Alternative Treatments for Allergies-Asthma and Ezcema

He should try a neti pot. You might need to try it first and show him how it works. IMO it is very healthy and non medical !!!

His body (immune system) is over reacting to pollen.
(Which pollen I don't know - an allergist would give him a patch test to determine what he's reacting to.)
That's the cause.
There are desensitizing shots he can be given so his immune system will chill out towards the trigger allergens, but they can take a long time to finish the series.
So do what you can to minimize his contact with pollen.
You can use www.pollen.com to track when the pollen count is high and avoid being outside on those days.
He's also old enough to be able to use a neti pot.
He can saline rinse his nose out several times a day and that should help get some pollen out.
With the asthma, I wouldn't be totally stop seeing all doctors - the kid's got to breathe.
If his congestion turns to pneumonia, or some other infection (he'll have a fever) I hope you would take him to the doctor before he lands in a hospital in an oxygen tent.
That would be pretty miserable for everyone.

This book was a great resource for me: "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders" by Kenneth Bock, MD and Cameron Stauth.

We have also utilized two different integrative physicians (MD's), a nutritionist, a chiropractor who specializes in allergies, and acupuncture.

It's helpful to get bloodwork to see the big "offenders" for food intolerance. My son had 41 foods he reacted to. He's also very sensitive to dust. When we cut those down his allergies and symptoms slowed down alot.

Good luck.

PS: Currently son does not take any prescription allergy meds, and rarely needs OTC antihistamines. We don't agree with masking symptoms, and subscribe to the "get to the root problem" school of thought.

Nasal irrigation with saline solution. Seriously, get a Neil Medi kit, and start him on it daily, or even 2 or 3 times per day (it's just saline solution). It will make a world of difference. If there's a lot of nasal congestion, we also use Alkalol.

You can switch to non toxic cleaning and laundry products. And there are supplements that help.
I have extra copies of a book called Green Goes with Everything. The mom who wrote it almost lost her son to an asthma attack and she shares her story and how she has made changes that greatly helped her son. If you will pay for the cost to mail it, about $3 I will give it to you.

This must be difficult -- I feel for you both.
Homeopathics do work if you get the right formula and the right brand, some brand are far better than others, and you have to take them regularly, can't just take them a few times and expect it to work. The right formula is crucial for the aliment. Borion is a good product so is Hylands. He is sensitive to his enviornment like so many children now days because there are so many chemicals from flowers even - even in the air. Certain foods can also trigger these symtoms so you may want to look into that. Lots of raw foods should help. No sugars. The warm sun can cure a lot of things and it's probably the vit D. Does he take a quality vit/mineral supplement, this can make a big difference. Also, he may need cod liver oil this is the best for vit. D. It's a liquid and he may not like it but it really keeps them healthy. I give it to mine through the winter - cherry flavor. Another remedy is castor oil, pure, unprocessed, cold packed produced castor oil put on the excema and then wrapped or unwrapped. After an hour or so take it off with mild soap or better, baking soda and water and let air for a while and then reapply. Home Health has this product. It works wonders for many things and I cured myself of psraosis (sp) and it was quite a bad case, after using it for six weeks straight it never came back. I've seen it cure many things or at least help tremendously. It's sticky and not pleasant to use but it does the job with no side affects. Never take it internally, although it is not posion like some people think. Goggle it or go to Home Health products. Near allergy season you may want to build him up with lots of vit-C, it has to be quality brand to work. Also B-complex would help a lot. There are some scientist that believe in the mega doses at particular times and I've used it with all my children and myself when I know a trying time is coming, like for a few weeks before they get their shots. I tried this after having my child have high fevers and prolonged sickness every time she got her shots. And it worked so well that she didn't get sick at all. The extra C and B-complex was given with the regular vitamin. If there is a big problem or trying to fend off allergies vit-C can even be given every couple of hours as it goes through the system quite quickly. Afterwards, just give one each day for a month and then let the body go without for a couple weeks and then back on a regular once a day, in this cycle, this way the body doesn't rely on them and can work it self. Hope I explain that right. Lots of raw fruits and veggies too. This method has worked for me and my children.

Also, he is old enough to practice visualization and or meditation. You can have him sit quietly and tell him it's time for silence to see what we can hear, maybe say something like, "lets see how silent we can be, how still we can be and see if we hear things we don't always hear." Tell him you'll whisper his name when times up and when he hears it to come up to you and give you a hug. And you both sit very still, no movements at all for 5 to 10 minutes, less if you think he can't go that long, and then work up to 10 minutes. Then whisper his name, have him come to you for a hug. Then you can talk about what you heard. This is a beginning to helping a child be quiet and centered and will quiet his emotions and mind, which help bring balance to his body too. We have a silent time almost every day, I tell the children, 'silence is golden' and they know it's time. They love when I whisper their name and get up for hugs. Then at another time when he is use to this, you can begin to bring in a visual for him to imagine. Like imagining the golden sun with it's warm rays beaming down on him, or walking through a green meadow full of flowers, etc. Keep it simple and beautiful. You can take it wherever you want. These centering/calming/mental excerises will do wonders especially for children with asthma. It's important that they know how to get inside themselves and be calm and use their minds. The mind affects the body and this especially true with this aliment. There are so many things that affect us through the environment and children are so vunerable.

Hope this helps. It may sound a bit unorodox to some people, but I've found them to help greatly. Sending the Best for you both and hope he will have lots of fun playing outdoors in the sunshine without these things to contend with -- in freedom.

We do LDA (low dose allergen) shots through a wellness doctor. Insurance companies don't pay for these as they are considered "non-traditional" so you do have to find someone in your area that administers them and pay out of pocket (won't be through a traditional allergist). My son has ZERO allergies though and he functions great because of them. Best thing I pay for for my kid:)

neti pot, neti pot, neti pot for the allergies. seriously, works like a charm. and I started my kids at 5 and National Jewish in Denver starts them at 2-3. So, he can do it... Bathe every night - get those allergens off before going to bed.

also, I struggled w/ allergies when I was younger. If I kept my diet clean, all my allergies were always much better (including the nose stuff). by clean, I mean - anything there's been a reaction to - cut out. also cut out all the chemicals (dyes, additives, preservatives). it really did help me.

eczema - if it goes away in the summer, it may very well be something in your home and/or laundry. regardless, cleaning up inside the home w/regards to chemicals will help at any time of year. My son had eczema at a younger age but we have completely controlled with the following:
laundry detergent - scent and dye free. we use all free and clear. no softener -EVER. double rinse. use vinegar in the rinse as a softener and to remove additional soap residue. NO DRYER SHEETS - these tend to be really bad for sensitive skin/allergies. the dryer balls work pretty well if you keep synthetics and natural fabrics separate in the dryer (I air dry synthetics because they dry faster - particularly in the winter when they're all over the house!).
cleaners - we're down to baking soda and vinegar for most things. avoid things w/ "fragrance" in the ingredient list. also avoid petrochemical based.
personal care products - my son can only tolerate California Baby Sensitive (at 10!) for shampoo. he cannot use or be near my or my daughter's organic products. be very careful w/what lotions you use.
good luck!

Diet is the number one cause of eczema. You might want to consider taking him off all dairy products which may be causing the other issues as well. Robyn O'Brien's book The Unhealthy Truth (http://www.amazon.com/The-Unhealthy-Truth-Making-About/dp...) may offer you some very helpful information. It's available at the public libraries too. She describes her son suffering from severe eczema and respiratory issues until they discovered is was the milk. Robyn is also the founder of The Allergy Kids Foundation (http://www.allergykidsfoundation.org/).

For Seasonal Allergies Nettle Leaf works really well. For kids you have them take 1 in the morning as soon as they get up and 1 at night before they go to bed. It will also dry up their nose, so if it becomes to strong then just have him take 1 at night before bed.

As far as eczema and post nasal drip I would look into foods. Is there a specific food that you eat a lot during the winter that you don't during the summer? Or maybe a drink?

I noticed you had him tested for food allergies... Just a heads up. Mild allergies can cause harm to the body. My husband tested mild for allergy to wheat and if he ingests any he passes out and his body goes into convulsions. Not to scare you, but sometimes the allergy tests don't really tell you how bad the allergy really is.

I can't speak to the allergies, but I've had good luck with my excema (I have it on my hands only) taking 1,000 mg. L-Lysine/day in the winter. I don't know what a child's dose would be. Also, acupuncture has helped my excema immensely, but again, I don't know what is appropriate for a child his age. What about talking to a Nutrionist, just to make sure he's not eating an allergin that you're overlooking? Gluten? Good luck to you!

Not sure where you live but please look up NAET and find a specialist who does this-it works wonders for allergies. If you live in the Denver CO area I can recomend some one

You can work with your son's physician to determine what he is truly allergic to (heck, and check his vitamin D if that is a concern). You can ask for a simple blood test PROFILE that checks for environmental as well as food allergic triggers in one test, there is no need for skin prick or less accurate RAST testing. This is covered by most insurances once per year so do the PROFILE and any additions at the same time to minimize out of pocket costs.

Unfortunately, allergies do not read the calendar and wait for June and they are cumulative....appearing when exposure exceeds "threshold"!

Take control of this and identify the allergens now to better manage his allergic asthma. When you see your son's Ped or an Allergist, speak up and be involved in the process (asking for the most advanced blood test and declining medication prior to testing).

I haven't worked with many specialists that just load the kiddos up on meds without proper testing (I work for a national testing laboratory), I find it is more common for a FP physician to just suggest OTC meds or write a prescription without testing. Good luck!

I am so glad to hear that you do not want to dope him up. I just cringe at how much we medicate these days. That doesn't mean that sometimes we do not need medication just not for everything.

That being said, I would go to the book store and find some books on whole food living. It does not matter if he is allergic to foods or not, it is about eating power foods that help your body fight your ailments. My son was constantly in the hospital with breathing issues related to allergies and we have completely controlled it with food and figuring out some of his triggers. We did do some drugs in the beginning when he was in trouble but never again.

Also, If you want to send me your information (privately of course, and I promise I am not a freak or will bug you), I can send you some samples for excema. My oldest and myself have both struggled with it and we have cleared it up completely. It's worth a try.

Good luck!

His body is thinking that normal pollens etc are enemys. It is reacting against them by releasing histamine. You can't stop his body from this. The drugs they are giving you help his body from not overreacting to these "foreign invaders". When you have allergies you feel miserable. It sucks!!

You can use some natural stuff (like coconut oil for eczema). However, he will feel best with a medication to help his body not overreact.

The first thing (medication free) is to find out what he is allergic to and keep him away from those things.
I cannot go to anyone's house that has dogs or cats. I cannot use scented anything in my house. I cannot use chemical cleaners. An allergist will test him to find out what he is allergic to so that you can try and avoid those things. Make sure you have a good filter on your household duct system too. Change sheets often to reduce dust mites. Run a dehumidifier in the basement to reduce mold.