M.,
I looked at your profile and even though you live in Alpena, there should be allergy clinics that rotate through your area each month. Talk with your doctor. If he thinks your daughter has allergies, you should find out immediately what those allergies are and how to prevent them, not just treat the symptoms. Treating the symptoms long-term with anti-histamins may not be safe for growing children.
I used to live in Gaylord and went to see Dr. Tim Linehan. His main office is located in Petoskey, but he operates satellite offices in Gaylord, Mackinaw City, and Alpena. This may have changed in the last five years, but it might be something to look into.
My son has both food allergies and indoor/outdoor allergies, and I have adult onset asthma due to constant exposure to indoor/outdoor allergens. It is a pain and now my body consistently over-reacts to low levels of allergens in the air. If you can prevent your daughter's asthma from developing she will have a better childhood.
My son's speech has been slightly delayed because he couldn't hear due to both the food and other allergies. He had frequent ear infections and fluid in his inner ear. Every time we visit our current allergist, he has a tympanogram taken, which is just a special ear device that measures the amount of negative pressure in the ear. It works great with kids who cannot tell adults exactly how they are feeling and how their allergies are getting better or worse.
If your daughter is getting pneumonia so often, going to an allergist can help to prevent other health issues later in life.
You will also want to look into eliminating allergens in your home. She may be allergic to dust mites and their by-products; you can slow down dust mites by covering her mattress and box-spring with allergy covers. Wash all of her bedding once a week in HOT water and dry on the hottest setting. Or you can wash her bedding in a chemical called DeMite, which kills the mites, and then dry on the hot setting.
If you have carpets, look into either removing them from her bedroom and/or the major living areas of your home, and replacing them with solid floors (hardwood, Pergo or linoleum) or washing the carpets with a similar mite killing solution every few months.
If you have pets, make sure they are bathed at least once every two weeks and that they are not allowed in her room. She may be allergic to the dust mites in the fur (both on and off the pets) and/or the pets themselves.
You can put dryer sheets into the vents that blow heat into her room and these will trap allergens fairly well. We have hot-water heat, so we use a box fan, with a whole-house air filter (the best you can get) taped to the fan. Run it in her room 24/7 and you will see the amount of dirt, grime, and allergens being trapped in that filter within a few days to a week. As long as air can blow through the filter at a relatively good pace it can still be used, even if it is unsightly. Replace the filter once every two months.
It can be expensive in the beginning to prevent the allergens from triggering her symptoms, but in the long run, it is cheaper than taking her to the emergency room every few nights due to asthma attacks, and the medications for other health problems later on down the line.
Here are a few websites for you to look at that might help to explain allergies better than I can. I have also included a website for an allergy store that sells great, moderately priced products. I wish you luck and hope that your daughter's health improves soon.
-C..
Asthma and Allergy Facts: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~kupstas/FAQ1.html#section1.3
What is an allergist/immunologist? http://www.aaaai.org/patients/resources/rgce/patients.asp
Locate an allergist in your area: http://www.acaai.org/
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=10&sub=28
Allergy Store: http://www.allergystore.com/index.html
(This on-line store has a lot of great products and they are reasonably priced. In the beginning of my dust-mite allergies I had purchased allergy mattress covers from Walmart, but they fell apart in 3 months. I just purchased the mattress covers from the allergy store and am very impressed with their quality and durability. I now longer wake up in the morning with cold-like symptoms, my son is definitely feeling better in the mornings as well - we covered his mattress too. And, I am saving money now that I'm not buying the Walmart $20 covers every three months.)