hivey kid today

[Mfamom]

ugh, just picked ds up from school.  he had hives all over his forearms.  happens every year.  I felt badly for a minute about the first time it happened at school and I wigged out on the nurse because I didn't like how she handled it. 
Anyway, clearly pollen/environmental.  I called the allergist office to see if they have any ideas.  The one nurse is such a spaaazzz I hate talking to her.  She talks a mile a minute, always in crisis/hair on fire mode. 
anyway, she suggested we add another antihistimine in the morning like clariton, zyrtec etc.  I know from previous tries that Clariton does NOTHING for him and Zyrtec made him cr=azy when he was 4. 
Decided to add Benadryl at night and take allegra in the morning.  does that seem reasonable? 
He's in the shower now.  I cannot pick him up from school every day. 
Poor kid. 

[CMdeux]

Ugh-- it is that time of year, isn't it?  Yuck.

I might try the Zyrtec again over the weekend, Mfamom.  It seems like the preferred med for dealing with cutaneous (skin) stuff, for whatever reason.

Kids metabolize drugs way differently than adults do, so it might be that he'd tolerate it fine now even though he didn't when he was little.  KWIM?

[Mfamom]

LOL I'm almost afraid to try Zyrtec.  I could barely handle him when he was a four year old on zyrtec.  (kicking cabinet doors, very aggressive, angry, mean) LOL

[Mookie86]

I'm sorry that happened. 

What strength Allegra is he taking? 

[Mfamom]

180mg
he's been on that strength since he was 10. 
I'm almost wondering if it isn't working for him anymore.  he has taken it year round since age 4. 

I may try the zyrtec.  He's out cold right now from benadryl.  he has a lax game later (i know it will wear off by then)
he's super itchy and he has track today (missing it now) and needs to be able to be outside. 

[Mookie86]

Poor guy!

Just to confirm, he doesn't drink any juice or eat citrus two hours before or after the Allegra dose, right?  That'd reduce the effectiveness of it.

Also, how long before he leaves the house is he taking it?  It takes an hour to start working.  That's why my family takes it at bedtime.

Can you try moving it to nighttime before you see if he tolerates Zyrtec better now?  Just be careful not to have any wearing-off issues when he's outside playing sports.

[Mfamom]

We don't drink juice period. 
He takes it at night along with singular. 
I was trying to find out from the dr if I should switch it to the morning, but they told me to double up the antihistimine.  My previous experience with Clariton is that it does nothing for him and Zyrtec made him crazy so the only other thought I had was to use benadryl at night and move the allegra to the morning. 

[hezzier]

I think if I were in your shoes, I'd try the zyrtec again.  Especially since it's been a long time since he had it.  Plus since he's so much older, it's not like you have to entertain him anymore compared to when he was 4.  You could start with a smaller than normal dose to see he can tolerate it. 

[Mfamom]

yeah, maybe I'll try it on the weekend.  I just shudder thinking how ramped up and aggressive he was last time. 
He's grown a bit since then, add a little teen boy hormone to the mix and I may get the Hulk by sunday.  LOL

[hezzier]

Send him out for a long run with your DH

[eragon]

apart from the drugs, does the school nurse suggest removing the pollen? runing arms under cold water?


applying an antihistamine cream for comfort?

does he wear thin cotton long sleeved shirts ?

does he shower when he gets home from school and certianly before bedtime?

[Mfamom]

Yes she had him wash off his arms.  He cant wear long sleeves or wont anyway because its 88degrees.  It happened when he went outside aftr lunch.  I told him to stay in but he has track and other sports later in day.  Yes on the showers

[Mookie86]

My doctor doesn't like mixing antihistamines.  I had asked about combining a low-dose Allegra with Zyrtec.

If you don't want to try switching to Zyrtec, another option might be the 60 mg 12-hour dose of Allegra.  Some people take it 3x per day.  You probably could continue doing the 180 mg at night and then add 60 mg in the morning.  That might get him through outdoor time at school, but it wouldn't be as much as taking 360 mg per day.

Was the doctor recommending doubling the dose permanently or just to get him through this rough patch now?  I'm curious how long you can do such a high dose.  I'd been advised that you can double it for a short while, but I never sought clarification what that meant.

I hope you find an answer soon!

[CMdeux]

My personal opinion (shared by our allergist) is that mixing antihistamines is fine-- so long as you remember that you're dealing with pharmacology that is all in the same drug class.  That means that if you wouldn't take 3 doses of allegra, then you also should not take two doses of allegra AND one of zyrtec.  With most second-gen antihistamines we routinely (ie-- for a week or so at a time) go up to 200% dosing in DH and I, and as much as 150% in DD. 

If you do need that much medication, though, it might be time to discuss something in another drug class as an add-on.  YMMV, of course, and it's probably worth a conversation with the doc, but this was the point at which we've added on Singulair.

[eggallergymom]

I'm sorry about the hivey kid! Not fun. I'm getting hives on a near-daily basis right now, too, thanks to the pollen and tree mold. I clearly missed the magical window for starting allergy meds and am now playing a bad game of catch-up! I hope your son finds some relief soon. That must be distracting in school.