Can a five month old baby have hayfever?

[Elibean]

gp is being cautious and saying she's never seen it in an under three. dh had very bad hayfever as a child, and dd2 seems to have the worst sort of blocked nose especially at night - she did have a streaming cold over Easter, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

She rubs her eyes (no conjunctivitis or discharge) and her nose often, especially past few days, and sneezes when taken outside, though not all the time.

Its probably the tail end of the cold, or teething, but I can't help wondering - could it possibly be allergy related?

sorry, read that back and its a tad confusing: what comes of endless nights of getting up 7 or 8 times to help baby breathe!

MY DS2 was suspected to have CF as he had a persistent night time cough etc from 2 months old, after loads of tests they eventually decided it was actually hayfever and asthma [relief] and he has been treated for this since! So yes I think a baby can get hayfever!

that must have been so scary, glad things worked out as 'only' allergies!

Thanks for repling - have to admit, am sceptical of the 'babies don't get hayfever' line, for some reason.

Hope you manage to get things sorted. I have to say it may have been because we were under a paediatrician that we got the treatment !?! - It was definately a huge relief to find out it was 'just' asthma/hayfever

Eli, could it be a food intolerance? Mine has had a bad nose (not as bad as yours) for about 6 weeks - my mum keeps saying 'poor thing, he's got a cold' but surely colds can't last this long! and the rest of him seems fine! This morning I woke up to find snot over his cheeks, on his eyelids, in his hair....cleaned him off. After a 30 min morning nap I again found snot all over cheeks etc - only thing is he hates me going anywhere near his nose with a hanky! I have already cut out dairy and eggs as I am intolerant, dh says I have to cut out wheat as he is intolerant to that so could have passed it on...? Plus ds has exzema (not in family) and 'concerns over weight gain' so I am thinking food intolerance, as I would think hayfever would have better and worse days and your dd seems to be consistenetly bad?
Anyway, I'm interested in finding out what your underlying cause is so I can then see if that applies to my LO. I am thinking of pushing for a dietician referral at my next HV check.

Elibean - your DD sounds very similar to my DS (8 months). He's also just over a bad cold but his nose is still streaming and now he has conjunctivitis - he's waking up loads in the night not being able to breathe properly. I wondered about hayfever too as me and DP both get it - DS also has excema so he could be prone to allergies. I heard its rare in young children/babies but not impossible so it might be worth getting it checked out again if it doesn't get better - I'm going to take DS to the docs again as his eyes are still red and runny after using eye drops for a few days.

Thanks, 2gb

Hi Sacha, and iwould....interesting thoughts, thanks. Both my dds seem to have mild eczema (dd1's never got beyond a few red patches that cleared up easily with lowest dose steroid cream) and dh definitely has hayfever, though never had food allergies or asthma.

I'm wondering if food intolerance would cause that kind of increase in mucous, Sacha (poor ds!), or whether it would just inflame/swell nasal membranes?? tbh, I don't know much about food allergies - but I will be on the look out, and definitely worth trying altering my diet.

I'm hoping its the tail end of the cold - someone told me today that they can go on for weeks in babies; very frustrating and totally knackering though.

Here's hoping all our LOs breathe more easily, and sleep soundly, soon - I'll update any changes/info

just realizing, if weight gain issues are typical of food intolerances, that doesn't fit with dd. Hayfever though...

2gb, what did your paed treat ds with? I thought even Piriton wasn't available for the under ones? Though imagine it depends on who's prescribing..

Sacha, a Mum in our street mentioned to dh today that colds in babies can go on for six weeks , there do seem to be a horrible amount of them around late this year. Here's hoping it clears up fast, if it is one..

My daughter had conjuntivitis when she was 8 months in the summer. Doctor did wonder if it was hayfever but said it was very unlikely because she had not been through a season exposure prevously to become sensitised. She is 9 now and (touchwood) hasn't got hayfever although son has!

Eli, not sure if weight gain (or lack of it) would be related to food intolerance or not, just my supposition!
My own food intolerances manifest themselves as blocked / snotty nose, sneezing and tiredness - so I often think I am coming down with a cold then realise I have eaten something.....
Fingers crossed it is just a cold that's lasted 6 weeks!