Allergy Meds

I think you should consider allergy testing. I take a shot once a week and a zyrtec (generic) daily because I am allergic to almost everything but cedar. I have been on them since Aug. and I can tell a HUGE difference. Be careful with anything that is sprayed up the nose because there is a small potiental to loose sense of smell.

Is your son receiving allergy shots? I have had respiratory allergies all of my life, received weekly shots as a child for several years, but discovered my allergies got worse when I moved to AZ. My doctor started me on Allergy Easy, which works on the same principle of shots (acclimating the body slowly to allergens to build up a natural resistance), but these are liquid drops you take home and drop under the tongue on a specific schedule. They have worked AMAZINGLY-I have gone from having a sinus infection every 4 weeks during allergy seasons while on Nasonex, Allegra and Benedryl to having one about 2-3 times a year on no meds at all! They were super easy to take, so much so that I took them on my honeymoon and stayed on schedule, and are kid-approved. I would definitely ask about Allergy Easy drops. It may help your son's health and help him get off some of the meds. Good luck!

Hi H.,

This is way too many drugs. Medications can alleviate symptoms but they can also break down the immune system so the symptoms get worse. The contraindications from five drugs can't be identified. No drug company tests more than two for contraindications.

There are natural ways to get rid of allergies, completely. I used to use a hot compress on my eyes every morning just to get them open. Now all my allergies are gone. My kid's allergies are gone as well. I even have an inside dog. Let me know if you'd like to try to get rid of them naturally and I'll get you the information you need.

God bless,

M.

If he is that reactive that he needs all of those things, then you might want to consider checking into allergy shots. My son, 11 yrs old, has suffered from almost year round sinus drainage and sneezing for a few years now. Not severe, but it seems to get worse as he gets older... he definitely needs more tissues anyway.

He too tried Singulair way back when (he was about 7 yrs old).. and did not tolerate it very well (after a few weeks on it, it gave him a stomach ache every time). Then Nasonex. Stopped having any effect quickly. Then we went to Alavert/Claritin (loratidine) and that seemed to help some for awhile. Then it seemed to be less effective. We recently found a new doctor, and he switched him to Zyrtec, and suggested that when/if it begins to lose effectiveness to switch back to something else for a week or two, then go back to the Zyrtec again. That over time the body gets used to it and they can lose effectiveness. Rotating the meds can help with that... but ALSO, he suggested the shot therapy which we decided to follow up with. We did a blood panel and found that our son is allergic to around 14 different things (plants/grasses/pollens/molds) and that is why his allergies go almost year round. There is almost always something in the air that he is allergic to.

The big thing with the shot therapy is that, according to our doctor, as you get older (think teenager/adult) the allergy shots have a lower success rate. In other words, at my son's age, the success rate is around 85%, but if he waits another 10 years to give it a try, the liklihood that it will work effectively goes down to around 60% or so. AND, as an older person the therapy takes longer as well. For our son, a year and a half is expected (shots twice a week for the first couple of months, then once a week for a while, then once every 10 days, until a maintenance dose, etc etc). For an adult, that time becomes 3-4 years.

We always thought of the allergies as just a nuisance that he/we have had to deal with. But he had an asthmatic attack this week (never happened before) after working out in the yard bagging some leaves and then doing a pretty rigorous workout within a few hours afterwards. Possible molds from the composted leaves and then exercise is apparently what brought it on. Doing the shot therapy will certainly lessen the likelihood of another attack in the future. And after the costs of the initial creation of the serum he will be injected with, the costs for the actual injections will end up less than the $ we spend on tissues and OTC/prescription allergy symptom relief.
We are going for a "cure" not symptom relief. Finally. It is something worth checking into if your son is highly allergic and miserable.

Singulair is for asthma, Allegra is for allergies and Nasonex is to keep his sinuses clear. Bepreve appears to treat itchy eyes specifically, and Cefdinir is an antibiotic. Singulair is useful for preventing asthma attacks, it keeps the bronchioles open in the lungs. Your son might need this regardless of whether he's exposed to allergens. The Allegra should take care of his immune response to allergens, so he might not need the additional direct application to his nose or eyes. I use plain Simply Saline to keep my nose clear instead of Nasonex. Besides Simply Saline, all the meds do have side effects, so it is worth a call to the dr. to ask either how long to take them, or when the follow up appointment will be to re-assess your son. He may also benefit from allergy testing and allergy shots. The antibiotic will only treat a bacterial infection like a sinus infection or strep throat. It will be completely useless against allergies. Keep asking questions until you understand exactly what the issue is. If you feel unsure, it is worth getting a second opinion!

I think drugs are way over-prescribed and you don't know the long-term effects really. I took Seldane as a child and it damaged my heart. They didn't know that side effect until years later. Now I have damaged heart valves. Seldane has been off the market for a while. But that goes to show that sometimes they just don't know.

I've had better success with allergies by taking an alternative medicine route. Look into acupuncture. It worked for me (after suffering from allergies all my life). I haven't taken any prescription allergy medicine in years. The combination of acupuncture, chiropractic and boosting my immune system worked better than any drugs!

My boy and I suffer from bad allergies. All the different medications were hard to keep track of. They get a kenalog shot every 3 months. It helps a ton! I normally just take claritin for myself and I have a rescue inhaler and nebulizer for asthma. My boys can't function without the shot. They have noticed no side effects.
Singulair, Nasonex and Allegra did nothing for any of us.

I NEVER talk to the doctor about the drugs. They really don't know a lot. I always talk to the Pharmasist. Pharmacists go to school for years to learn about every med. They have to know about so many different aspects of interactions and side effects.

Talk to your Pharmacist.

Singulair was originally FDA approved for asthma - it has since been FDA approved for allergies as well as it blocks leukotriens (different from histamine blocking which is the way most allergy medications, such as Allegra, work).

Nasonex is a nasal steroid, so it will work largely on symptoms related to nasal allergies and inflammation.

Bepreve is for eye allergies, and Omnicef (cefdinir) is a very powerful antibiotic. My guess is that the Nasonex and Omnicef are for a sinus infection.

If you question why there are so many medications (they're all FDA approved for different things), don't hesitate to ask the doctor or to spend a few minutes with the pharmacist for an explanation.

There is not one medication that can do all of this, and the amount of innovation coming from pharmaceutical companies is drying-up as it gets harder and harder to get FDA approval. The company I work for has been developing a medication for almost 8 years and has not yet received FDA approval. Most products take ~12 years from discovery to approval. Only 1/20 drugs make it to the market.

Wow that is quite a bit. My husband and I have allergies and it's not fun! I was taking just the one in the green bottle.. (yeah I forgot the name!) but I've started shopping with a different company and they're allergy meds have helped me out a ton! They're called counter act allergy. Maybe the cleaning products youre using are affecting him. I'm have a friend who had that kind of problem with cleaning products because of all the chemicals in them. :)

I took my 6 year old son this Spring and his previous medicine wasn't working any longer and he got congestion and Sinus Infection since the medicine wasn't working. They but him on Allergra 2 a day, Nasonex, and Cefdinir. But the Cefdinir he only had to take till it was empty. The Nasonex 1 a day till the allergies got better in the summer and then the Allergra every day as needed once we get into Summer and pollen is down and things aren't blooming. He is doing 10 times better than he was 3 weeks ago. No more running nose and he feels better. I thought it seemed alot but he wouldn't have to take all the medince forever. I hope this helps.