Please Help.. Hayfever /Medication....

[kelb6180]

Hello

It appears that my daughter of 7 months is suffering from hayfever. She is quite bad with it and I'm not sure what I can do to help her. Does anyone have any ideas?

Any help appriciated

Kel

Hayfever in such a little one would be considered unusual by doctors (actually my paed would consider it impossible). You definitely need to take her to your GP. As she is 7 months I presume you are still introducing new foods - could it be one of those.

Look on the Zyrtec website - it is licensed from 6 months in the States.

spoke to Tesco pharmacy earlier actually as ds was complaining of itchy eyes and nose runny, he said they did a syrup not sure what age you can use it though. They don't normally close until 9pm in most stores, maybe you could give them a ring, as always find them very helpful and you can ask to speak to the Pharmacist.

I have not introduced her to anything different recently. She seems to be established at the moment with her feeding. I know she is really stuggling with the heat we are having at the moment, and she is really getting hot and sweaty (very irritable)bless her. i will take her to the doctors first thing and see what they have to say.

thanks for your reply

or call NHS direct? i think the syrup thing is Piriton but i think that is only suitable for children over a year old.

yeah good suggestion but i live nowhere nr a tescos, i think its the piriton syrup thats 1 yr and over.

Other than the itchy eyes and runny nose what other things are common with hayfever. I've never surfered so I don't know

Just reading back through the posts bobbybob why would it be considered unusual/impossible for a little one to suffer?

found a natural remedy called 'luffa complex' has really helped me. its by bioforce (try google) and email the company I have used it while breastfeeding, its completely natural but have know idea whether it would be safe for a baby. I would say the best thing to do in the meantime is use water at every opportunity. buy a garden spray, fill with water and put it on a fine mist to spray room, pets, clothes, furniture, around windows and doors, yourself and daughter to dampen down the pollen. you can also get saline nose drops that are safe to use on your daughter which will wash away the pollen up her nose. if really bad i would change all her clothing, give her a bath/gentle shower including washing her hair and hope that works. you could also try a very light coating of vasaline up her nose but would only put a tiny amount up there in case it could block her breathing. use kitchen towel or wet wipes to clean her nose as the fibres in tissue can make irritation worse.

forgot to add that i think its the luffa complex tincture that may be suitable for children not the tablets or spray - you can get it in health food shops or online. i have also found the spray bottles in boots and superdrug in the travel section.

cheers shrub, thats very helpful. Its a real struggle with her today, she is so unsettled. I will try some of those things. thankyou

shrub, that's interesting. i am currently suffering badly from hayfever but bf so not able to take the normal tablets. is it effective? would you recommend the spray or the tablets?

My paed reckons that because all the pollen has a yearly cycle and you have to be exposed twice to become allergic hayfever can only occur in the second year of life.

It doesn't matter if it's hayfever or not - the doc can tell you if it looks like an allergic response to something and give necessary prescription. Lots of stuff that's not okay OTC is given to under 2s by doctors.

don't think I'd trust to the paed, bobbybob. What about picking up traces from the mothers blood or cross reactivity with other mambers of the same family? Agree about checking with the doctor though. Haven't tried luffa complex but agree with the rest of shrub's advice, especially hair washing.

csa - i haven't tried the spray or tablets - have found the tincture works so well that i don't want to tempt fate but have just looked at the directions for use on the packaging it does say 'not suitable for children under 2 years' - so i would try the water spray, not sure what they are called but you can get them at garden centres for spraying the leaves of indoor plants, they have a nozzle that you can adjust to a fine mist setting.

i have been told the same thing bobbybob. my ds started with hayfever when he was 3.

ds has had colds along with conjunctivitus before that, could that be a possibility?

i usually find that the snot (sorry!) is greenish for a cold and clear for allergy.

we were told the same thing by our paed bobbybob (we don't see one anymore) but I was absolutely convinced that dd had hayfever when she was around 10 months to 12 months. They said it was highly unusual but as she was born in August that it was possible she was exposed to pollen at that time and when she hit 10 months (Spring time) it was her second exposure if you see what I mean!

I agree with bobby and the rest - definitely go to the GP. They should be able to decide what she is suffering from (it may be something else that could be treated) and whether she needs any meds.

We have a history of hayfever and asthma in our family DD was terrible from 12months onwards but could not get a diagnosis till she was 2 gp refused to consider that she had allergy related asthma till i had rushed her into hospital on three occassions with breathing problems in the height of the hayfever season. She now has inhaled steroids which we use the whole year round, piriton when the pollen count is high and ventolin as necessary. They don't like to diagnose hayfever or asthma in under 5's as there is no established pattern till then (according to an obnoxious GP i saw when she was 18 months old!)