Cold Vs. Allergies

I had this with my daughter, but my ped. and everything I've read said that children don't really form any allergies (except food) until around 4 years old. Good luck.

This is one time I have to disagree with the other responses. I just recently read (and danged if I can't remember where), that for the majority of children, allergies don't show up until between the ages of 2 and 3. So keep that in mind, first of all.
Second of all, clear mucus does not mean allergies. Both of my boys are sick right now, as am I. We all have clear mucus, one boy has influenza and the other boy has an upper respiratory infection. So that information is wrong.
Third, do not give your baby OTC cold meds until you speak to his pediatrician first. I was just at the ER twice this weekend with my baby and both dr's I saw said do NOT give baby's under 2 OTC cold meds because they're finding they can be lethal or the kids can have complications.
So call your pediatrician and get him seen if he's running a fever, otherwise, let it run it's course. Most likely it's viral anyways, and an antibiotic won't do any good.

HELLO AGAIN I WOULD LIKE TO LET YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOW THAT ALLERGY TESTS ARE NOT USUALLY DONE UNTIL THE CHILD IS 5 BECAUSE THE RESULTS WON'T SHOW UNTIL THE CHILD IS BETWEEN 5 AND 8 YEARS OLD. MY SON TURNED 5 LAST SEPTEMBER AND HAD HIS FIRST ALLERGY TEST DONE. FYI THEY ARE NOT AS BARBARIC AS WHEN I WAS A CHILD AND HAD THEM DONE. JAMIE WAS TESTED FOR 10 COMMON ALLERGENS AND THE TEST WAS OVER IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. HE ONLY CRIED FOR A FEW MINUTES ( WHICH SURPRISED ME). IF ALLERGIES ARE SUSPECTED THEY WILL PUT YOUR CHILD ON A MEDICATION AND SEE HOW THEY DO WITH IT. MY SON SEES DR. KISHORE AT AKRON CHILDREN'S HE IS WONDERFUL AND JAMIE REALLY LIKES HIM. WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THE NURSE PRACTIONER THERE SHE IS GREAT AS WELL. GOOD LUCK TO ALL. JOCEY
If u r unsure i would say just call his pediatrician and describe to him/her what is going on. They may want to see him to make sure. P.s. Never be afriad to call his doctor no matter how silly the question seems. Good luck

Hi,

I've always heard that if there is a fever, then it is probably a cold. I would just try some tylenol or some other over the counter cold formula. The mucus will also change over the next few days if it is a cold....it'll become a greenish color, then eventually clear. Hope this helps.

From what you have said you are leaning more towards giving him an over teh counter medication rather than taking him to a doctor. In which case most of your over the counter medication for sinus colds is the same as for allergy releif, the main goal is to not overmedicate or treat symptoms he doesn't have, so look for something that doesn't have a fever reducer and just treats a runny nose or you can try some saline nose drops, regardless of what is causeing the problem short of takin ghim to a doctor and requesting a perscription all you can do is go tot eh store and look for something to treat his symptoms, i lov e little noses brand and tylenol's simply stuffy. triminic and pedia care also both make symptom specific medications. good luck and i hope the little guy starts to feel better

My little guy is the same age as yours, and he just went through something similiar. He had a cold that lasted for a couple of weeks. I would give him ibuprofen if he seemed to feel really bad and at nights. The doc said a cold will last 5-14 days. She said to make sure he took in a lot of liquids. My guy slept more than normal, became grumpy, did not want to play (just be held). If you watch your little one, I'll bet you will know within a day or so if he has allergies or a cold.

I'm a 38 yr old mom with only one little guy. My husband is in the USAF and I'm blessed to be able to stay home with our baby.

I have a son who will be 2 this month. He has had the runny nose (clear) which seemed to last maybe a week. He did sleep more and in the mornings, he had dried stuff in his nose. I wasn't sure if it was a cold or allergies. I waited and it cleared up. I was hesitant about determining if it was allergies or not because there are many, many tests that have to be done to confirm allergies or not. His runny nose wasn't bad enough for me to put him through all of the allergy testing. But, whatever you choose to do, make sure you do what you makes you and your son feel most comfortable.

Dear Val.

a couple of questions to ask your self.
Do you or your husband have allergies? If the answer is no then your child may not.
Has he shown allergy signs before?
has the nose came on suddenly? if yes probley just a virus(cold)
is his snot green or red(blood looking) might be a sinus infection( needs meds from the doctor)
My doctors always gave me the run around with allergies untill he turned two. They say children under two should not have allergies yet. I say that is a crock! But i do not have a medical degree. My son takes clartin over the counter (liquid)Ask your doctor before you give this to him due to he is not two but maybe a half of teaspoon might help.
My son is also now on sigular to help with allergies, but my husband and i both have allergies really bad.

i hope this helps
M.

I have a son the same age and he is having the same runny nose whiney thing going on. my pediatrician told me a a kinda rule of thumb if the snot is clear more than likely it is allergies. hope this helps