Allergy Rx

After last weeks struggle with allergies, including skipping gymnastics because he was wheezing and just not himself, we headed in to see Dr. G.  NYC had a bit of rain so the pollen counts came down and his eyes seemed better so we were able to "get ahead" of the symptoms and hopefully keep them in check for the rest of the pollen season.

Dr. G prescribe Panaday eyedrops once a day and Singulair once a day for the next month or so.  He also got some albuterol to help with his breathing, which sounded much better after the first two treatments.  She figured he'd need just once a day for the next five or six days.

He's not a fan of the eyedrops, although he is getting better.  I dread the day he'll have to learn to swallow a pill.  For being such a tough guy at the doctor's office, he turns to nothing but whine when mama needs to give him some medicine.

Allergies

This picture is after a dose of Claritin, a dose of Zyrtec, and a double dose of Allegra topped off with two doses of Naphcon eye drops within 24 hours.  And he actually looks pretty good, believe it or not.  He has some mild congestion, but the big problem is the red, itchy eyes.  I'm not sure what to do next since nothing over the counter seems to be working.  The weed and grass pollen levels are low and tree pollen is moderate to high right now (oak, birch, and maple).  He has a similar issue in New Orleans in March, so my bet would be that it's the oak pollen that's bothering him.

Pollen levels are down today with some rain, so he'll get a little relief.  Making and appointment with the pediatrician though to see if she has any other ideas on what might help.

3 Year Well Visit

Roar!

Hans' Stats:

Height:  38 inches (75th percentile)
Weight:  33 lbs (75th percentile)

Vaccinations:

• None!  

Vision:

• 20/30

My Concerns:

• None

Dr. G's Concerns:

• None

He had his vision checked, and did really well.  I was surprised that he knew the names of the shapes to even complete the test.  Dr. G said he looked good and healthy.  She commented both boys have a good track record of staying healthy.  We'll see her for flu shots in the fall.

Side note:  Dr. G listened to Freddie's breathing to check after his last breathing treatment in the office and he was all clear.  I didn't give him any additional breathing treatments since he sounded better to me the next day, and apparently whatever it was cleared up. Whew.  Hopefully his allergies are just some seasonal irritations that bring some congestion.  

Allergies

The red watery eyes and sniffles over the last two weeks seem to be a sure sign that my guy has some seasonal allergies.  The pollen count is exceptionally high lately, which I kinda figured considering Freddie cannot stop rubbing his eyes whenever we step outside. Not sure what the options were for a five year old, we popped in to see Dr. G who is also a pediatric allergist.

Who needs a tissue when you have a sleeve…yuck.  Boys are gross.
Thankfully he will scramble for a tissue of some sort when he has a particular bad sneeze.

Apparently five is right around the time when allergies begin to appear in kids, so Freddie is right on target.  Sigh. She heard some wheezing in his chest so hooked him up for a breathing treatment, which didn't do any good.  She suspects the cough is viral and not related to allergies, but she sent us home with a few vials of albuterol just in case but suggested skipping steroids or other aggressive treatments since the cough hasn't been restricting his activity and she thought his body would sort it out on its own.  She recommended either Claritin or Zyrtec syrup, 5mg, but said it was fine to give him the 10mg dissolve tabs since I had my doubts about him swigging syrup each morning.  She recommended eye drops if he'd tolerate them.  He's on day 2 of Zyrtec and there's a marked improvement.  I'm hoping the pollen counts come down soon so we can see if that helps as well.

*Note:  Active pollen right now:  oak, mulberry, birch.  The grass and weed pollen levels are low to none.