My 4 Year Old Has Allergies..

As far as headaches go, have you had his eyes examined? My son was 4 when he got glasses, I had no idea until he complained for a couple of days about headaches. I just assumed it was because his allergies were acting up (Zyrtec everynight before bed works for us) The eye doctor said she couldn't believe he had not complained before that. Poor kid couldn't see a thing, I felt awful. Now he is 6 and in Kindergarten doing a great job! Hope that helps.

Several allergies and skin irritants are chemical related.

I would suggest ridding your home of hazardous products. Even your typical laundry detergent can cause problems and think you are exposed to it ever day in the clothes you wear and the sheets you sleep on. Bleach is another potentially damaging chemical and if swallowed can be fatal.

I was wondering if you considered ridding your home of hazardous cleaning products? There are many good products at the health food stores. Vinegar and baking soda also are good substitutes. I have found a line of products that are free of toxins and actually cost less than average cleaners like Tide. If you are interested, let me know.

One website that I found useful
Learn About Chemicals Around Your House
http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/

Not sure the question -- but I think you're looking for any solutions we've found? :) Well, my newly 4 year old is the same way. Eczema and allergies (probably will have asthma). He had such a bad time this fall he couldn't bring any air through his nose until he was on a steriod nasal spray. Yuck. To top it off (and probably due to allergies and discomfort) he has delayed speech. Great vocab -- just trouble forming expressive lang. (aka his own thoughts). Soooo -- enough about me -- I would recommend seeing a natural doctor and a chiropractor. I am have found an MD who practices Natropathy and she helps with the skin stuff. Most likely they will put him on an "anti-inflamatory diet" which consists of organic, wheat-free, dairy free, gluten free, beef and pork free, sugar free diet. Sounds scary but it worked for me. Its amazing what our bodies can do when we're not on the processed stuff. I have recipes and suggestions if you'd like some. When I did it (and I go off and on with the family) it was hard but as I learned I got the hang of it. Also the MD can give supplements and herbs to help the immune system. The chiropractor approach I haven't tried yet for the kids -- but it worked for me. The idea of balancing the nervous system etc. does help. I was NOT a believer until I couldn't handle my headaches anymore. And my son threw his neck out during a play date. Instead of the pediatrician (who would have given muscle relaxers and pain meds) I took him to the chiro. who gave him an adjustment and instant relief. Needless to say -- my kids LOVE going now. :) I will caution you to find someone who's not a "cracker" but does gentle adjustments and counterpressure/pressure points. I will be taking my 4 yr old to the chiropractor in the next month or so. It may sound like I'm some sort of 'naturalist' but I promise I'm not. These are things I've recently learned in hopes of helping with my children's allergy needs without drugs and drowsienss. :) Let me know and email me off list if need be! ____@____.com

My 4 year old is also on Singulair...and is a completely different sick kid without the stuff!
He does have asthma as well but his allergies cause most of his asthma problems, so generally if those are contolled (and he's not around smokers) he's a very healthy little boy. Talk to you doctor and see if he has some samples he can give you to see if it helps.

J.
I think that you need to ask your dr to refer you to an allergy specialist and see what they say. Your daughter is old enought to do some testing and if you have tried many things that will be good for her
A.

You've probably already tried it, but did Zyrtec work? It helps my 3 year old. Also, hs the Dr. checked him for sinus problems? Maybe it's not just allergy? Or even an eye exam to make sure the headaches aren't vision related? (I had them as a kid and finally found out it was a combination of needing glasses and having bad sinuses.) Good luck.

K.

Hi my grandson has some of the same similar symptoms and his Physician subscribed to him Singulair and it seemed to help him. Good luck with this it is hard when children have these problems.

My 5 year old daughter is on Singulair and has been for over a year now. That helps her a lot! I'm kind of assuming that you may have already tried this one though since you've already been through several different meds. Hope you find something soon that will work!

My daughter also has very bad allergies and we love being outdoors and animals. Both very problematic. Elena was also diagnosed with mild asthma shortly before her 1st birthday. Have you gotten your son tested for different allergies? That helped us a lot with dealing knowing how to deal with it. Children's Benadril is an over the counter that I use. But for more of a precautionary step we give my daughter Zyrtex every night. And for a while we did breathing treatments with a nebulizer, now we do it as needed.

Hi,
I have been on so many allergy medicines, you wouldn't believe it, plus shots. I was put on stahist 1 year ago, I have recovered almost completly. I know this is a knew drug, but I recommend you ask your doctor about it. Good luck

My 12 year old has had asthma and allergies since he was 3 months old. Two weeks ago I took him to an allergist because I was tired of putting drugs in his body everyday. They did the needle testing and found out that out of the 40 test he was allergic to 23 of them. That included milk, eggs, peanuts, cats, dogs, and many more. All of these things affected his everyday breathing. He was not even breathing 50 % of the oxygen that he was supposed to be breathing. My suggestion to you is to go to an allergist to find out how bad it really is to eliminate drug usage that isn't working. Good Luck!

I agree with Vicki--Singulair is a wonderful allergy drug. It is meant for asthma, but has been found to relieve allergies. I took it when I kept having sinus infection after infection and it finally cleared it all up and kept me free of any further infection. I also have heard it is very popular for treatment of allergies in children.