Steroid

Well my 19month old son is allergic to mosquitos and we had to take him to the ER Sunday morning they put him on Orapred he seemed to do fine! No side effects now he only had to take it for 3 days so maybe that's why but they said he may be restless and hard to get down for a nap or even to bed at night but so far he seemed to be the same pain in the butt kid :) Good luck! What allergist did you go to is it in the lakeland area? I have to find one! Thanks

I second taking your child to an ENT. If the allergist "thinks" it's tissue growth, then he/she should have suggested an ENT to you, rather than just prescribing a drug for your child. An ENT specializes in that, and can check the so-called bacteria (they take a nasal swab culture and send it to a lab). If she can' shake it, it could actually be viral. It could be mold, as well. One swab I had at an ENT showed I had mold spores growing in the tissue lining. Eew.
Don't forget to take the allergist's findings with you to the ENT. Good luck!

Mine have been on the steroid prednisone, which might be the same thing with a diff. name. My opinion, if it works it works. It always worked with mine. My son has to have oral steroids everytime he gets a cough, he has reactive airways and its the only way to get his lungs to relax enough to allow him to breath normally. We had coughing for four months straight, before a specialist gave it to him along with steroids delivered directly to the lungs via nebulizer. *he was 6 months old when he got his first dose.*
GIVE IT TO HIM IN THE MORNING!!! If not, you will be up all night. Its not just the crankiness, which I really did not see, Steroids makes them hyper. You don't want to pump them up on steroids when you are putting them to bed :)

P.

I would highly recommend Dr Marita Kufe of BodyTalk at 2750 Stickney Point in Sarasota, tel ###-###-####. She has had remarkable effects on children with 'allergies'. BodyTalk is an Energy Medicine Technique that is a collection of multiple modalities and philosophies. It incorporates ancient wisdom from Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine as well as Western Medicine and Bio-Energetics. It's a gentle, simple and safe technique to reconnect or re-establish communication within the individual's BodyMind to allow the person's innate wisdom to do its own healing. I was skeptical myself until I tried it for my young son and even though I don't fully understand how it works, I know that it does.

Feel free to contact me if you ave any questions about it, or if you'd like the names of some naturopaths in the area. I think if your gut tells you the steroid isn't right for her, it's worth looking into other options.

C.

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C. Wilford
Natural Childbirth Educator
Holistic Moms Network Co-leader
____@____.com
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I agree with Cori F. You mentioned that the doctor said the word "bacteria" to you as a possibility. Steroid medications, including Orapred actually suppress the immune system. Orapred may bring tissue inflammation down, but if a bacteria, virus, or mold is the real culprit, your child could end up being much worse off. Steroids have their place, but their use does have risks. ENT consult is needed to determine if it really is necessary. The possible side effects are not limited to "crankiness".

You have lots of reasons to be concerned about giving steriod medication to a 2 year old. I would recommend seeing a ear nose throat specialist. I highly recommend Dr. Patel in Tampa - ###-###-#### - good luck!

Any time anyone uses a steriod it is bad. I would get a second opinion if I were you. My daughter is 22 and had the bacteria in her nose and throat just a few months back. The doctor at USF gave her an antibiotic and it cleared it up completely in a couple of days. No steroids were used. She hasn't had the problem again. It is something in the air that some people pick up and others don't. The vet had me give our dog steriods for her allergies and it made her a lot worse. I would never give my child a steroid. That is the answer the doctors use when they can't think of anything else to do. A lazy excuse if you ask me. As far as the tissue growth goes, my neices daughter has had that problem since birth. She is now seven years old. The doctor gives her medicine to take when she has problems breathing. He said he would never consider operating on a child so young, that in most cases they will out grow the problem. Good Luck!

i dont plan on getting into it too much, but it is important to remember than there ARE different types of steroids. (androgenic, anabolic, or cortico) cortico steroids (such as those given for asthma, allergies, and overall to reduce inflamation) although man-made, simply mimic what is naturally produced by your body. when people talk about the negative effects of steroids MOST are refferring to the other types - which can be quite harmful. Be sure and do your OWN research before listening to ANYONE especially people who are NOT health professionals.

Try Dr. Andrea Pautz
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(Jacksonville)
B. Bedingfield
____@____.com

R.
My son was diagnosed with asthma at 3 yrs.old. They gave him steroids. Steroids are a bandaide. They do help during the time of need, but something else should be given to prevent it from return. Steroids are inexpensive, but potent. They can cause other problems. I was also told they could sterilize him. Hope this helps you. Good Luck

I would get a 2nd opinion from a alternative doctor. If it is allergies, find a doctor that knows NAET or a pediatric acupuncturist(they don't needle children). My husband is an acupuncturist and feels steriods should be a last resort.

Good luck.

N.

R.,
My son is 2 1/2 and this time last year we were battling a sinus infection that would come back as soon as the antibiotics stopped. It started last May, the begining of July we saw an ENT and she gave him orapred for like 5 days and we continued the antibiotic until he has his adnoids removed Aug 7. The orapred was to help shrink the tissue known as adnoids at the back of the sinus cavity, so his sinuses could drain, and he would be more comfortable. The antibiotics were for obvious reason-to keep the infection down before surgery. We did blood allergy testing while he was under for the surgery....and he has TONS of allergies...
That wasnt the first time he had been on orapred-he has reactive airway and needs them to help his lungs relax when that flairs up....and he has taken an oral steriod a couple times for allergic reactions....

But the point of my long post is that yes I think that you should try the steriod, but that I would also see a pedi ENT. I recommend Karen Hotchkiss, she has offices in tampa and brandon, she is part of Tampa bay ENT...she came highly recommended to me, AND removed my 2 year old (then 17 months) adnoids, and my 4 yr old (then 3 yrs old) LARGE tonsils and adnoids... ###-###-####

hey R.,
Man do i know how you feel about (Drugs)!!! I have three beautiful children, and everytime i take them to the doc, he always prescribes antibiotics, or steroids... I will tell you all of my children have taken orapred, and i seen no change in them for the worst, it always made them better... I do think its ok for you to give her orapred, if anything try it just to see if it works, and if you dont like how she reacts, then just take her off.. I will say, it worked amazing for ALL of my children....Good luck R. with your beautiful little girl, hope it works and she feels better... A.

As a pharmacist, I would recommend you to not worry too much about a short course of Orapred. It is very commonly prescribed for children, even younger than yours, for a variety of illnesses. When it is given short term, there are very little side effects and because it works so well, so quickly, the symptoms are relieved and children feel better quickly. If any side effects, it may be their temperment, as your doctor said, crankiness or hyperactiveness. I have had to give both my kids Orapred and neither had side effects. Good luck with your decisions, it is always difficult when it relates to our childrens health.

I was leary about putting my 8 year old on it.But I did and the out come was great.The infection that was causing him to stay sick was longer there and after a couple of days of being on the meds he showed signs of being better.