When Zyrtec Is Not Enough...

Hi C. Try giving him local honey it will take a couple of weeks for it to work put it in cereal or tea. Second if you are able to talk with his dr getting a nasal spray will help as thats where the reaction begins. The sprays are nasonex, astelin and there maybe another one

We have used a natural remedy for our son after NOTHING else worked for his allergies and asthma. Wild Cherry Bark has done the trick. We are also about to start putting him on Juice Plus, because I keep hearing about our friends who started taking juice plus and their allergies and asthma went away. If you need someone who sells Juice Plus, then I have a friend who does. I can get her information to you.
Hang in there!!!

Poor guy...this is really hard (believe me...I know! My daughter and I also have asthma/allergies). He REALLY needs to be on antihistimines all the time b/c once he has a flare-up, Zyrtec isn't going to help (along with anything else). I'd definitely start the antihistimines as soon as he gets to your house since you know that you're not getting a lot of cooperation from mom. Saline nose spray may also be an option. I do this at night and it has helped me get all the gunk out. My allergist gave me some stuff called Simply Saline. But any saline mist would probably work.

Good luck!

This is hard... I'd say you really need to ask a doctor.

If he hasn't had the Zyrtec (I think it works better than Claritan) then there's no reason not to give it to him as soon as he walks in the door. You don't want to wait for things to flare up. Maintenance is best.

Also, steam helps me.... so even a hot shower or facial steamer might be helpful.

Most of all the things that have helped me are Nasonex (love it! it totally helps the swelling in the nose etc) and Asmanex.. (I guess it helps because I don't use the emergency inhaler as often anymore). I do them daily (if I don't forget) and doing them daily has really helped.

I take Benadryl even if I've had Zyrtec if I am having an exceptional day, I just took 2 tablets an hour ago. But my doctor said I could and I think asking the doc what to do in your specific case would be best.

Until then, Zyrtec and steam.

C.,

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Hello!
It is encouraging to hear what a loving step mom that you are! I bought superlsyine at the health food store . My daughter no longer has asthma problems. It is a super immunity booster .
Getting to bed by 10 aids tremendously! One's body does its repair work then. Dr. Lorraine Day, MD has given a good account of this repair work in her life to get healthy.
Este C vitamin is fantastic! It is the best supplement of vitamin C which is a natural healer. Sugar kills vitamin C.
Vitamins and healthy living does make a tremendous difference. Oranges are great!
Try these and see what happens. Superlysine is not for every day , but just when there is sickness, etc. It works well with most people. However, you will have to give it a week to see if it will work well with our step son.
These have helped our family greatly!
I pray God's blessings on you and your family! What a blessing you are to care so much for your step son!
Sincerely,
C. Nelson

There are two natural items you could add to his regimine:

Xlear is a nasal spray that coats the inside of his nose so the allergens can not even stick to come in body. I used this on my infants too....totally safe. Has greatly helped me too.

Quercetin is a natural histamine balancer, so to speak. There is a liquid one that tastes like a lemony flavor...really good.

Hope this helps. With these two items, I am no longer on any prescriptions for my allergies.

I wouldn't give an asthmatic child anything without discussing it with his doctor!

You really don't know--for sure---when his mother treated him and he could have a drug reaction. She may have given him meds just before you got him to keep you from complaining. His meds may not be working and need to be changed.

When my grandson was young we had to monitor him with his doctor on a regular basis and sometimes changed meds. A child can go into a full blown asthma attack in a matter of minutes! That is the most frightening thing I have ever experienced. (if he ever begins to strain to breathe and become suddenly lethargic, call the EMTs immediately!) An untreated sinus infection can send me to the hospital!

Your husband should have a letter, from the mother or the courts, stating that he is the legal father and has the right to seek medical treatment. Then as soon as you can, take him to visit his doctor and explain the situation. Doc will tell you what you should do.

And, C., I detect a lot of self rightous indignation in you. Yeah, I've done that too! You are not going to change his mother so don't waste your energy.

Enjoy your stepson! Children grow up way too fast. (Unless you have 3 under 3 years old. LOL!!)

My son also suffers with allergy and viral trigger asthma. I have found severak things work really well. Saline, Saline, Saline several times a day will help get the pollen out of his nasal cavities. I'm not sure what your step son's age is but if he is older a nettie pot is a really good way to control allergies. Hot steamy showers help before bedtime.

Also Astelin which is prescription, but it is a nasal spray and hits the nasal cavities to stop the snot build-up. It works almost immediately and my son has found great relief. Also when my son is really bad as per instructed by our ENT we will do 1 dose of Afrin at bedtime. It really helps the night time cough.

During his really bad month we do a daily preventative steroid breathing treatment. Although since we had his tonsils removed his allergies have improved so much because his drainage is better.

I wish you all the luck, there is nothing worse that seeing a kid suffer with breathing difficulties.

Singulair is great for asthma and allergies with little or no side effects. It is prescribed through a Dr. My daughter took zyrtec and singulair together for a little while and it worked wonders. She is no longer on any meds. When she gets an allergy flair up we use natural products to get us through.
Which by the way quercetin is a natural product that helps block histamines. It is a liquid that is placed under the tongue for a few seconds. It doesn't taste bad either.
good Luck

And where is his father in all this? What communication is going on with the mom? Sounds to me like your stepson needs to see an allergy/asthma specialist, not just be randomly medicated. My daughter has mild asthma with allery issues. She is consistently medicated with an asthma preventative (Advair) and takes allergy meds (Claritin or Clarinex) only during her worst allergy season. It just sounds to me like there needs to be some agreement among all the adults in your stepson's life . . . otherwise it will cause him more harm than good!!