Children's allergy meds? archived

Singulair is definitely for the night. We don't do Claritin, so I don't know. Check to see if it has drowsiness as a side effect in which case you know what to do. We do Zyrtec also at night and see no problem with combining it with Singulair.

Good Luck.

I don't think it much matters what time of day, as long as you give it (them) at the same time of day everyday. Drowsiness is not supposed to be a problem because Claritin is one of the "non-sedating" antihistimines. Did the doc tell you to start out taking both together? Because you won't be able to determine which med (if any) is the one that is working for him. The Singulair will take about two weeks to kick in. If the Claritin is working on its own, no need to add Singulair. (I'm no doc, but I have a LOT of experience with allergies).

I was told by doctor to take the Cingular at night; Zyrtec during the day.

My son takes both Singulair and Clarinex, both at night. His allergist said we could also do the Clarinex twice per day, in which case it would be once in the morning and once at night. There was no contraindication given for taking the two together though.

Good luck - allergies suck!

Thanks guys, gave him the Singulair at bedtime last night and Claritin this morning. Poor little booboo is so miserable. I now recall I had the conversation about one at night and one in the morning with the pharmacist--but I don't remember the reason she gave for giving them at different times.

Being that I am entirely ignorant about allergies, would he be suffering from a nasty cough and losing his little voice as a result of allergies--or would that be a cold?

That could absolutely be allergies!! It's awful because some times you just can't tell!

Check with his doctor if it continues when my sons voice goes it usually means his asthma is really kicking up.

Losing your voice could be allergies, or it could be a virus (the virus that causes croup). It's very frustrating.

It is very frustrating, particularly since I have never suffered from allergies, so have no experience whatsoever in dealing with/recognizing them! Thanks all, for your help. I hope I didn't make a mistake by not taking him to the doctor for the cough. It's been waking us up at night, and we're going away for the better part of the week.

Next question:

Are Zyrtec and Claritin the same thing? Or is Zyrtec equivalent to Singulair? Or is it not like either one? I know Zyrtec recently became available OTC, and I have a coupon, but I don't know if it's any use to us.

Zyrtec and Claritin are equivalent to each other. Singulair is totally different. Singulair can be used to treat both asthma and allergies. I take both of mine at night. Singulair has reduced my need for more inhaled steroids. If claritin does not work, I have found Allegra to be very good. That is Rx only, though.

RE: the cough at night...that could definitely be allergy related. Does he use an inhaler? My asthma acts up by making me cough...not by making me wheeze in stereotypical asthma fashion.

I subscribe to this email alert that lets me know the pollen counts for our area. This past week it hovered around 11.6 on a scale of 1-12. Basically that means that people with allergies were really suffering.

Mellie is correct: Zyrtec and Claritin are in the same class of drugs -- antihistamines. You cannot take both together. Singulair is in a different class; it has a different mechanism of action. You can take Singulair with either Zyrtec or Claritin or Allegra. When you come back from vacation, you might want to take him to the doctor to see if he might benefit from an inhaled steroid like Flovent.

Mellie, how do I sign up for that email alert? Thanks.

If you go to pollen.com there will be a spot to sign up for them somewhere toward the top of the page. I find them very useful for planning purposes. I had actually forgotten about them until I got one several weeks ago. It was nice NOT getting them for a few months!

I've suffered from allergies my entire life and, unfortunately, have passed that onto my oldest daughter. We take her to see Dr. Brown in Summit (who I would recommend). Based on my experience, Claritin is not a particularly effective drug (my cousin, a pulmonologist, swears that it's borderline fraudulent because in studies it's only slightly more effective than a placebo). Zyrtec seems to work well and my daughter takes it with a Singulair (whose effectiveness I have questions about - but that's a long story) at night. However, BY FAR, the most effective treatment are cortico steroidal sprays (e.g., Flovent for lungs and nasacort for nasal passages) and the antihistamine eye drops (Patanol by scrip or Opticon otc). With the sprays and drops, both my daughter and I are about 85% symptom free. For those occasions where the pollen overcomes the sprays and drops, I give my daughter (who's 8 years old) Benadryl (which I've found to be more effective though sedating) at night and that usually stops the allergic process.

Good Luck! (the best cure is June, when most things have stopped pollinating).

Posted By: bpdthe best cure is June, when most things have stopped pollinating

Yeah, looking forward to that.

Luckily, it seems his allergies are fairly run-of-the mill, and nothing too extreme. If I recall from last season, once the Singulair kicked in, he seemed less miserable. Hubby suffers from allergies (so it's ALL his fault) and is able to offer guidance and certain amount of info on the symptoms and severity as it relates to what's happening outside--I use him as my barometer.

Today should be interesting, as I looked outside and it seems to have "rained" green stuff on everything overnight!!

Ugh, my whole face is puffy today. It looks as if I have had a good, long cry but it is really just my allergies. I can't wait to have this baby so I can go back on Allegra!

Sorry mellie. When is little mellie due? Any hope of relief this allergy season?

Next questions:

Shouldn't all this rain be keeping the pollen down, so the symptoms should lessen?

Is it normal for his eyes to be REALLY puffy underneath? He just woke up and he looks like a prize fighter!

I think(?) what happens with the rain is that it does wet/wash the pollen away. But, I know for me, if I already had sinus pressure, the barometric pressure with the rain can make my face feel worse.

That being said, I am pretty puffy again today. After being awake for a few hours the puffiness will subside. I guess at night it has time to kind of just pool, but when you are upright it can start flowing again. I will also fill up the sink with super cold water and repeatedly wet a washcloth with it and put it directly over my eyes. It almost hurts, but kind of feels good, too. And it makes me less puffy. As a little aside, when it is a really bad allergy day, I feel like I am in a fog...very lethargic, blah, etc. I never knew it was my allergies that caused that until I started treating them.

I feel horrible that your little one has to deal with this. It is bad enough as an adult!

Those nice, windy days are the worst by far. The wind just whips the pollen all over the place.

Little mellie is due in less than 2 weeks! I have to figure out if I can take it (Allegra) while nursing.

We have been putting a cold washcloth on his face whenever possible, and particularly at night before bed. I feel really bad for him too, because he just seems (and sometimes looks) so miserable. Although, it doesn't really seem to effect his mood as much as I imagine it would effect mine.

I just worry sometimes because I'm afraid it might be something else, and not allergies, and that I should be taking him to see the doctor, so we can maybe do something to help him suffer less!

My allergies have been so much worse this spring than in recent years. I'm like you, Mellie, my asthma makes me cough all night. I recently went on Singulair, which my doctor said to take at night, and I'm much better. I haven't had to use my albuterol in more than a week. My nose is still runny, swollen and burns when I step outside, though.

Meandtheboys, I find Benadryl at bedtime helps the nasal symptoms better than anything. And, of course, helps you sleep like a rock.

He's already on Claritin and Singulair (which is almost at the two week point where we can expect it to kick in). Are you saying I should do Benadryl as well (I understand the antihistamine's like Benadryl can sometimes have the opposite effect of drowsiness on kids, and cause them to be hyper). He doesn't appear to have "nasal" symptoms per se, but he's having real issues with his eyes! Sometimes he looks like he got punched!

I'm not sure if you can throw Benadryl into the mix, meandtheboys. I'd check with the doctor on that. But I do find that with itchy, swollen eyes and nasal passages, it works better than anything for me. Claritin never did much for me.

As for sleeping, maybe you could try a dose on him during the day on a non-school day, just to see what happens (if the doc says it's ok to try). Good luck.

Me and - your poor guy! Mine is having a really hard time now as well - even with all the meds he's on. The allergist confirmed that on those really bad days when he just can't stop rubbing his eyes, it's ok to add Benadryl to the mix. SO that's what we've been doing - only at night since it does make him drowsy. Usually by morning his eyes a less puffy and swollen....and then we start all over again.

Good luck!

meand, why don't you try the eyedrops? Sometimes the oral antihistamines (especially claritin) don't help the eyes as much and you have to address the eyes directly. Another eye drop that I would add to bpd's list above is Zatidor, which you now can get OTC. I would also recommend talking to the ped about giving him a nasal steroid like Flonase or Nasacort. I totally agree with bpd that it's the BEST treatment available. And, despite what the manufacturer says, it almost always works on an as-needed basis.

Took #3 to the pediatrician yesterday and he gave us eye drops--Pada-something. Of course, getting the child to accept me dropping something in his eye is a whole other battle--and was one last night. His mood isn't great (can't say as I blame him) so he spent a better part of the evening misbehaving, being disciplined for it, and crying hysterically. By the time he calmed down his eyes were just horrific, what with the crying and the allergies combined. Being that it was such a fight to get the drops in last night, I can't imagine doing nasal spray!

Also, the pediatrician said NOT to give 2 antihistamines--Claritin and Benedryl. But it seems ejs's allergist said something altogether different. So maybe I need to consult an allergist? But it seems kinda overkill for seasonal allergies.

How old is your child ejs? Could an older child handle more medication than a younger one? Could that be the reason you allergist said it's O.K. to add Benedryl?

I DON'T KNOW!

Meand- ejs's oldest is 5. Mine has same allergy problems. Claritin does nothing for anyone in my house. As for as eye drops go, my 6yr old "almost" allows me to apply them. He lies flat, I drip them into the inner corner of his eyes, he blinks to let them in a little, than freaks out for a towel. Some gets in...better than nothing, I guess. He also falls asleep with a damp washcloth on his eyes at night. He loves it and it definitely has helped with the red,puffy,itchy eye problem. Zyrtec didn't go over well here. We use Benadryl as often as needed, and that can be weeks on end. Pediatrician I am friendly with told me it was fine.

meand: can you ask the ped if your son can switch to Zyrtec instead of Claritin. I agree that Claritin has limited effectiveness in most people. Actually, you can probably just do it on your own, if you are so inclined. They are both OTC medications. Just give Zyrtec at the usual time that he takes the Claritin. It comes in a liquid form for little kids. He really should not be so uncomfortable with an effective antihistimine. I do the same as Sharon with my kids and eye drops -- they lie flat on their backs because it's too hard for them to tilt their head back far enough in a standing position. Also, once they realized that the eye drops REALLY help, then they became more tolerant of my giving them the drops.

I am so involved in this thread because I know how miserable I feel when my allergies are not controlled. And I also know that there is absolutely no reason to suffer because there are so many meds out there. You just have to find the right combination that works.

Ditto for Claritin being useless. My pediatrician gave the same advice for eye drops. Tell your son to close his eyes while lying flat on his back, put the drops in the inner corners, then tell him to open his eyes. I hope they don't sting.

I actually have a two $3 off coupons for Zyrtec, and I was going to try it, until I spoke to my pharmacist who told me Zyrtec can cause drowsiness (and in some children have the opposite effect and cause hyperactivity), so I got scared off. As it is, the last few nights, he's been a crying miserable mess and has been put to bed early and has crashed immediately, the moment his head hit the pillow--so I'm really, really afraid of something that has the potential to cause drowsiness. And I'm not sure I'd be all that keen on the hyperactivity option either.

But since I don't suffer from allergies and have no experience, and those of you who do are telling me Zyrtec is a better option, maybe I should buy a small quantity and give it a go and see what happens. Except that I now have a 20 day supply of Claritin!

So, do I understand correctly that you are saying if the antihistamine (Claritin or Zyrtek or Benedryl or whatever) is working the way it should, he shouldn't be having this problem with his eyes?

I find that antihistamines dry his eyes out, but they itch if I don't give him them. Either way, his eyes suffer. In his opinion, antihistamine ,with damp cold washcloth for his eyes, at night is the best solution.