Benadryl for a Two Year Old with Allergies, Please Help!

My daughter has been getting Zyrtec since she was 2 for her allergies and it works great. We do use Benadryl per doctors orders when she is having a very bad allergy attack (such as one brought on by cats or some pollens) but not on a daily basis. If this is an on going issue, you should go to an allergist to see what the cause is so you can avoid the allergen (such as pet or dust mite) or at least know what time of year you will have to take action such as medicine in the case of pollen. All 3 of my kids have allergies ranging from severe food allergies to moderate seasonal allergies and all take meds for them with no adverse side effects. (Benadryl does cause drowsyness in my daughter, so we only use it as needed).

This doesn't answer your question but, if she has a runny nose only at and after daycare, could she be allergic to something at the daycare?
I would try to find out if there is something at the daycare that could cause this reaction and try to remove it from there.
If she only has a runny nose and not bothered much about it, maybe you don't need any medication? Just spray her nose with saline (something like Simply Saline or Little Noses) and suck it out with an aspirator. I find the battery operated ones much better than the blue bulb.
Why don't you call the doctor's office again and ask them about your concerns and questions about Benadryl? Also tell them it makes her really drowsy and if they can recommend something else.

Hi A.,

Allergies are not a natural thing to have. They are caused by synthetic stimulus that weaken the immune system and exacerbate symptoms. My first suggestion would be to detox the house and see if her allergies go away. Mine did and so did my kid's. Your little one is also big enough for an absorbable chewable multivitamin that will help build her immune system as well.

Benadryl is an awful option whether the manufacturer says so or not. All of these three drugs you mentioned can affect the heart as they all affect the vascular system. You don't want to give something to someone to small to articulate what she's feeling.

Hope I helped! Feel free to contact me if you want more info.

M.

we use Benadryl for our son and have been since he was 9 mos old with the Dr's orders for his allergies. We prefer to no administer it until close to either nap time or bed time since for our son it also makes him sleepy.

There is limited to none medication to give to children under age 6 I still have yet to give my 6 & 3 yr olds any OTC medicine besides Benadryl for seasonal allergies and their coughs per DR. recommendation & proper dosage.Call the office get accurate dosage or you can go to Walgreens phramcy & they will look it up for you.There is Loratadine for allergies that I belive doesn't cause drowsiness but unsure on the age recommendation or Zyrtec my sis gives this to her 2 & 3 yr olds.

I would recommend talking to your pharmacist. Sometimes pharmacists are more in touch with these drug issues than even the pediatrician and you might get some clearer answers from a pharmacist. Trust me, they talk to parents about this stuff all day long and they have to know the answers. For me it's easier to talk to a real person than shuffle through all that internet info sometimes! ;)

i would stick with zyrtec or something simlar. there is otc allergy medicine for children under the age of 6. the allergy symptoms could be something she is allergic to at daycare. anything from carpet to plants to pets or cleaning supplies to food or mold. try to take stock of things that could be different at daycare that you do not have present at your own home. here is a website that will show you the proper doseage for children 12 months to 3 yrs. your best bet to finding medicines that have been taken off the market for kid younger then 6 would be your local pharmacy. http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/toddlermedicinecab...

They have not all been taken off the market but most are NOT allowed to be given to children under 6 years old. Infant meds were recalled and they are no longer made but regular childrens meds are still there, but they are NOT for younger children. Children were dying from meds that are not formulated for their age grou, or they were overdosing on something in it they couldn't matabolize. Their bodies don't work like they are just little grown ups. Some parents were just dividing the dose up, if it said give a teaspoon for a 6 year old then they would give 1/2 teaspoon to a 3 yr. old or less if they were younger. Children were dying. Your pediatrician should have given you a prescription for a med formulated for little guys but really they aren't allowed to diagnose allergies until the children are older. They can say the child has a runny nose, itchy red eyes, and stuff but they can't diagnose it as allergies. Silly to me because an allergy is an allergy. The little ones systoms are changing and growing constantly so they may react one day and never again and their bodies are developing their antihistamine system and the drugs hinder that growth.

We have what I call "allergies" too. The doctor gave us a perscription for something when they were bad but it was only for a short time. It effects the development of the system to battle allergies or something.

I would say talk to your doctor again. Benadryl is extremely drying. I wouldn't even give it to the kids for just a runny nose. It's really for more extreme symptoms like throat swelling and itching.

If her nose is only running at day care then she is obviously reacting to something there. So when she's home and not doing it she doesn't need it.

Too many children died and I don't give my little ones anything that the doctor doesn't give me a prescription for.

Here's a couple of links to the CNN stories about why the drug recall happened.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/17/cough.syrup.deaths/i...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/19/coldmed.fda/index.html

Hi A.,
Here's a site that lists medicine recalls, along with food and other products:
http://www.recalls.gov/
My daughter (4) has allergies which were diagnosed by having tests done with a pediatric allergist. She did have to get the tiny needles in her back, but it was only bothersome for a minute or two. I would have never known what she was allergic to if it had not been for these tests. She now takes Allegra to treat her dog/cat/dustmite allergies. Her doc also told us that kids need to go through 3 full spring seasons before they will test accurately for seasonal allergies. Hope this helps! Good luck!

My daughter has had allergies since she was born. My doctor told me the same thing. The reason I was told by the doctor that benedryl and other medicines were taken off the market for under six years old was because parents were overdosing their kids. They were giving them too much too many times a day. My two year old daughter has been taking benedryl for sometime for her allergies...I haven't had any problems with it. My daughter has more than a runny nose, she gets the itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing and congestion. She also gets allergic rashes. They can give you a prescription for Atarax which is more for skin rashes and irritation. It sounds like it is allergies to something at daycare. If it isn't bothering your child too bad, don't give her anything. I give my kid benedryl only when she is really complaining or I can tell it is really bothering her. I hope this helps. I am sorry I don't have any more specific info.

I am also not going to be able to "answer" your question....but my son sneezes like crazy and occasionally has a runny nose....Well one day I had had enough so I called his Ped. and she recommended to me that I give him childrens zyrtec for a couple days and see if that helped...and this could still be something he can grow out of....as their little bodies are constantly changing. Now when I called I jumped right to can I give him Benadryl...and she said she has to advise against it for what could be seasonal allergies because they need to take dose after dose threw out the day and with the zyrtec it's one dose once a day...and it does not make him drowsie...which is nice!!! After about a week it went away...and that was back in November...this past weekend we were in Orlando and he started again with it and I gave it to him and poof immediately all gone....

Benadryl has NOT been taken off the market for children under 6 years old.

Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that COUGH/COLD medications NOT be given to children under 6 years.

You can verify Benadryl's availability at FDA.gov (generic name is diphenhydramine) or by calling any pharmacist.

Your Pediatrician gave you sound advice.

If you do have questions, you should ask your pharmacist, but I would NOT make any changes until you've spoken with your pediatrician. Only your pediatrician knows your child's medical history and may have a medical reason for choosing Benadryl over Zyrtec, etc.