going to see the GP tomorrow about dd's (9) persistent 'hayfever' - what to expect please?

[geekgirl]

Dd1 has had what appears to be allergic rhinitis for over a year now, she also occasionally suffers with shortness of breath and a productive cough at times. We usually just treat it with Clarityn and to be honest I have probably been too cavalier about it and should have gone before .

The main issue is that I can't pinpoint what she is allergic to. It is quite bad in her room - I'm wondering whether it's her hamster but really would need to get her tested before we gave said hamster away. But she does occasionally have problems at school and has sneezing attacks after swimming - she can sneeze and sneeze for 15 minutes solid in the car afterwards.

I really could do with knowing what specifically she is allergic to - if I knew she was allergic to dust mites for instance I would seriously step up the cleaning regime and get an air filter for her bedroom. If it's the hamster, I'd rehome it.

Will the GP refer her for testing or will they just prescribe antihistamines and an inhaler?

[mum2ds1]

my ds gets persistant hayfever? from end of march till sometimes the end of sept.
my doc has said it is definately allergy cough he has and prescribed him a inhaelor he has 2 puffs at night before bed and a antihistamine. although we can take him off it when we feel he needs to. he hasnt had any for a week now and is ok . but i know come spring he will start again.
oh he sneezes terrible after swimming lessons too.....
we have recently had a cat and ds does not react to him!
i do tend to shut his bedroom window at about 3pm as all the pollen and other nasties will prob be comming back down by then. and when he gets bad i tend to change his bedding every other day and hoover ever day just incase.........................
my son was on piriton and when i first went to docs with him i told him the piriton just doesnt touch him and i was told it probably isnt suited to him and he prescribed ds with cetirizine which seems to suit him better.

good luck at the docs and i hope your daughter is feeling better soon.

[chapstickchick]

our ds was like a slug he continually had a drippy nose and always had 3 cotton hankies on him,tbh as ignorant as it sounds i thought he was just a 'drippy nosed kid' then we visited friend with many cats-well his eyes puffed up his breathing became short (he does have mild asthma) the friend gave him piriton and it settled nd it was only then i realised the drippy nose thing stopped too fter buying anti histamine for about 6 weeks i thought bout the health implications and went to the G.P he has prescribed him permant cetirizine to take s needed throughout the year.

[hennipenni]

My DD3 aged 7 is exactly the same and has been like this since she was born. She is now on Becotide twice a day and ventolin as needed and has loretadine 5 mls in the morning. We have never discovered what the cause is although we know that my mums cat starts her off but doesn't react to our own or our hamster.

She is always bad when she wakes up with runny nose, eyes, copious amounts of snot and mucous(Sorry!), coughing , wheezing and sneezing. There's no particular time of the year when it's any worse or better. We have asked numerous times for allergy testing but have been refused on the grounds that it's a environmental allergy and there fore it could take years to find the source.

We always have all windows open winter as well as summer, all bedlinen etc washed at 60. all toys in boxes with lids to make it easier to wipe them down, we are in the process of removing the carpets to see if that has any effect. We have found that the only time she is sniffle etc free is when we are on holiday abroad.