Tell me about Hayfever and DCs. Dr thinks that DD (5) might have it....

[Portofino]

She's been rubbing her eyes for a good few days but also seems to have developed a cold with a irritating cough. Took her to GP to get checked over. She has no fever, no sore throat or swollen glands, but puffy eyes and a blocked up nose.

GP thinks it could be hayfever and as prescribed a once a day anti-histamine syrup. DH and I are lucky that we've never suffered with any allergies, so I don't know a lot about it.

Colleagues are telling me that she is young for hayfever and that it normally hits around puberty. But also that there are reported high pollen levels in Belgium over the last ten days or so.

Will have to keep up the medicene all summer? Keep an eye on pollen levels? Any advice gratefully received...

i had hayfever from a very young age-remember being about 5 and having itchy eyes etc (and have them now too despite all the blooming rain)
GP should be able to do allergy tests to check.
may not need medicine all summer-depends exactlty what she's allergic to. With me it's mainly grass pollen, june tends to be the worst month, then it tails off.

DS1 who is nearly 14 has suffered from it for about 4 years. DS2 who is 7 has it quite badly this year and did get it last year a bit. Neither of my DD's gets it or me but dh does.
I think you can develop it at any age.

My ds was quiet young when he first started suffering with hay fever. (He's 16 now and still does).

The anti-histamine helped, but other stuff to consider are, not letting him roll around in newly cut grass; not as easy as it sounds when his friends are doing it .
Shower before bed, and wash hair to get rid of pollen.
Don't dry his bed linen outdoors if you can avoid it.
Keep his bedroom window closed if pollen levels are high.

I've been a hayfever sufferer for years, and so I know how bad it can make you feel. You can be fine earlier in the day, and by evening feel so miserable, tired, grumpy, and sore. But then it passes quickly and you can't believe you were so miserable an hour ago.

My DD had hayfever when she was about 2 so I don't think 5 is too young at all.

Thankfully she's actually grown out of it now and doesn't suffer anything like how she used to.

Eating locally produced honey from bees in your area will help to build up a natural resistance to airborne pollen but I think it has to be done earlier than the summer months, it isn't a quick fix.

Straight up bees pollen is an even more effective way to combat hayfever. You can buy it online or in health food shops but again the earlier in the year you take it the more effective it is.

Thanks Guys! Some useful tips! I'll try her on the syrup for a week and see what happens - if I need to step it up a bit. I found the manufacturer's website, and there is lots of allergy advice so I shall read up on the subject later.

Adolescence my foot! I've had it since I was 7. DS1 has it, it was clear to me that he did as a toddler. DS2 seems to have escaped.

We're in the UK and DS1 takes antihistamine daily from the start of May to mid-July. I do the same. Don't know about your local conditions, but the medicine has no side effects, so we stick with it.

If a child's eyes get sore, I find that they hate eye drops and a cold wet flannel is more help. It also makes them lie down for a bit which generally improves things.

DS (7) started with hayfever at around four, and the symptoms were pretty much as you describe, Portofino. It starts more or less on his birthday (early May) and goes on for a couple of months. He was allergy-tested for nut allergy, which incidentally revealed pollen allergies, so it is definitely hayfever rather than a long cold!

I now just dose him up with cetirizine something-or-other before school every morning regardless of the weather. There are no side effects, and he doesn't mind the taste, so that seems the easiest way to deal with it!

I have Aerius or something. Is it better to take it in the morning or the evening? It seemed like such a small dose - 2.5ml.

Don't know which is best, sorry.

Sorry - didn't mean about that specific medicine. More a case of does it make a difference if they have it morning or evening?

I tend to split the dose - I give him half in the morning and the other half in the evening if he's had a bad day. But if it's a very pollen-y day, I'd give the whole dose in the morning!