For the last few day my DD has had this weird cough, then a runny nose and now some white stuff coming out of her one eye. So we go to the doctors, she said it was allergies that's all and there was nothing to do. It was not pink eye ans she didn't think it was a cold or the flu. She said if a fever came, or anything with the eye to com back in. Has anyone experienced this or have any thought? The cough is worse at night. We do have a humidifier, clean sheets weekly and we use no fragrances and that type. No pets, no smoking and a 4 year old house. This is a new doctor and I am not sure about....
Hi Alison --
It sounds like an allergy. Aside form gluten, dairy and soy, one of the main culprits for kids is cleaning products - even the fragrance free ones can have additives. If you haven't switched to non-toxic cleaners, now may be the time. It can also be almost any food. A book I found helpful is "Is This Your Child?" by Dr Doris Rapp.
Best of health,
S.
About two months ago my daughter (who also is allergic to milk) had the same symptoms. Doctor heard wheezing and put her on nebulizer. However, four weeks later she was still coughing and now was stuffy and showing signs of a cold. Doctor said that she felt it was allergies that turned into a sinus infection. She was put on antibiotics and a nasal allergy medicine. Hope that helps.
Honestly I feel like I am LOSING my mind with my 2.5 year old who sounds like your DD. He has been congested, coughing, wheezy, stuffy, etc. You name it! No fever though and he acts fine. Have taken him to the pedia and the allergist and while his allergy tests have come back ok and his pedia says he is fine - maybe viral and/or allergies, theres no real answer. I am thinking viral/and or allergies which it TERRIBLE IMO b/c theres really nothing I can do. I've given him Zyrtec once. Not sure if it helped, but maybe I should give it to him more before deciding??? The allergist said there are SOOOOOOO MANY allergens outside thats its impossible to test for everyting. I know its the height of allergy season, as I suffer BIG TIME. He is not allergic to common mold, pet dander, dust mites so I can't blame the indoors. We use a humidifier constantly. I sometimes give him chest/nasal decongestant (Triaminic) My pedia siad it was fine at his age (only 1/2 tsp do I give periodically) I may try the zytrec more often and see. His nose seems to be stuffy deep inside but dry and crusty upfront - I try to get vaseline in there as much as possible. I am on a constant look out for all this to turn into an ear infection. If it seems like he is progressing into one I give tylenol with the decongestant. I am always borderline going to the pedia to check it all out b/c of worry about asthmatic episodes (he had one once with a bad upper resp infection)or ear infections. Both which he is notorious for getting but so far it hasn't seemed to progress into that. His mood and energy level are fine. Oh and my son is allergic to peanuts and the allergist said MANY of his symptoms are extremely common in children with ANY Food allergies even though they are not exposed to the allergen and they are not really showing sign of any particulr new food allergies. I guess its just all part of the package...which kind of makes NO SENSE to me but being a HUGE seasonal allergy person, I know I can suffer from SOOOO MANY things - mildly - in the environment and like the allergist said - its hard to really pinpoint exactly sometimes without extensive testing and if you've ever done the tests, its not something you'd probably want to keep putting your child through unless there was a serious concern. I've hear air purifiers work wonders for other kids with these issues. I personally have not tried it yet. I think your pedia is right. She checked out your daughter and saw no signs of infection but even if it is allergies or a cold b/c of all the mucous, it could easily turn into illness b/c the bacteria and germs just get trapped. So keep a close eye on changes. Try Zyrtec for children and maybe an air purifier at night. It seems the night and morning are the worst for my son too! I really need to get that air purifier!!!!!
Your doctor sounds right. This is the season for it. My daughter is now 3, but has always had seasonal allergies. We put her on Zyrtec and Singulair, which makes it more manageable. Did he recommend Zyrtec? Also, cleanliness has nothing to do with these allergies. It is from the allergens outside. Although, the humidifier probably does help - just make sure you clean it often (mold can develop if you use a warm humidifier). Good luck!
It certainly can't hurt to go to a pediatric allergist.
We go through this each year with my husband, my son and myself. Seasonal allergies will hit regardless of how often you change sheets and clean. Literally the pollen and dander gets onto clothing, in your hair and anything that is outside.
I have found that giving my son (and myself) and bath at night reduces the "eye gooey" in the morning. We wash everything as often as we can, but once he goes outside he's exposed. The cough is always worse at night b/c of the post-nasal drip. The only thing we have found successful is aspirating him right before bed.
