Hi all, just joined this board. I have a 3-year-old daughter (turns 4 in April) who shows signs of allergies. We're not sure what causes her periodic runny nose, mild cough. She has dark circles under her eyes some days, and I've been told that's a sign of allergies.
My question is, when should I get her tested for allergies? 3 years old seems a little young. Plus, 3 seems a little young for allergy meds. I don't want to put her on allergy meds if I don't have to.
Thoughts?
Hi Real GF - I don't know either on the age thing, but I agree with you that three seems young. Most allergy clinics use the "scratch type" of testing, and I hated it when I was an adult. They put a potential allergen on the skin and use a pin to "scratch" it in. Then they wait for a reaction. It's really non specific to me because my husband was the "immediate reaction" type that would get a huge welt and then it would go away in about 15 minutes. Mine would take an hour to come to full reaction, then bruise and turn purple and yellow for the next six weeks.
Check the website T consumerhealthdigest.com/ge... Symptoms and you can see the range of symptoms including dark eyes.
So a couple of thoughts. I had allergy blood testing done by a company call the AlCat company, but it is pretty expensive. It was about a $1k US when I had it done. And it covers food and other potential allergens, based on a couple of tubes of blood. Then you know what to avoid or rotate for sure. alcat.com/categories/
The other things you can do right now are to keep a diary of her symptoms, and the weather / food you are giving her and what her reactions are. Try eliminating some of the most common things and see how she does - like wheat and dairy. If she does better without them, introduce them gradually and see what her reaction is.
I'm not sure that this helps any but I agree - three seems kind of young for bunches of testing and shots =(
Good luck with whatever direction you go..
My suggestion to you is to make an appointment with a pediatric allergist and have her evaluated. Then you can make an informed decision. If and what testing would be needed. If you need help finding one we can suggest some in your area.
Hi RealGF,
As a veteran patient of allergy i can help you I think as I did help my 3y daugter as well and myself too.
First and foremost you should understand that allergy is a symptom not a disease. It is triggered by the allergens in the environment you live in like mold, pollenes, acariens, etc.
That said you should first cleanse the environment as much as possible. Change the sheets to polyester rather than cotton as cotton is home to acariens. If your little daugter sleeps in the same room with you it is the case to move her to a dedicated nice bedroom so she has enough air to breath in overnight.
Another thing you should do is stop giving her drugs (especially antihistamines and steroids) as they just mask the problem and cause sinusitis in long run. Instead, use natural remedies which are completely safe. The best one I's suggest is Eucalyptus Essential Oil. It is used via inhalation, 5-10 drops in 0.5l boiling water, 3-7mins inhaling. Do it every day. Te rest of the day you can give her use Mint Essential Oil if her nose is stuffy. It is a great decongestant.
Last but not least is, as she falls asleep drop some drops of Eucalyptus Essential oil on her pillow nearby the nose; this will kill the accarienes in the pillow thus giving here a safe pillow to sleep on.
Do these for a few days and come back so i can give you next tips.
Wow, thanks for the tips. We definitely plan to change her bedsheets more often. Could be dust mites causing it. She had a runny nose again last week but I think it may have been a cold, not allergies. We don't give her any medications unless it's cough medicine for a cold to help her sleep.
You r welcome. When you buy eucalyptus essential oil look for organic one. Also i forgot to mention that it is best if you cleanse her nose with a neti pot with physiological water, before doing the inhalation. For the inhalation use an iron tea pot
