might be no change at all. After removing a suspected food for about 14 day, try reintroducing a pure form of that food back into his diet and just see what happens over the next 24 hours. If he clears up and then suddenly gets all congested when you reintroduce it, thats a pretty good indication that its bothering him. Be sure to test just one thing at a time. Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be to see your little one sick like that.
Get a netti pot and teach him how to use it. My son was using one by 7 and it helped so much with his runny/stuffy nose.
I'd agree with Jodi that your best course of action is to have an allergist help you determine what the cause of the issues are (if they are even allergy related). It could also be a lingering cold (for which antiobiotics will be of no help). The bloody noses could be because it's winter, and the air is more arid.
You can always ask a pharmacist the next time you're at the grocery store or near a pharmacy. But, I'd determine the cause before using any products for what you think may be happening.
Good luck. I hope he gets to feeling better soon.
You say he was taking allgergy meds but you don't say if it was on the advice of a pedi or an allergist. If he hasn't already gone, get him tested, as in a scratch test, by an allergist. Find out what he's allergic to as it sounds like there are true allergies there. A neti pot and saline can help but I'd want to know what's causing the problem.
It's already been suggested: try a NETI POT. Sprouts sells green PLASTIC ones. Better than a ceramic one which is breakable. Easy to use. YouTube.com has lots of demo videos. My 3 suggestions: 1) Have a child use it in the SHOWER. Makes it fun and less messy. 2) Use REAL SALT. Real Salt is the product name. It comes from an ancient, buried sea in Utah. It has no pollutants (mercury) that other sea salts might have. Avoid using iodized table salt with anti-caking agents added. 3) Make sure you get the water temp. in the pot just right. If it's too hot or too cold, it will feel uncomfortable up in the sinuses. If water is BODY TEMPERATURE, you can't even feel it in your nose.
