2 Yr. Old Has Allergies

You really should see an allergist - I was advised to do so when my son was 6 months old, and Im so thankful that I did!!! They tested him, and were able to medicate him accordingly - he is on zyrtec, too. (along w/ some others b/c he has developed asthma....which they treat as well). feel free to contact me if you need an allergist in the area.

Good Luck whatever you decide!!

My daughter also began suffering from allergies around the age of 2. After many visits to the Pediatrician for what we thought were colds we were finally referred to an allergist. We did the skin test and found out how much she actually is allergic too. She is now 5 & has outgrown her food allergies but still has seasonal, animal & tree allergies. She takes Singulair daily & we add Nasonex and Zyrtec as her sympotms get worse. (Usually in the fall). My advice is to find a good allergist.

I would go ahead with the allergy blood work and see what that reveals. (When my son had it done 2 years ago it was a couple of tubes of blood drawn from the arm. You will know better how to proceed at that point.) I'm kind of surprised that your ped isn't concerned and/or referring your daughter to a specialist. I truly would think about finding another ped. Another mom mentioned Dr. Nash at Children's. I've heard good things about him, in fact my son will be seeing him for an initial consult in a couple of weeks.

Based on my experience, the cat and dog could have more to do with your child's problems than you think, and recommend some testing. (details of my situation below)

My son was diagnosed by a CHOP allergist with a cat allergy a year ago when he was 2 through a skin test (where they use a needle to inject some cat allergen under the skin...no more painful than a regular shot). My husband is allergic cats, so it was no surprise.

The surprising part was that he had no outward symptoms of being allergic to the cat my babysitter had (he goes there every day and would never had sneezing or coughing, etc., at her house). We were actually there to check for a peanut allergy. But before we found out about the cat allergy, what was happening is that he would break out into hives for no reason randomly, even on the weekend after he hadn't been to the babysitter since Friday. Then, he was having a lot of respiratory problems, where he would get colds and they wouldn't go away and I had to give him breathing treatments with albuterol for a week at a time to get the cold to go away.

We found out he was allergic to cats last fall, at which point my babysitter decided to give the cat away, and I have not had to give him any breathing treatments or anything since then (over a year ago). What we were told by the doctor is that he was that his body was constantly fighting the allergens from the cat, so he was more suseptible to viruses (hence, the hives and respiratory problems). So, when he was at the babysitter, even though the cat would hide for most of the day, the allergen from the cat was around the house and it was wearing down my son's immune system.

I hope that helps. I recommend the CHOP office in Exton.

There is a blood test that can be done to determine allergies, or you could go to an allergy specialist, and have the skin testing done....which is very specific. My son had the skin testing done around age 2. I'd be somewhat concerned at your pediatricians lack of response to your daughters sypmtoms. Just giving her Zyrtec is fine and dandy, but for how long? That is just a quick and easy response to treating sypmtoms....it doesn't get to the problem. What is the cause of her sypmtoms? if you know what I mean. If you need a referral to an allergist....just call your pediatricians office and basically insist on having the referral....tell them you'd like her to be skin tested by an allergist. I'd think they would be accomodating, since this has been an ongoing problem for your daughter, it didn't just pop up two weeks ago. Good luck, I hope you get some answers for your little one.

I'd have her tested for FOOD allergies. She may be eating something that her body isn't agreeing with. My family physician does this, her name is Elaine Hardy, RN, APN, C, her website is www.holisticfamilyhealthcarepc.com and I used her recommended testing that did like 92 different foods for my kids. My dd is highly allergic to whey in milk, but not milk, I was able to give it to her gradually and her symptoms stopped! It was great cuz you have to have a glass of milk w/cookies! lol!

Does she have other symptoms like with her bowels? I know alot of the time the eye and nose symptoms are linked to milk allergy. good luck to you, hth!

Definitely make an appointment with an allergist. We see Dr. Spergel @ CHOP and have been really happy. Also, Dr. Brown is good. Allergy testing is not as bad as you think. My son has had the prick and patch test done. the worst part of both was getting the patch test off his back.

Good Luck

Definitely do an allergy test. It took over 12yrs to get my gluten-allergy (Celiac) figured out, because docs kept insisting it was something else - that meant several years of tough times for me, but once it was found, I was a new person within 2wks!

You need to know what she is allergic to so that you can address the problem. Sometimes they only do skin tests so you may not need a blood draw. I would take her to a pediatric allergist and see what they suggest and then go from there.

I have allergies myself. I just started having a lot of issues in the past year and my family doctor recommended I see an ear, nose and throat doctor. When I went to see this doctor he scheduled me for a allergy skin test. It is very specific. I found out a lot of information in just a few short hours. Unfortunately for me I'm basically allergic to life. Now I know what will set me off and how to deal with it. I figured out what I have to avoid and how to make things more comfortable for me. Your daughter could be allergic to anything in her life. It could be your cat, your dog, dust, dust mites, carpet, furniture, soap, shampoo, food, this list could go on and on. She could also be allergic to something you or you husband have on as well, such as perfume or cologne. Maybe she's allergic to dust which most people have in their home, or maybe you are a neat freak and keep the dust to a minimum, but maybe she's allergic to the cleaning products your using. I could go on forever about the whole allergy issue do to my most recent findings on myself......but everyone is unique to certain things. Your husband is on the right track, but you may want to consider the skin test which is time consuming, but very specific and helpful. I really do feel for your baby girl. I hope that you are able to find a way to help her out. She may be more miserable than she is able to tell you.

Doesn't sound like she would be a happy camper with all of these symptoms. And I would not want my baby on Zyrtec, especially since you seem to say it has only lessened the symptoms not eliminated them.
Maybe i'm reading stuff into your message that wasn't there but why don't you want her to have the blood allergy test?? I'm sure she won't like having it done but if it means you find the allergen and she can breath and not itch etc wouldn't that be better in the long run??? Hubby could take her if you can't handle watching them draw the blood.
I'm sure you love your pets, if you are worried about having to get rid of them if she is allergic, why don't you ask the dr and see if there is a shot or something she can get so you can still keep them, or maybe just confine them to a different part of the house.
I know you'll do what is best for your little one, They rely on us soo much to protect and care for them. Please let us know what you decide to do. I think more and more people are finding themselves in your position with allergies and what to do about them.

Your child is sick, but your doctor isn't concerned?
Get a new doctor.
And your HUSBAND is on the right track.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I am so tired of moms going to their ped for help and being brushed off. Rashes, runny noses, itchy/watery/bloodshot eyes...that is enough to make anyone miserable, and it's obviously concerning you, so WHY on earth isn't your doctor willing to help you?
JMO, but as a mom who dealt with a doc who didn't help and then crossed over to a doc who would...don't put up with this. You need to work with a doc who is willing to work with you.

Hi B., If this has been going on for over two years it is time to get her tested. I hate to say it, but you should take her to an allergist. My friends son was always had a runny nose, watery eyes etc. when he was 4 she had him tested. Turns out he is allergic to house dust, wheat and some dairy products. Thankfully none of his allergies were sever, but in combonation the poor little guy was just miserable until he was tested and she could manage his allergies. Several years later he has out-grown some of his allergies and is a much happier, healthier 6th grader now. Best wishes.

Hi B., That is very disturbing, but I do know a way that your baby could be cured from whatever this dermatitis is, Give me a call and I would love to tell you all about it(you will be able to understand it much better than trying to type a little bit of it here)this will also help with the allergies too. Hope to hear from you soon, Sincerely, J. ###-###-####

Could be seasonal, could be food allergies. You definitely don't want to mess around with this. Get her to an allergist. I have also heard great things about Dr Nash. I have lots of friends with kids with allergies, it can get frighteningly worse if you don't identify what (if anything) is causing her reaction. Good luck.

I would go see an allergy specialist. We love Dr Nash at childrens hospital in Pittsburgh. My daughter has an allergy to everything. We found out when she was nine months old. If you go see them they may do the skin test and It doesn't even hurt. They just drop a solution of different allergins on your childs skin and see how it responds. It is better to know than to keep her suffering. A very common allergin is dust mites. So it may not even be your pets. Call and make an appointment with a pediatric allergist. I promise it will be worth it.

Were the small bumps Keratosis Pilaris? If so, it will most likely lessen over time. My son had it at that age too and he is now 5.5 and it is all but gone. I don't think that is related to the allergy issue.
I would get the blood test done. Better to know.
My son gets seasonal allergies. If I give him Allegra for 7-10 days, it helps. He doesn't need to take it every day.

To ease your worries, my daughter has been taking Zyrtec since she was three months old. She has since turned two in September and still takes it daily. She takes one tsp each day and it has helped her tremendously. Like your girl, she was suffering from chronic colds... while on Zyrtec, she greatly improves! Not sure what does you're giving her, but the one tsp works good for my girl.

Good luck!

Take her to get a skin test so you can determine exactly what she is allergic to. There may be things you can do to reduce the severity of the symptoms w/o resorting to meds. Such as, (If she is allergic to animal hair, dust, dander) you could remove the carpet from her room & the family room. You could vacuum every day. You could get a hepa filter for those rooms (and any others she spends a great deal of time in). These sorts of things may be enough to make her allergy just a minor annoyance as opposed to something that needs meds. I grew up with allergies. Mine was just a minor annoyance...I would sneeze a lot every morning, but then I would be fine the rest of the day. B/c it affected such a small part of my day I very rarely take meds. Good luck.

Try puttin Vit E in the pets food daily. I heard this will take care of the dander that people are allergic too. If she seems better in a week , that could be all you need to do. The cheap brand is fine.

B.,

I'm not sure why you do not want your DD to have the allergy testing. It's not the kind of testing we had as kids. It basically doesn't hurt; I remember mine hurting when I was a kid.

My son had big circles under his eyes when he was just your daughter's age. I took him to the pediatroician and she said they are called "allergy eyes" or something like that, and she immediately suggested we take him to a pediatric allergist. (I question why your pediatrician didn't do this. I am a great believer in specialists.) We took him to CHOP. We were told that a lot of allergies will not show up at this age, and that's what happened, but we were glad we had him tested, so we didn't go around wondering what else we could do to make him comfortable. (He has been retested over the years.)
Good luck!