To be absolutely sick of DS non stop allergies

[Purrdy]

They are driving me literally insane.
DS 13 asthmatic spends his whole entire life doing huge shouting type massive gargantuan sneezes, over and over and over again, they are non stop. Imagine a big dog barking and barking non stop - that's what his sneezing is like and they're that loud too. And non stop sniffing up snot sniff sniff sniff sniff, his nose is like a tap of never ending cattarh. Jesus, the arguments we have about his nose. "Freddy blow your nose!!!!" "No" "BLOW YOUR NOSE!!!" "No" "Freddy your constant sniffing and snorting is driving everyone in the house mad - BLOW YOUR NOSE". "Nooooo!" "Freddy BLOW YOUR NOSE!". He finally blows his nose, blows and blows and blows, as much as he blows it out the snot instantaneously refills, he blows, snot refills, he blows, snot refills. Immediately goes back to sneezing and sniffing and snorting and says "See, this is why I don't blow my nose, there's no point whatsoever, it's pouring out of my nose straight after no matter how much I blow it". This goes on all day, all night. Kids at school turn round at their desks or nudge him and say "Mate, blow your nose". Sitting round the table for dinner is appalling, my other DC shout "Ughh, it's putting us off our food! He's sneezing over our food! (Even though he covers his mouth and nose as much as he can with his elbow or a hankie) his snot is so loud it's disgusting!" He sits there looking dejected at the table.
I am at my wits end.
It goes on all summer because of pollen. Now it's October so there's no pollen but it's still the same level of relentless 100 decibel repetitive sneezing and gallons of catarrh pouring in to his nose. It will go on all winter too, just like it has the past 2 winters. Then all spring. It is year round every year.
We're dusting everywhere, cleaning the floors non stop, pulling out his bed non stop to clean under it, I've removed curtains, got rid of carpet and rugs, bought hypoallergenic mattress covers/pillow covers/duvet, boil wash at 90 degrees his bedding every few days, OMG the work it's creating is exhausting me on top of everything else I have to do. Mometasone and beconase nasal sprays don't work at all. He takes 180mg Fexofenadine daily which is an adult dose for treating hives - you'd think if it treats hives in an adult then it would sort out a 13 year olds non stop sneezing and running cattarh....but no, it doesn't touch it. GP said he can't have any higher dose than that.
I just don't know what to do.
It's making him really depressed and it's sheer HELL to live with.
It's driving the whole family insane but me especially as I spend most time with him.
Can anyone at all give me any help or experience?!

Poor boy.

I take it that he’s not had investigations to diagnose what it is that he’s allergic to?

That needs addressing and then more targeted and effective treatment can start.

This sounds like more than hay fever and allergies. This needs an ENT referral. I'm shocked you haven't pushed for this seeing as he's now 13 and things haven't improved, so yes YABU.

Can see why that would be hugely irritating, but you need to get to the bottom of what's causing the problem.

The poor child.

Plantago drops in water three times a day have changed my life. Has to be worth a try, you can get them on Amazon. ( Vogel). Look up the benefits online.

My bro was allergic to newsprint. Do you have newspapers in the house?

Immunology put me on montelukast which was a game changer for allergies. I take that and fexofenidine and nasal spray.
Get him to rinse his sinuses morning and night. You can buy cans of saline.
I would ask for ent referral as could have adenoid problems and immunology for allergies

If he’s asthmatic have you tried Montelukast? It targets the upper respiratory symptoms of asthma (inhalers etc tackle lower).

it changed my life to be honest! I didn’t realise how much the symptoms were impacting my ability to sleep, exercise etc.

@Purrdy i sneezed lots like it was hayfever, I was generally quite gross and gave me bad breath from mouth breathing etc

Dymista nasal spray beconase did nothing

This will be a long one:
@Purrdy Your poor son. Imagine being yelled at constantly by everyone because of a medical problem, something you cannot control.
He likely needs a multifaceted approach:
Allergist
Ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist
Sinus rinse with neti pot
allergy medication
nasal sprays

Re neti pot/sinus rinse: water must be boiled (5 mins) then cooled before use. I cool to 36c - 38c for use. This is imperative as it must be sterile and potential parasites must be killed by boiling. Do not use hot water taps. If your kettle shuts off at boiling, or doesn't boil long enough, boil water on the stove.
I use the Neil Med kit and have for years. You can find it on Amazon. The squeeze bottle is easiest. When nose is running like a faucet I will rinse each nostril 2-3x up to 4x a day. So much relief is gained this simple way as nose is cleaned out much better than by blowing and the rinse is soothing. Remember to breathe out through your mouth as you squeeze/flush with the rinse solution.

Allergy meds: you have to cycle them. They must be taken daily and take 30 days in your system to be effective. Don't take the same one all the time. Read labels and buy brands with different active ingredients. Use regularly.

I use Mometasone. It's safe for long term daily use and is best at reducing swelling to prevent sinus infections. Your ds is likely prone to them, as am I, due to constant irritation/inflammation of the sinus cavities and nasal passages. Continue use until things settle down.

OTC sprays to open nasal passages. Package says 3 days max. My ENT says okay up to 7 days when active sinus infection and trouble breathing. I'll often just use in worst side. I use these sprays here and there when I feel nasal passage is even a bit closed.

Really push for the specialists. ENT will confirm/rule out deviated septum, for example, among other things. Invaluable if you get a good one, especially if they will follow your ds for a few seasons to check meds and protocols. Same with allergist. Repeat allergy testing is imperative.

Your ds is likely miserable. I know I was until above. It took a long time to find a good regimen.

Has he got an air purifier in his room?

I use Sterimar to clear my sinuses. Makes a big difference. The ENT consultant I was referred to for nosebleeds recommended it. It washes out allergens and mucus, but also moisturises nasal membranes (apparently).

For the sinus issues try Fluticasone Furoate Nasal Spray. It's non-Rx here in the US, not sure about the UK. It's not an antihistamine, it's a mast cell blocker. It takes about 2 weeks to start working but it's great on hay fever and allergies. After a couple of allergy seasons you get to know when to start it to be in full effect when the allergy season really kicks in and when to stop as the allergens are gone. For me that's from around Easter until late June, then again in late Sept until around mid-November.

For the asthma try fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder (Rx only in the US). It has changed my life.

Hopefully these are both available in the UK and suitable for your son. And try to remember he hates the sneezing, blowing, hacking, and wheezing more than you do. Poor kid.

He needs a referral

FWIW I have severe hives and fexofenadine was like taking a tic tac. Did nothing
I'm on Xolair now

Poor kid. He needs help not reminding to blow his nose, though I know how irritating it can be to listen to. I think he needs referring to a specialist who can reassess and maybe change his medication or give further treatment.

Poor poor fella. He must be so desperately unhappy, what with the misery of being permanently snotty his own family berate him over something not his fault and that he has no control over.

Put yourselves in his shoes FFS.

He should be taken to see every specialist possible - either via GP referral or put your hands in your pockets and go private.

He could have nasal polyps which an operation would remove. Clive James describes being exactly like your son and his problem was polyps.

Stop moaning at him and be a decent parent by getting him diagnosed and treated!

Sounds like mast cell activation syndrome

I was like that when I lived in a dusty house. Since I moved house I’ve barely sneezed.

Not without some indication of concurrent symptoms?
it's likely chronic sinusitis triggered by environmental irritants. PPs have mentioned possibility of polyps and deviated septum which need to be investigated. A good ENT will refer to infectious disease specialist to determine fungal infections or presence of micro organisms, ie mold spore presence, parasites.
Since OP's ds has done all first line treatment, case warrants further investigation

@Purrdy

fwiw I have a minor deviated septum which causes one side to plug and the other to run just enough to be chronic and leave me prone to sinus infections. Hence my advice to irrigate nasal passages with sinus rinse/neti pot and continue with sprays and otc allergy meds. The sinus rinse is a saline solution. The sinus saline sprays are not sufficient for irrigation, but good for keeping membranes moist. However, in very small children saline sprays help clear lower nostrils.

I had terrible hayfever as a child and eczema being the 1980s nothing was done other than sudacrem for my skin. Years later found out I had gluten intolerance since stopping gluten no eczema or hay fever!

Your poor son....

It's truly awful to be constantly blocked up. I have been having similar issues but started as an adult and no athma.. Got diagnosed with multiply allergies but nothing specific enough i.e dust that I could clearly link to the onset of symptoms.
What truly helped was a major diet change. I went on antyinflammatory diet. Cut out all upf, sugar, diary and gluten initially. After some time I reintroduced diary..nowdays I can handle gluten in small quantities too.
I would look at his diet...Definitly try cutting out sugar and diary for a couple of weeks to see if there is any difference..

Neti pot (with salt water) has given me a lot of relief but it was temporary.

You need to get him to see a specialist doctor and I would also try elimination diet.

Can you name ANY places (holiday, other houses) where this doesn’t happen?

He needs seeing by an allergy consultant. My daughter is having immunotherapy

This, poor lad. What is the situation with his sinuses? I had a FESS operation at 21 because I finally realised it’s not normal to think you have a cold almost every week. I didn’t constantly drip or have explosive sneezes, but I did feel clogged all the time. Poor, poor boy, it’s so awful.

Agree with further investigation, whilst waiting for the NHS do a York allergy test to give you a heads up on what the problem specifically is I think they start from around £60 and turn around is pretty quick