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JennGM
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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Well it's started and I just want to cry.  I wish we could pick and choose what things we WANT to pass on to our children.
My son has very bad food allergies (FA), as I've mentioned it before. For our last visit to the allergist for his FA, I also wanted to test Environmental allergens (EA), such as pollen, dust, etc, as I've been noticing runny nose, but not much.
Well, animal dander, dust mites, grass, tree and weed pollens and mold came back high and positive. Almost a carbon copy of my allergens as a child.
Not much to do about it, really, and it wasn't affecting him. Until lately. He's continually stopped up, runny nose, eyes itchy. Allergic salute. Thankfully, no asthma symptoms, so I know this is minor. But he woke up last night several times just crying because his nose was running and itchy and he couldn't do a thing. I also think some of his behavior as of late is reflecting some of this fighting allergies.
I'm vacuuming and now remembering to keep the windows closed, but not much is helping right now. I'm not sure WHAT is the trigger, or if there are too many and his system can't handle.
I tend to think it's outside pollen triggers, because as soon as we go outside he's rubbing his nose and it's running. And the pollen count has been super high.
Any suggestions on how to help the poor little guy? I have medications, but dislike to use it on such a young one on a regular basis. But I also don't think it's right to keep him indoors, when there are triggers there, too. What do you do?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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stefoodie
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 11:13am | IP Logged
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hi jenn, while we are not into long-term medication of any sort, my hubby, 15-yo and 9-yo started taking benadryl last night and will continue to do so on an as-needed basis probably for a few days, then we'll see... it's just been so bad esp. for the 15-yo that it's affecting her schoolwork.
we are also looking into an air purifier system for the home -- i'm still 50-50 about this as i know a lot of the problems with allergies and asthma are because we as a country are "too clean". but i also don't like seeing my family suffer!
one major thing we need to do with this house is get proper ventilation on top of the range. all the other homes we lived in were vented to the outside, but for some reason these houses in our neighborhood built 13 years ago are not. i'm still compiling stuff (too many links!) about allergies and asthma, two sites that i've been frequenting lately are the EPA the American Lung Association, trying to research indoor air quality, etc. i don't know if that helps you any, where you are in your search, but thought i'd post that in case you need it.
the other thing i've been resisting (because of the expense) are hypo-allergenic beddings -- esp. the mattress covers! yikes! if you or anyone know a place where these can be bought a bit more cheaply than allergybuyersclub i'd appreciate the tip, please.
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stef
mom to five
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Christine
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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My older sister had to get rid of certain bedding, especially down pillows and comforters. She had a special ventilation system installed in her heating/air conditioning system. She uses plastic covers, or something, on her oldest daughter's mattress and pillows. She vacuums often and uses a swiffer (I think that's what it is called) a couple of times a day on her hardwood floors. Her house appears dust free. She vacuums under her daughter's bed regularly, too (tons of dust accumulates under beds).
Her daughter does fine at home, but has difficulties at friends and relatives.
If you want more specifics, please let me know and I will call her.
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Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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Christine
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 11:36am | IP Logged
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I forgot to mention that I have allergy problems when grass is freshly cut, but I seem to be okay around grass, otherwise.
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Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 1:53pm | IP Logged
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There are some things that I know MUST be done, but they come with a heft price tag. We have plans down the road, but I want to do some little things to help.
Future, high cost:
1) Flooring: Wood floors...that does help TREMENDOUSLY. And in our plan...but it's an investment. Our house is almost all carpeted, with the plan to replace soon. But dh also wants to install himself, so it will be awhile. 
We had our carpets cleaned and it's been 9 months in the house with no pets, so all the allergens are dust and pollen from our use. I wondered if anyone has used the dust mite or allergen reducing sprays or treatments for bedding or laundry or carpets.
2) Window Treatments: We bought the house with existing window treatments, honeycomb shades, all over. I think these are collectors of dust and allergens. I want to switch to wood blinds, but that cost would be enormous.
Anyone have experience in cleaning these to reduce the dust? I've vacuumed, but it doesn't seem to be very effective.
3) Bedding: As far as bedding goes, ds is still in a toddler bed, so that's a crib mattress, which was allergenic. No pillow, I wash his blankets quite frequently. He does have curtains in his room, so that might have to go. He also has an upholstered chair, which I cover with a sheet and wash that frequently. It's our reading chair, so I'd be loathe to remove it.
For our room, I wash all bedding frequently. I did read that pillows need to be put in the hot dryer to kill allergens, or in the freezer for a few hours. I use 2 or 3 allergen covers on the pillow, but we have not paid for a mattress encasement. I'm hoping dh will be convinced, but the allergy market seems to be a money-making racket. Why aren't there alternatives for poor people that have allergies? They make it so it's a "rich man" disease!
4) Furniture: Eventually, leather sofas would be in order. But we have inherited sofas with fabric. Any suggestions to keep clean?
5) Fans and A/C: We keep seeing the Trane commercial for a new unit that cleans the air...different than just a filter. Our unit is inadequate and another thing that needs to be replaced, but we might need to move to two than just one, as the upstairs doesn't get cool.
And b/c it doesn't get cool, we installed ceiling fans, which is a bad thing to stir up the dust. But when ds is drenched b/c his room is so hot, which is better for him? Sweat or sneeze?
Our house is just a haven for allergens. Ds was doing fine until this extra pollen kicked in this spring. I thought it would take a while for it to happen in his age. Poor thing. My allergies are bearable, but I'm 39, and had difficulty for many, many years. I was just praying that food allergies would be his only affliction.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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LisaD
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
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My dd has EA, which first started when we moved to CA from HI when she was 18 months old. This is the absolute worst time of year for her, since her worst EAs are Oak pollen and dust mites. We live in an area where there are oak trees every few feet! We don't have a/c in our house, and the bedrooms are upstairs, where temperatures can reach 100 degrees if the windows aren't kept open and fans running. So for her, what has worked best is Claritin in the morning and Benadryl at night, during the spring and early summer. Once the trees stop pollinating, she doesn't need medication every day.
We live in a rental house, so replacing the carpet and installing central a/c isn't an option for us. I do have metal blinds on the windows in the bedrooms, rather than curtains, and our mattresses and pillows are incased in dust-mite proof covers. I think I got them at Bed, Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. We don't have bed skirts on the beds, and all bedding is washed in hot water frequently. No stuffed animals in the bedrooms. There shouldn't be books in the bedrooms either, as they are big dust attractors, but we do have them there.
I've used allergen-reducing sprays on our upholstered furniture, but I can't tell if it makes any difference or not.
Oh, my dc always shower at night so they aren't carrying pollen into their beds, too.
HTH,
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 2:50pm | IP Logged
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LisaD wrote:
I do have metal blinds on the windows in the bedrooms, rather than curtains, and our mattresses and pillows are incased in dust-mite proof covers. I think I got them at Bed, Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. We don't have bed skirts on the beds, and all bedding is washed in hot water frequently. No stuffed animals in the bedrooms. There shouldn't be books in the bedrooms either, as they are big dust attractors, but we do have them there.
I've used allergen-reducing sprays on our upholstered furniture, but I can't tell if it makes any difference or not.
Oh, my dc always shower at night so they aren't carrying pollen into their beds, too.
HTH,
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That does help. We do have books....can't live without them. Bed Bath & Beyond, at least ours, allows you to redeem 8 of those coupons at a time. Doesn't matter if expired. So that's really helpful... I need to make a trip there for another purchase of a stepladder for ds to help me with the dishes.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Rachel May
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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My mom recently mentioned that she had given my brother raw honey every day when he was little for allergies, and he was telling her that he thinks it worked. The website I linked to is just one that I found on google that talks about it, but I don't really know.
Also, how about going to a healing mass?
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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marihalojen
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| Posted: May 10 2006 at 6:36pm | IP Logged
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I agree with the raw honey but I hear the trick is to get it locally as your allergy triggers are from local pollens. (We have even found Palm Tree honey down here and love the Key Lime honey,) so if you can find the certain grass, tree or plant triggers that are predominating right now in honey form it should help.
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Allergy Help
