My six month old little girl has had an ongoing runny nose (clear fluid), cough (flemy), dark circle/itchy eyes, itchy ears for 3 months now. It is keeping her from sleeping/trouble eating b/c so congested. We have been to the pediatrician and no "infections" At first they said it was just a cold virus but then finally said maybe allergies try Children's Zyrtec. It helped a bit but was refered to pediatric allergist.
At the appointment said baby was too young for seasonal allergies and tested for dairy, wheat, soy and indoor allergens. All tests were negative. Once she said it wasn't allergies it was like she was "done" with us.
Baby STILL has horrible runny nose/cough, etc. Asked if we should continue Zyrted (only thing that has helped) and she said no because baby does not have allergies.
Allergist wants us to try antibiotics for 10 days just in case there is an infection they can't see . I'm really not comfortable withthe antibiotics if there is no sign of an infection.
Should I do this? or Should we head to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Dr. ?? Has anyone experienced anything similar?
I would go to the ENT. My cousins son was the same way except so bad he couldn't breastfeed and had a hard time with the bottle as well. He had enlarged adenoids which were removed within a couple of days of the ENT visit. He immediately went back to the breast with no problem and started sleeping through the night soon after. Even if it is "just" seasonal allergies the ENT should be able to diagnose that and help out. Good luck.
Your baby does in deed have the seasonal allergies. My son is 16 months old and at 6 months we had to deal with the same exact symptoms that you are dealing with. I changed his pediatrician when he turned a year old and the new one gave him singulair. He cleared up by then it was too late to save him from having tubes. After the tubes and the singulair he is one happy baby. My suggestion to you is yes ask to be referred to an ent....his canal that goes from his ear to his nasal cavity is stopped up and it has to have somewhere to go so it backs up in the ear causing fluid build up. If not treated then the eardrum can rupture. Once it cant back up in the ear it comes out everywhere else it finds.this is the explanation our ent gave us hope it helps you!!..good luck with this and i would do this immediately just in case it has gotten to that point!!!
Do you have a cat or a dog, rabbit , or wall to wall carpeting. Has anyone spoken to you about the perfumes in wash products or allergies or body care products.
Does anyone smoke around the baby. Is your house moldy. Check for moulds in the ceilings and around window sills. Do not use clorox or other cleaners to get it off. Simple vinegar and baking soda do just fine and are non-allergins.
Now down to brass tacks. Get a good homeopath and take your baby to someone who is well experienced with children's homeopathy.
I mistrust doctors and all their techno info and crazy ideas that lead from one illness to the next. After I nearly lost a daughter to measles vaccine I never let them inject my children again. A good homeopath can make your child well for life.
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Do you have a cat or a dog, rabbit , or wall to wall carpeting. Has anyone spoken to you about the perfumes in wash products or allergies or body care products.
Does anyone smoke around the baby. Is your house moldy. Check for moulds in the ceilings and around window sills. Do not use clorox or other cleaners to get it off. Simple vinegar and baking soda do just fine and are non-allergins.
Now down to brass tacks. Get a good homeopath and take your baby to someone who is well experienced with children's homeopathy.
I mistrust doctors and all their techno info and crazy ideas that lead from one illness to the next. After I nearly lost a daughter to measles vaccine I never let them inject my children again. A good homeopath can make your child well for life.
It still could be allergies from the air quality or pets-it is hard to diagnose a 6 month old. If it were me I would do the antibiotics and see if they help- they can't make her any worse. You could also buy a small air purifier to run in her room (24 hours a day). The air purifier worked well for my oldest daughter who had a runny nose a lot her 1st year of life. She also may outgrow this in a few months when her sinuses become more developed.
every doctor is not as bright as we would like to think. and if it walks like a duck, clucks like a duck, and looks like a duck. It must be a duck. Your baby has seasonal allergies. Time for a new pediatrician.
Yes, it is possible. My 3 year old was having the same problem and finally after I went to another doctor they determined he does have allergies. He is like my mother-in-law. She has bad allergies and so my youngest son has it. I would continue allergy medicine. I gave it to him and it has helped him.
I haven't had a chance to read the other answers yet, but my first thought when you wrote this was, "Oh, I remember that phase...".
My daughter had a never-ending clear, runny nose from about February - May, when she was 8-12 months of age (my daughter is now 25 months). I kept waffling between thinking she had allergies, and thinking she had bronchitis.
But this truly sounds really familiar, and it turns out that it's really common. THE hardest time, healthwise, when it comes to being a mommy (especially a first time mommy, as I was/am), is the age right before your kidlets turn 1. Their immune systems are going nuts. My daughter seemed like she went from one sickness to another. Turns out this is completely common at that age. And when she WASN'T sick, she always had a clear, runny nose, seemed fussy, etc. I was CONVINCED she had allergies, because her daddy has allergies.
She was teething. My ped told me that a runny nose was not a symptom of teething, but boy was he wrong (as in the case of my daughter). I now know whenever my daughter is teething, because she'll get a clear, runny nose (she only has her two year molars left, thank God).
It is also very common for young ones to feel their teething in their ears (their mouth, ears and nose are all connected, makes sense...).
I hope that helps. It really does seem like it to me. Especially if you've seen docs and they've all said she doesn't have allergies.
BUT, if you're uncomfortable with that, please don't hesitate to see an ENT. Doctors have let me down many a time, so they aren't infallible, that's for sure! Seeing a specialist will, if nothing else, hopefully give you peace of mind. We can never be too careful with our precious little ones!
I think seeing an ear,nose,throat specialist is a good idea. Our son has something similar (he's 2) and it's caused by an enlarged adenoid. I wish we had seen the specialist earlier and had avoided many of the meds etc in the meantime.
We had similar symptoms with my son and he went through constant runny nose with his teeth. His appetite was low with the soreness in the mouth and all the crud running into his little tummy.
Our naturopath really helped and gave us a homeopathic remedy that combatted the stuffy/runny nose and cough.
My son also pulled on his ears when he was teething. The pain can transfer to the ears.
Good luck and hope you find some help.
There are allergies and intolerances, symptoms are the same but you can't test for the second one (that's what our allergist told us). My 2 kids become terribly congested if they take any kind of milk product. As babies, that would prevent them from sleeping or eating well. It all stopped when they stopped formula (breastmilk only) and I stopped any kind of milk product in my diet (milk proteins go through the breast milk). Any kind of mistake on my part would make my first one wheeze and send my second one to the ER when she was a couple of months old because she was so congested she would choke up drinking her milk. They never found any sign of infection there. My first one got tested for allergies and he tested negative but still reacts to milk products with running nose to this day. But if he stays off them, he is totally fine.
It's worth trying.
I am having the same problem with my son with is 13 months. Runny nose, coughing a lot. I have tried children's benadryl, and also claritin. I am soooo frustrated nothing seems to be working. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats as well. I just do not know what do I feel so bad for my son. I need to do something as well. PLEASE HELP!
Are there any other symptoms? Is she drinking more, eating less? My son had a supposed "ear infection" for three months before he was diagnosed diabetic. He was older than your child but his symptoms started earlier..but no one thought about diabetes. (Or to test for it.) Anyway, something to think on.) It could be a food allergy. My youngest had horrible problems with any citric acid for several months and then sort of grew out of it. Sounds like it will be trial and error but as long as your child is showing symptoms take her to whatever doctors you can until you find out what's wrong. I don't believe if you can be allergic to foods at that age that its impossible for her to have season allergies or pet, or any other kind of allergies either. Good luck..I would get a humidifier for her sleeping area and use Eucalyptus oil. That will help..and maybe clear her out a little temporarily. I would hesitate at the antibiotics only because if they cannot see an infection they might have to do another kind if they find one and you risk yeast infections if she gets too many antibiotics. Yes, its sort of a 'catch22". Good luck. I would do some trial and error on foods. If she's allergic to a food then eventually one thing will affect her worse than the others..or a series of things with the same ingredient that she is allergic too. There are just too many ingredients...even the dyes. My youngest couldn't have red dye or blue basically for along time. Its not good for us anyway, but it did make it difficult for awhile. Its amazing where they find to put those things.
I agree with previous posters--it sounds like time for a specialist if you aren't getting the results you want, which is namely relief for your daughter.
If you are open to it, another road to try might be naturopathy. I've had many friends (as well as myself) find solutions to their child's health issues that weren't being treated successfully with medications. Because of the holistic workup that is done on each patient, my experience with naturopathic medicine has been a very positive one that has yielded more specific results. The more information any practitioner has to work from, the better they can pinpoint how to address health concerns. The herbs and remedies may take a bit longer to take effect or to draw knowledge from (in the case of an elimination diet) than standard medicine, but the knowledge gained may be helpful in preventing the problem in the future.
I would go to a good naturopath and check out for food allergies. It's amazing that Medical doctors never do that.
