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General health

keep off school?

18 replies

pleaserewind · 09/06/2005 09:41

ds2 is suffering terribly with hayfever this week. He's not sleeping because his nose is so bunged up etc. He spends most of his time holding a cold cloth to his eyes.
His eyes were actually not too bad this mornig until he rubbed the suncream in to them aaaaaaaaargh! (bottle says seek medical advice but i have just rinsed them out..bad mummy alert?)
I have sent him to school because it's not really an illness is it? But, i think he's goign to have a really hard time today. What would you do?
btw i have tried all sorts of medicines and at the moment he has inhalers, eye drops, antihistamine syrup and nasal spray. He is 6.

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TracyK · 09/06/2005 10:19

Why not call the school and see how he's doing at lunchtime - maybe he could come home early?

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Newbarnsleygirl · 09/06/2005 10:22

I know my friend suffers with Hayfever badly and when I saw her the other day she was saying that she's started to wear her sunglasses at work as it's the only way she can get any work done.

Could your ds do that, I know it's not ideal and not a miricle cure but it might help. I'm sure the school would understand.

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flamesparrow · 09/06/2005 10:22

Sounds a strange question, but have you considered taking him to an allergist? I went when I was about 13, and we found I was allergic to various things - for me it wasn't actually pollen, but the mould spores from the trees in the summer.

I was on pills for a few months, and gradually came off them, and I haven't been half as bad since. Yes, I still sneeze, but my eyes don't swell up etc.

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KBear · 09/06/2005 10:23

pleaserewind - you are living my life today exactly. DD is 6, same problem. Never suffered before. She looked so awful this morning I asked her if she wanted to stay home and she did. Usually she begs me to let her go to school when she has a cold or whatever so I knew she was feeling rough.

There must be something particular pollen released into the air this week because she was fine last week and has only suffered since being back at school since Monday. There must be a tree in the playground affecting her I think.

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Lonelymum · 09/06/2005 10:24

Don't know what to advise as mine don't get hayfever, but wanted you to know, you are not alone. I overheard someone saying at school today that her dd came out of school crying yesterday because they had cut the grass on the school field and she had been suffering ever since. What a nightmare it must be.

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Toothache · 09/06/2005 10:26

PR - I suffered with bad hay fever at that age too..... in fact up until I was 21! I missed school a few time and could never take part in Sports Day (suited me fine though!)!

I remember the days sitting in class with a wet paper towel on my eyes. It is awful, but if you kept him off school every time he's bad then he'll probably miss a lot of school.

Taking precautions at home really helps.... like not drying his clothes/bed sheets on the line. Keeping windows closed or putting fine net curtains on the windows.

It will get better as he gets older. It's just such a sh*t thing to have. Especially when your eyes swell up as it makes you feel like sleeping!

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flamesparrow · 09/06/2005 10:28

Oooh - not just me with the sleeping then. Most people I speak to say about the itchy eyes and sneezing, but look at me like I'm crazy when I say that my eyes would swell up so much that I would get drowsy and just fall asleep where I was (including in a history test at senior school )

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Toothache · 09/06/2005 10:33

FS - lol... It didn't help that the antihistamines I took used to knock me out!

The best thing to do is to stop him scratching his eyes. When the mild itch starts the 1st reaction is to scratch..... that in turn irritates the eye lid which usually encourgages tiny lumps to appear under the eyelid.... this causes major irritation (feels like sand in your etes).... then the eyes become really swollen.

But how do you tell a 6 yr old not to scratch!?

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foxinsocks · 09/06/2005 11:24

aaarrggghh have just been called to pick up dd from school as her eyes are so bad

I've stopped everything I was doing, driven to the school to find her playing happily in the playground (though admittedly her eyes are very red)!

anyway, she's now sat at home feeling very bored and sorry for herself. I think this week is particularly bad because both dh and I are suffering as well.

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pleaserewind · 09/06/2005 11:59

what do you give your dd foxinsocks?

does anyone know whther its o.k to give nose sprays, drops, medicine all together?

maybe i'm overdosing the poor fella aswell

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KBear · 09/06/2005 12:17

I'm going to take my DD to doc tonight to get some advice and some antihistamines hopefully. If I find out anything useful about how to treat I will let you all know.

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Toothache · 09/06/2005 12:18

PR - Oh yes, I had a cocktail of drugs too! As long as it's cleared with the GP, if more than one contains antihistamines.
Every year they prescribed something different, it's like a hit or miss, trial and error.

Eventually settled for a rhinolast nasal spray, Salbutamol Inhaler, Becotide Inhaler and neo-clarytin tablets.

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SoupDragon · 09/06/2005 12:45

Someone recommended a teaspoon of local honey eeach day to stop hayfever.

DS1 gets it quite badly but the only place he suffers with it is at school! He has never had anything other than an occaional sneeze anywhere else but at school it's red eyes, runny nose the works. He came home yesterday looking like someone had punched him in one eye! Apparently there's s ahouse in a road adjacent to the school that sells honey from their hives - I'm trying to track it down so that I don't have to keep dosing him with benadryl.

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foxinsocks · 09/06/2005 13:31

I give dd very little (I'm just realising!). Like soupdragon, hers is much worse at school but then we only have a patio at the back and at school they are lucky enough to have grass playing fields and I think this is the problem.

She is already on becotide and ventolin for her asthma and she sometimes needs hydrocortisone cream for her eczema so I'm a bit reluctant to give her much more than the occasional piriton dose.

Having said that, if she can't go back to school tomorrow I'll have to go to the doc to see what they say. It could be that she's rubbed her eyes so much that she's got an infection or something.

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Toothache · 09/06/2005 13:34

Foxinsocks - I used to get Stye's on my eyes regularly during the summer months. But they would be quite obvious as an infection though as they usually have a big pussy head! >bolk<

What about homeopathic rememdies?? They will work in the same way as small dose of local honey does.

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foxinsocks · 09/06/2005 14:09

yes, do you remember gloworm? she used to post on here - I think she had a health/herbal shop in Ireland and she gave me the name of something once. I will try the honey thing though - we have a pick your own farm that's not too far a journey (called Garson's - in Esher - it's absolutely brilliant if you haven't been) and I'm sure they will have some local honey.

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foxinsocks · 09/06/2005 14:10

sorry pleaserewind, diverted a bit from your thread! I hope your ds is OK. Makes me sad to think that the older ones have to write exams and SATS when they have such bad hayfever.

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gloworm · 19/06/2005 15:15

just noticed my name so thought i'd suggest something herbal (i only have time for a brief look at mumsnet on a sunday,so mostly just lurk these days!)

Bioforce Luffa complex is the herbal remedy we sell the most of during this time of year. It works for both hayfever and allergenic rhinitis. It comes in drops which you add to water/juice/squash and take 3 times a day. a 6 year old would take 6 drops each time.
its works within 30mins and helps with all symptoms (eyes/nose etc). there are no side effects.

you get it from a health food shop or various online.
more info on their website www.bioforce.co.uk

Echinacea is also good for regulating their immune system.

also local honey or manuka honey (both from health shop).

hope that helps