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Original poster

4 year old with constant runny nose and congestion

14 replies

Nell1417 · 01/08/2015 21:38

Hi,

My daughter has constant nasal congestion, ie runny nose and permanently sounds like she's got a cold when she talks. This has been going on for about 2 years now and I'm running out of ideas of what to do to help her. She has been given two rounds of antibiotics in case it was an infection, been referred to ENT consultant twice and both times said it sounds like an allergy, and a few months ago got referred to an allergist who tested her for mould and pollen/hayfever allergies and the tests came back negative.

She has been prescribed a nasal spray and an oral antihistamine but that doesn't seem to be any help. ENT say they will not take out her adenoids as it isn't causing problems with her breathing and would rather treat the cause than the symptom (which I agree with) but I'm not sure where to go now as it's now affecting her speech. I did query with the allergist whether it could be an intolerance to a food, ie dairy or similar etc, but they said it was unlikely as she has no stomach symptoms and is a normal weight for her height.

I just wondered if anybody else has been in a similar situation.

Thanks,

Nell

OP posts:
TheHouseOnBellSt · 01/08/2015 23:37

My DD was the same and it was milk...she drank a lot. Another friend had this with her son and it was the boy's pet hamsters.

Original poster
Nell1417 · 02/08/2015 08:37

Thank you for your reply. I was actually wondering if it was milk as my DD also has lots of dairy. Did your DD have any other symptoms apart from runny nose? Did she had any digestive problems? The reason I ask is that I did actually mention whether dairy could be the problem to the allergist and she said she doubted it as DD didn't have any stomach problems and was a normal weight so didn't even test her for it. I wasn't convinced as thought it was possible to have a milk intolerance without any other symptoms.

Also, what do you give your DD instead of milk? Do you use goats milk instead?

Thanks,

Ellen

OP posts:
BabyMum1 · 02/08/2015 09:48

I think if u went to a private ent they'd definitely take out the adenoids
We had similar to urs when ds1 was almost 2 and got rid of them and since then he's perfect
Ds2 is only 10mo but adenoids so big he can't breath so getting rid of them in two weeks
If it's such a big problem wud h consider going private?

TheHouseOnBellSt · 02/08/2015 12:02

Nell she had odd unspecific stomach pains and some constipation but only briefly....as a toddler... She's not dairy allergic but we know she's sensitive..DD is now 7 and has a very small amount of milk, no cheese or yogurt....she has large adenoids which may need taking out.

cansu · 02/08/2015 13:45

is there any chance she has something stuck up her nose? My dd had constant horrid green running noise. It turned outshe had some fluff stuck up her nose which once removed cleared symptoms straight away.

Gileswithachainsaw · 02/08/2015 13:48

dairy allergy would be my guess too. as it's gone on so long she probably doesn't notice the symptoms as much hence why she appears to have normal weight gain and no gastric symptoms. It becomes normal for them.

bumbleymummy · 02/08/2015 19:50

I was going to suggest dairy too. Not everyone has stomach symptoms. Could you speak to someone about that as a possibility and discuss taking it out of her diet for a few weeks to see if it helps? There are other sources of calcium you can give her instead.

Gileswithachainsaw · 02/08/2015 20:14

If you do at tent dairy removal yiu may need to exclude soya at first too. nearly jag of children allergic/intolerant to the protein on the milk (as opposed to lactose) are also allergic to soya. you risk ruling out dairy when in fact she can't tolerate dairy you just haven't removed the soya.

maybetomorrow22 · 02/08/2015 20:26

We had this with DS1, backwards and forwards to ENT. They put it down to something he would grow out of. It did clear up after two years but he now has issues with his hearing, apparently he has slight hearing loss which is caused by congestion behind the ear drum. Now waiting on a referral back to ent

Original poster
Nell1417 · 02/08/2015 21:36

Thank you very much for your replies and advice. I'm definitely going to try cutting out dairy (and soya) for a few weeks and, fingers crossed, there will be an improvement.

OP posts:
gordonpym · 03/08/2015 10:47

Do you have a cat? Or is she near a pet regularly?
My son is allergic to cats and would sneeze and have other respiratory symptoms (and hives) if he touches a cat.

So yes definitely worth trying to remove dairy. No harm done. But if you do it, do it properly: not only milk, but cheese, butter, yoghurt, ice-cream, cream-based sauces for meats and fishes, milk chocolate ....

My son had dairy intolerance for 3 years and we were giving him rice "milk". The vanilla one tastes good. Goat milk is (and smells) horrendous.
For cooking and baking you use olive oil instead of butter and cream, for drinks and breakfast we used a juicer, prepare home-made ice-lollies

HadzNjie · 04/08/2015 18:05

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Tan543 · 04/09/2024 19:22

Hey how is your daughter now? Currently going through the same thing!

Tan543 · 04/09/2024 19:22

Hey how is your daughter now? Currently going through the same thing!

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