Singulair?

Have you tried other allery medicines? My almost 8year old daughter has been on zyrtec since she was two. The only side effect she has with the zyrtec is tiredness. She has seasonal allergies and so we only have to give it to her when she needs it - usually in the spring and fall. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about singulair. I wish you luck!

J. S.

My 4 yr old son has been on Singular for 2+ yrs. He's never had any behavior problems. He has cold induced asthma and the singular has helped a lot, we have not used his inhaler or nebulizer in about a year. In the last month we also put him on Zyrtec and that seems to be helping the stuffy/runny nose too. So, I would suggest trying the Singular. Good luck!

Hi N.,

My son had the same type of asthma, and was treated aggressively for a couple of years. singulair was part of his medication plan, and it worked well for us. It also helped a little bit with nasal allergies also, but not enough to keep him off of his allergy medication. There were no side effects that we had, and it did control his asthma. We also had to give him breathing treatments, but when that regimen stopped, the singulair continued. He hasn't had any wheezing in about a year, so he is off of the singulair now. Every person is different though and you can't predict how a drug will interact with anyone else. I know adults on singulair, and they haven't had any side effects either. Good luck!

HI Niclole,
My 7 year old son has been on Singulair since he turned 5 and it has changed our world! He used to cough to the point of vomiting several times a day and that has ended since he started this medication. I love that little pink pill and have had no side effects at all. Good Luck!

C.

My 5 year old son has been taking singulair since November '07 as he has allegies, and asthma. In between times we tried flonase, and pulmacort, singulair seems to work the best. He also had his adenoids taken out last month, as his breathing passage way was that of a small coffee straw. He no longer snores as loud as daddy at night, and is getting the sleep he needs. Behavior problems due to taking singulair, no. In general yes.

Hi N.
I also have a year your old son on the same medicine. He has been on it for over a month now I have not notice any issues to be honest with you. It seems to really help him too. It last up to 24 hours so what we have done is given it to him in the evening. That happens to be the time with he tells us his eyes itch really bad. Actually I have noticed that he sleeps a lot better since he started taking it to be honest. Good luck! D.

N.,

My son is/was on Singulair for about the past 6 months for his allergies which like your son would lead to a sort of asthma type reaction. My son takes Zyrtec in the morning and was taking Singulair at night up until last Monday when our pulmonologist said to take him off it to see if he possibly out growing it and to see if the symptoms returned. The Singulair seemed to help keep his nose clear. When he was not on the Singulair, he always sounded stuffy. I heard bad things about Singulair as well and asked the dr. at our last appointment about the behavior side effects. She said the behavioral problem would show itself as a daily thing. She had a little girl on singulair and everyday at school, she would break down and start crying. She took her off it and her crying episodes stopped. So if your son is showing some sort of behavirol problem that is not like the terrible two's that we are experiencing then yes, he's experiencing a side effect of the drug. My son had no problem what so ever on it. In fact, I'm going to call the dr. again because his stuffy nose has returned now that he's off it. I hate the fact that he is medicated but because of the medication, we are off the nebulizer of albuterol and pulmicort. Basically, you'll just have to wait and see if he starts a repetitive behavorial problem after starting singulair. The Dr. said the cases of the behavorial problems were very rare but not non-existent.

Do what's best for you and your son, you know him better than anyone or any doctor.

Take care.

Howdy,
My 3 year old was on Singulair for a while, until I heard about the possible behavior issues. He had been acting out a bit at school (though of course, he is a 3 year old), so we switched him to Zyrtec. The med switch didn't seem any different as far as his allergies are concerned, but he does seem a bit calmer. But it is truly hard to tell. My opinion ... why take the risk when another med seems to work just as well. Good luck!
M.

Anti-oxidents are natural antihystamines (sp?). I know of a very powerful one that can help with allergies without side effects. Let me know if you want to know more!

S.
____@____.com

My son is on Zyrtec,which is now available over the counter, and has been for the last year and a half (he is nearly 3). He does very well with it, but if I give it to him in the morning he gets a little sleepy, nothing that really interferes with his life but he takes a longer nap and is a bit slow to get re-started when he gets up.

From my own experience with Singulair I would not put my son on it, primarily because it made me nauseous (all day morning sick kind of nauseous) which is one of the primary side effects of the medication, at least in adults.

Good luck!

Hi N.,

Our son has been on singulair chewable tablets since he was two (he's 7 now)after he had a broncial infection - at that point they wouldn't diagnose it as asthma. He had been on Zyrtec from age 1 for allergies but it stopped working. Taken at night, Singulair helps prevent asthma attacks as well as controlling allergies. It's been working great for him with no side affects. During cold and flu season though, he does use an inhaler once a day with pulmicort to double up on asthma prevention. I should also note, that he has never actually had an asthma attack but has suffered from wheezing. Fingers crossed, he seems to be ougrowing it.

Good luck - it's not easy making the decisions on daily medications.

N.,
My daughter was on a nebulizer from the age of 5-18 months, and was then put on Singualir. She has been taking Singulair for 4 1/2 years now. It seems to control her asthma symptoms without side effects. Unless you would consider temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way a medical side effect...hmmm...joking aside, although I dislike the fact that my daughter has to take any meds (she now also takes Claritin for seasonal allergies)and I wonder about potential long term effects of children's meds, Singulair works. Good luck to you and your son.

A.

Hi N.,
My 3 1/2 year-old is on Singulair. She too has allergies and asthma. She has been on Singulair for about six months. I heard about the behavior issues and have been trying to decide if we are dealing with any of that. My daughter has always had a very strong will and gets frustrated easily. (She is also very loving, sweet, and funny.) She has been having some more outbursts, but I cannot say with certainty that they have increased since she went on the Singulair. We have been trying to be more consistent with her and that seems to help, so I think some of what we are dealing with is typical three-year-old stuff. The Singulair has helped her breathing a lot. We have definitely noticed that when she gets colds, her breathing stays more regulated than before she was on the Singulair.
I hope this info helps you make your decision. ( :

I have a son who has been on it since he was 1 or 2. He does absolutely fine on it. I have never seen any behavior changes and found it to work very well "for him". At this moment I don't even have him taking it and he is doing well. He is now 4 and half.
Of course that is ONLY MY experience. Each child is different!
C.

Sometimes it its possible to actually "clear" the allergy so you don't have to use those drugs with unpredictable and dangerous side effects. Find the cause rather than just treating the symptoms. Go to ahccenter.com

We have a son, now 8, who has struggled with allergies as well since he was little. Our pediatrician runs on the conservative end when it comes to prescribing meds too quickly, and they have just now prescribed Flonase for his allergies (it's a nasal spray med). Before now, he had encouraged us to simply use over the counter medications - and even those sparingly - for the simple affect that prescriptions in little ones really do run high risk of side effects. When Christopher was little we used a combination of children's claritin, sudafed, and pediacare. Alternating the medications regularly helped him. Hope this is somewhat helpful! - Sheri

My advice would just be to try it, but really pay attention and see how he responds. The side-effects are quite easily confused with behaviour problems. My daughter was on it for a few weeks and she was having uncontrollable temper tantrums two or three times a day, crying a lot at school, and just generally out of control. She's usually quite a well-mannered, reasonable child and this just didn't add up. It all stopped the day the Singulair went away. Some kids are just more sensitive to things, though - she had similiar issues with Zyrtec. Bottom line - every kid is different, and I'd hate to see your son miss an opportunity to feel a lot better when he might not have problems with it all. It's easy to stop it if he does have problems. My allergist also told me that they sometimes do nasal drop immunotherapy instead of shots on small kids, and it can help a lot. Might be worth asking about. Good luck - I know trying to treat kid's allergies is tough.

My 4 1/2 year old daughter takes Singulair and has for over a year. She does very well on it and I notice her asthma and allergies worse when she is not on it. We have never had any behavioral issues while taking it. I hope this helps.

My daughter has been on Singulair for allergies. She started it a little before she was 2, she was only on it for about 2 months, then she was fine. She was on for 1 month this year. Her allergic months are between March-May, I'm not sure what allergens are out then but its the same time frame each year. I never saw any behavior issues at all. I really like it. I see a 100% difference the 2nd day she takes it.

My 9 year was on Sinuglar for a while and did just fine, no side effects. We changed to Claritin but only because our insurance wouldn't cover it. It did take a few weeks of taking it to actually see him better, it wasn;t an instant thing. I would recommend it.

I love being the one to take my children to school and pick them up and help in their classrooms. I love being home with them if they are sick without worrying about an upset boss or losing vacation days. I love being able to get the laundry done while the kids are at school and doing my grocery shopping whenever it fits my schedule. I was glad to be here for my child until he went to school knowing that he was read to and taken care of the best he possibly could have been. What you are doing is wonderful. When I remarried and had our last child I was worried that my in laws were going to think I was lazy for staying home with our child. They were and still talk about how happy that makes them. I did the same with my other children and worked when necessary.

My son has used singulair since he was about 9 months old - he's now 5. He has no allergies, but does have cold induced asthma. We have no behavioral issues with him.

N.,
I have not had a child on singular but I have taken it myself. I just read recently that have changed there label 4 times in the last 6 months one of the things that they have added was can cause thoughts of suicided and suicided and depression. I can not say if it did that or not because I was suffering from postpartum depression. My doctor did end up taking me off it and some other meds. I was on and I began feeling much better.

I used to have my kids on zyrtec and singulair. Never noticed much of a difference. Still had the clear runny nose. No behavior problems though. What worked for us was having tonsils and adenoids removed. The ENT felt their allergies were infection driven. That was the solution for us. We do still struggle with cold=induced asthma and eczema though. AHHHH!

Hi N.--I would say that your first goal is to make your son comfortable. Unfortunately, allergy and asthma drugs treat symptoms of disease and do not address the underlying problem of an unbalanced and overactive immune system. If you can address that, the need for drugs to alleviate symptoms will be reduced or even eliminated completely. The immune system is very dependent on the food that we eat. We must get enough fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains to support a healthy immune system. In this day and age, eating well may not be enough. I am a Wellness Educator with a BS in Home Economics. I have a number of resources that I can share with you about immune system function and how to support it nutritionally. Feel free to contact me with any questions. I do not charge fees. I feel that it is that important to share this imformation that it would be wrong to do so.

Another question to ask your health care provider--has this drug been tested on children or are you just estimating doses based on the adult studies.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you.
D. McCall
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Hi my name is Melissa and i am a single mom of three girls (11,10,7). My 7 year is my sicky with all the allergies and i have been trying everything since she was about 6 months old . We now have found her med's that work for the most part . She is on Loratadine 10mg (once a day),Singulair 4mg (at night time),Flovent 110mcg (twice a day).That seem to work she is sick right now and has to take her Albuterol inhaler. The singular hasnt change her she has been taking it for 4 years .

my ped added singular to my DD daily meds last spring, she takes flovent, albuteral(as needed) clairiton and the singular. Adding the singular made a HUGE difference in her allergies. I haven't noticed any behavior problems, she is 3 and very well behaved, besides normal tantrums when she is tired or hungry.

Hello, I have 7 children, 6 have asthma, 4 are on singulair. Most started when they were 2 years old. I have never noticed any behavior problems. It has really helped in their symptoms. Good luck

My daughter (age 8) has taken Singular chewable daily for the past 2, maybe 3 years with no side effects. She too has cold induced asthma and gets croup regularly when she is ill. It is a miracle drug and helps her through the seasonal allergies.

I sat in a meeting Saturday and had a women tell me she was on a pill and an inhailer daily. She removed the toxins in her home and now uses all eco friendly products, she takes no allergy pills and needs no inhailer. I used to have seasonal allergies and switching stores really worked for me (and my DH).

My son is in basically the same boat. His asthma flares up in the spring with all the pollen. He's on Albuterol, Flovent, and (supposedly) Singulair. I say supposedly because we are having issues with the insurance covering it...long story.

Anyway, I have not noticed any behavior changes while he's on this medicine. He should be fine if you put him on it.

Hello, N.!
I don't know a whole lot, but I can say my son has been on Singulair for almost two years now, and he's six. There is a chance he may be a bit more hyper due to the med, but in a boy, how do you really tell? He's still a good boy, and the Singulair is much more effective for him than was the children's Claritin. However, recently due to his age, his doctor did try to increase his dose, but we declined, since the lesser amount has been effective so far.
My advice would be to give it a shot and closely monitor him for behavior changes. Also, when my other son was two, he developed asthmatic bronchitis after multiple allergy flare-ups, but this year at age three has had no problems. This could be due to him growing out of it or possibly because we both quit smoking. Do you or your husband, or does anyone else around your son smoke? Something else to think about.
Good luck!
L.

My 4yr old daughter has asthma, as do I, and my 1yr old son. I went on singular years ago and had a reaction to it because I have asprin sensative and NSAID sensative asthma so it didn't work for me. My daughter was on it along with lortidane(spelling? Claritin) and we didn't see a difference with her asthma or behavior. We haven't tried it with our son yet and probably won't as his asthma seems to only be brought on by colds and smoke - not cronic like me and my daughter.

Like any drug, do your own research on webMD and other forums where people have written in with their side effects. I have read many times that it causes depression and other neurological side effects. In a 2 yr old it would come out as behavior issues. Before singular I would suggest the lortidane (claritin syrup-prescription) as that has been proved safe for children with no side effects except for drowsiness. ALSO- I use sailine spray with the kids when allergies are bad. It clears out their nasal passages and the toxins that sit in there. Good Luck!