Has anyone found anything to help severe dust allergies?

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

My 7yr old DS has a severed dust must alert and also pollen.
He was under ENT because he cannot breathe properly though his nose at all due to it being so inflamed, he constantly has his mouth hanging open and makes so much noise when eating and struggles with lots of exercise.

He has had his adenoids out but that didn't have any effect and the surgeon said afterwards he thought that would be the same because the nada passages are so swollen due to inflammation.
His blood tests show his allergies (especially to dust) is off the scale high.

He's now been signed off by them because they don't feel they can do anymore, they said give daily cetirazine and a nasal spray (Avamys) but neither do a single thing to alleviate the symptoms.
We've also tried nasal rinsing but that doesn't help either plus DS has ADD and Dyspraxia so he can't cope with the sensory issues that come with water being sprayed up his nose.

We have done all the house things, removed carpets, Hoover twice daily, toys are in plastic lidded boxes, wet dusting daily, Dyson air purifier on daily, bedding all in anti allergy cases and washed/changed regularly. No soft toys apart from one special one that goes in the freezer.

Does anyone know of anything else? At 7 I can't imagine him living his life unable to breathe through his nose.

He uses Fluticasone furoate which is a corticosteroid, it's never really had any effect though despite using it over 6 months. I'm not sure if it's worth asking the GP if we try another one and/or another antihistamine.

Sounds horrendous. My sympathies. Would a face-mask ever be practical?

I have no experience or advice but just wanted to say that I really hope someone comes along with something useful.
It must be awful to watch him struggle. And on top of that you have so much extra work to do. I really hope it eases for you all.

I am prescribed fexofenadine for my dust allergy and it is brilliant. Cetirazine didnt help at all and neither did my inhalers.

It can be taken by children over the age of 6 and so I'd certainly recommend it for your DS.

I basically went to the GP and asked to be prescribed it.

Good luck!

Have you tried Loratadine (active agent in attached). I believe Loratadine is in a different chemical family than Cetirizine. (But your GP has presumably thought of this)

Does your vac have a HEPA filter? Very pleased with the Miele but I believe they are quite common now.

Do you use a tumble drier? It shakes the allergens out but also cooks them. Draping indoors encourages mould and mildew and their spores.

Could people be bringing in allergens on their clothes and hair? You can actually put coats, jumpers and pillows through the dryer to remove dust (also kills moths and other insects)

No pets?

Change your washing powder and other cleaning products, and reduce usage.

You could push for SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy) but might have to go private. Does he take antihistamines? My dc had a steroid inhaler for his dust mite reaction but is on Yr 2 of SLIT and has been able to come off the inhaler and his skin prick test reaction is already reduced.

Sorry missed the mention of cetirizine in your op.

Have you tried different antihistamines???

That would be the most obvious thing to try.

I've had immunotherapy but not sure it really helped tbh. I then got pets (also allergic to them) and now my body masks as it can longer cope with reacting so my symptoms are far less!

You could ask for a referral to a paediatric immunologist and allergist, especially to make sure you aren't overlooking an allergen. Definitely try a different antihistamine and nasal spray. Eye drops may help. An inhaler may help, especially for exercise. Immunotherapy would help.

DS1 has dust mite allergy, allergen specific immunotherapy isn't suitable for him, but his reaction to house dust mites improved after starting Xolair.

I was also going to mention seeing an immunologist if you haven't already.
One of my sons has multiple allergies including house dust mite. The immunologist told us that we had to treat all the potential entry sites so to speak. So he was on eye drops, nasal spray, inhalers (salbutamol and steroid), ceterizine, monteleukast and a selection of creams for his skin. Plus of course we took all the usual steps in the house. Before that the GP had tended to focus on whatever symptom was worst at the time and viewed them all as separate entities. But the immunologist took the view that all his atopic problems were in fact manifestations of the same thing and all needed to be treated aggressively and simultaneously. That approach really seemed to help, and things have also improved with time.
He is 14 now and though his food allergies are still quite a big problem he is much better with environmental allergens and is off all regular medication except his inhalers now. He still reacts to pollen at specific times of the year and needs to go back on the nasal spray, eye drops and antihistamine for a bit, but the dust nightmare seems to be over. He even coped pretty well when we had some building work done recently, which would probably have hospitalised him when he was younger.
Hope things improve for your son soon. I know how miserable this can be.

Have you tried hoovering less often (and open all the windows and doors when you do) as hoovering disturbs the dust and throws it back into the air. (And that's with a HEPA filter too) DH has a mild dust allergy and is mainly symptomatic on days I hoover, so I have to warn him so he can take his allergy meds.

I spoke to the GP who was very nice he gave DS NeoClarytin for a month and is contacting the ENT who saw DS for advice on referral to an allergy specialist and any further options.

We do have pets but not tested for pet allergy, so I will get that done ASAP. The new antihistamine hast made any difference at all.
DS is really suffering this weekend, where he can't breathe when he's eating he gulps in air between mouthfuls and then ends up with awful trapped wind and stomach pain for the rest of the night.

Does he have feather pillows or duvet and do you have cats?

No he has hypoallergenic bedding. No cats but we have a dog/guineapigs and a hamster.

I've booked in to have a comprehensive allergy panel done, he can't go on like he is.

Poor little thing. I know I'm not a child but I have asthma, chronic rhinitis and a pet hair and dust allergy. It can be so miserable so understand how he's feeling. I'm on fexofenodene for the allergies and it is brilliant. The nasal spray I use is Nasonex. It takes a while for it to kick in but once it does, it really does work. I also find that red meat makes me wheeze so that might be something to consider. Also, do you make him blow his nose? That can make the inflammation worse so better to just dab with a tissue. I think if you can find the right combination of meds, it will make a big difference. Good luck x

Do the g-pigs have hay???

It's horrific for me, they could have fleece bedding instead though. I think he will be allergic to all the pets I'm afraid

Hay is bad for me too - and I am allergic to guinea pigs.

I have a coconut husk mattress that dust mites can't stay in and a hoover with a water tank which catches anything the hepa filter doesn't it's a German make called Thomas

Our 4yo with dust mite allergy was given nasal steroid spray for nose congestion by allergy pediatric consultant and we were told to go back to GP to ask for referral to immunology clinic in case congestion doesn’t improve in 4-6 weeks on nasal steroids. They said our case would then be assessed and we can potentially get immunotherapy. Things haven’t improved in 3 weeks time (still nose full of green snots), but I think we have no chance of having immunotherapy on nhs as our case is quite mild (especially compared to yours), from what you say I would try to pursue this option with GP referral.

Green snot means he has a virus or infection like a cold, with allergies it's clear mucus you produce...

Neo-clarityn helped my dd. She also takes Singulair for her asthma and this is supposed to help allergy symptoms.
We had to re-home our guinea pigs as she developed an allergy over time.
Have you tried a physical barrier like Haymax balm applied to outside of the nose?

It will be the dander from the dog mainly. I'm afraid the dog has to go. I have a dog myself and I didn't need any asthma medication when we were inbetween dogs. Got a new puppy and can't breath again, back onto some steroids from taking none for years. You (I) do get used to it, but cats I find really hard now at other people's houses. Although I find steroid inhaler twice a day does help prevent issues after years of resisting it.

Yes lots of hay, although they live outside.
If the allergy tests come back as showing allergies to animal dander then they'll have to be re-homed.
Luckily the couple who look after our dog while we're on holiday would have him in a heartbeat (he's a long haired teacup chihuahua who is dopey as anything and they adore him!)
The hamster and the Gpigs might be tougher, we'll see what the tests say first, obviously we don't want to give up our pets but the kids have to come first.

No medication has ever made even a hint of difference to DS's symptoms so far, and the GP says he's limited as to what he can give because DS can't reliably swallow tablets but I don't know if any others will help if the 3 already tried don't.