Hayfever meds & drowsiness in 15 m.o.

[AngelDog]

If a hayfever medicine makes you drowsy, does it make you want to sleep more than usual, or just sooner than you might usually (does that make sense?)

15 m.o. DS has been prescribed Allerief (chlorphenamine maleate) for suspected hayfever which I gave him for the first time today.

This morning I fed him (bf) an hour and a half before his usual nap and he was falling asleep, which is very unusual. I didn't let him sleep and kept him going for another hour as if he has an early nap it's often shorter than usual and he's overtired by bedtime. However, I had to wake him after his lunchtime nap as he was fast asleep way past the usual time he'd sleep.

I wondered if the meds would mean he needs more sleep (in which case I'll know tomorrow to let him sleep earlier) - if not, I'll just give them closer to his usual nap time.

I'm keen not to mess with his normal routine too much as he's been under the weather and needs what sleep he can get at the moment.

One further question (sorry): might a chesty cough be worse due to an allergy? He's had a chesty phegm-y rattle in his chest for about 3 months now and it's been worse the last couple of weeks, which coincided with hayfever-like symptoms (in him and me). I've noticed that he's not had a single coughing fit since bedtime tonight which is really unusual, and the hayfever medication is the only thing I can think of that's changed.

The GP has given us an inhaler to try to see if it's asthma, but we've not used it yet. DS had antibiotics for his chest a couple of months ago, but since then both GPs I've seen have said it sounds okay, despite it really bothering DS and keeping him awake at night.

Thanks.

Chlorphenamine is also known as 'knockout drops' in parenting circles - it's the doping ingredient in medised. It knocks the majority of children flat out, although he'll probably get used to it, It's a very effective antihistimine though. I give my children Loratidine but they are older, I buy it OTC, but you could ask your doctor if he could have that instead.

Do you live near rapeseed? I get asthma symptoms when the rapeseed's out. not any time else though.

'Knockout drops sounds about right - getting drowsy has never been something that happens to him easily! I look forward to getting a good night's sleep for a change.

I'm not sure how near we are to any rapeseed, although there is some around our town. We were near a field last week and neither DS nor I seemed to have a particularly bad day hayfever-wise, but I can't remember what his cough was like as I'd not made that connection before. Thanks - I'll make a point of checking next time we're in the country.

I take cetirizine myself, and haven't had any problems with drowsiness but the syrup is for age 2+.