Good Medicine "That Works" for a 10 Year Old

Pedia Care Gentle Vapors night lights work well to help clear nasal passages at night so they sleep better. I give my kids Loratadine for allergies. Make sure you don't use medicated nose sprays or decongestants for longer than 3 consecutive days or your child may have "rebound" congestion...he will become congested because of the medication.

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In my natural product line (www.mccluckfarms.com) I make an aromatherapy product that might help. My Lemon-Peppermint oil is great for addressing circulatory issues (diabetics, edema sufferers) and respiratory issues ranging from sinusitis (I had a chronic problem) to asthma. I use old medicinal herbs that have been used since early Egyptian times to improve circulation and ease respiratory distress. Take a look at my site for this and other natural therapeutic products.

Good luck!

V.

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Hi K.!

I use Zicam Allergy Relief nose spray for my now 12 year old, but we started using it for him when he was 7. Now we just use it as needed. When allergies/cold is worse, I give him Afrin nose spray at night, the Zicam in the morning.

Dimetapp also works for him, but I only use it regularly for 2 days, then break for 2 days, etc.... I just don't like too much of any medicines.

We've tried ALOT of medicines recently, because we were VERY sick a couple of months ago. We probably spent over $300 in OTC meds and nothing worked except Ziacam, Afrin, & Dimetapp to soothe my son's symptoms. He still needed an anitbiotic, but at least things could soothe him until he was better.

Good luck, K.!

:o) N.

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I heard that Sinupret works very well for congestion. It is all natural and has been used in Europe for years with much success. It is now available for adults and kids. I think it is on Amazon. Good luck

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Hi K.,
I use a humidifier in my daughter's room at night. Between the air conditioner and the heater, the air inside our house gets pretty dry and causes our noses to get dry and stuffy. I do use a Vick's warm mist humidifier that has a medicine cup for Vick's VapoSteam.
Sincerely,
L.

Try taking him off of milk and milk products. My son was allergic to the protein in cow's milk and would get congested from any source. We had him on rice milk at that age. He has since grown out of it, but I try to limit his intake. We noticed a difference right away.

"Dimetapp" has always worked for me and my kids. And the kiddie one tastes great. My 4 year old asks for "More alergy medicine please".

Do check for allergens such as dust mites in bedding, dead bugs under carpet or rug in a corner, etc. (find out the cause)
Otherwise boost up his immune system by eating nutritious food, such as homemade chicken broth or clear soups. (fortify his body, I won't rely solely on medication which deals with symptoms but not cause)

Hi there, have you thought about allergies being the problem?

Hi K.,

Your best medicine is a healthy life style. A good air system in his room with no ozone, living water with no chemicals, good nutrition to help assist his body in removing toxins he is exposed to and good sleep.

My granddaughter was exposed to mold and lots of dust and was having similar symptoms and I put her in a wellness home invironment and she got off her meds for allergies. I feel learning to treat the cause instead of the symptom we will eliminate the problem to begin with,

If you are interested in more info check out www.nikken.com/ninamarie or email me at ____@____.com

Wishing you and your family wellness.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

K.,
There is a wonderful sinus rinse and they even make a kid's version...I can't recall the name, but all the pharmacies, drugs stores carry it...the Doctor that developed is local, Santa Rosa...I used it when I flew last month and it helped big time!!!

Have you tried Ocean saline spray or a netti pot? They are very safe and helpful. You can buy it in an aerosol can or a plastic misting bottle that you squeeze. It mists saline into the nose, and can help loosen nasal secretions and sooth the nose. Children's Chewable Benadryl might work or Dimetapp, but before you do that, take your son to the doctor to rule out a structural problem like deviated septum, or allergies which might need some other treatment like steroid nose spray like Flonase (prescription). Chewing mint gum or sucking mints or Ricola cough drops opens the nose. Vick vapo rub under the nose will open the nose. Also, I've hear adding a humidifier to the room during the night, can make sleeping more comfortable.

I have fall allergies and sometime feel like I'm the only one! But i Know they do exist. The other thing that I have found that even with the internal decongestants I get reverse congestion from them. Just something to consider... could be the drugs keeping him sick.

A consistently stuffy nose may be allergies, not a virus or cold. I would take him to see an allergist or consult your doctor about using Claritin or Zyrtec or possibly an Rx allergy medication.

I would recommend buying a small air purifier (with a Hepa Filter) for his room. We got a small one for my daughter's room. It was the Hunter Brand from Lowes and it cost us $70. She has not had a cold or hardly any congestion/coughing since we bought it. If it is allergies this would be a good way to help him.

Try bringing him to a chiropractor. I promise you it works wonders!

If he has lots of mucus, you might think about taking him to the doctor. When I was 13, I had cold symptoms--thick, green mucus; coughing; stuffy nose, etc. that went on for way longer than a cold usually lasts. When Mom finally took me to the doctor, I had a really bad sinus infection that took nonths to clear up--medication, sleeping with a vaporizer, etc.

Ask his doctor to test him for allergies. He could have a dust mite allergy that will cause stuffiness/runny nose.

Hi K.,

I second the vote for a neti pot & your 10 yr. old may actually find it fun! Neti is an ayurvedic remedy that works wonders. I use one about 2x a month for preventative measures. You can find them at most health food stores. If you're interested, check out http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/Netipot/NetiPotGateway.... for more info

One recommendation- if you think his nose is dry and inflamed (causing the stuffiness) add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the neti pot mixture and then when he's done, pour a little oil on his pinkies and have him coat the inside of his nostrils with the oil.
If you have any questions about using a neti pot, please feel free to contact me - ____@____.com

Good Luck!
M.
www.solacehealth.com

Hi K.,

I STRONGLY reccommend bying a 'neti-pot'. It is a small 'vase-like' thing, in which you put a mixture of salt and water. It seems weird but: tilt your son's head over the sink, and pour the water mixture into one nostril, it will come out of the other one......The salt mixture, TOTALLY cleans out the nostrils. This is a popular method in China and Japan, and works for us!!!! (It was also on Oprah with Dr.Oz!)

Good luck!
E..

My oldest son had chronic sinus infections. He sounded stuffy a lot. Antibiotics worked. I did discover, later on, that he had a lot of mildew in his room, and his sinus infections seemed to lessen or go away after I cleaned it up.

Hi K. ~
My son gets like this sometimes. He needs to drink A LOT of water and you might want to put a vaporizor in his room at night. Good luck to you.
Lucy B.

Hi K.:

Sometimes a person is allergic to what they eat or drink and of course even their surroundings or cleaning products. Keep an eye out for what he has just eaten when his nose starts to get stuffy. Sometimes blankets with a lot of fluff will stuff up noses also. Fold the top sheet over the blanket that is near his face so he doesn't breathe in the fluff fibers.

Also try a litle moisture in his room, humidifier or bowl of water.
Good luck!

K., it sounds like allergies to me. I get them about this time of year too. Using a humidifer may not help him if he is allergic to molds or dust mites that love to live in damp conditions. See your doctor and have him tested. They can then point you in the right direction. Good luck!

I also have a 10 year old who suffers from allergies, the doctor recommended irrigation of the nose and sinus by using a little thing that looks like a tiny teapot. I think you can get them at health food stores. It will be unpleasent but they do work. You can also try having him breath in steam thru his nose with a towel over his head, or put him in the shower and have him breath in the steam. Altoid mints work well for decongestion. I have found that using mint Listerine will also works very well to decongest my nose as I also suffr from severe hayfever. I also use clortrimeton allergy pills, I take a half in the morning and a whole pill at night.

K.,

It sounds like you really need to have him checked for allergies. If it's allergies, over the counter cold meds will not work. He may need an antihistamine along with a decongestant. Your pediatrician is really the best source on this one! There's also a new natural product out called Sinupret, and you can get it at Walmart.It's specificly for stuffed noses.

L.

Hi K.-
My favorites for a stuffy nose are saline solution and vicks nose spray. The only bad thing with nose spray is that you have to let your nose get stuffy again and then see if it clears to know whether or not the stuffies are gone. Have you tried a neti pot? It almost sounds like he has an allergen and needs to clear out his passages. You can get one at a local health food store like lassens. As far as medication goes, and this could just be my experience, but the more meds you use when you are younger, the less potent they become when you are older. I do my darndest to stay away from them and vitamin it as much as possible. My favorites are echinacea (a blood purifier- take only when getting sick, not for long periods), airborne (the liquid vitamin), and emergen-C, another liquid, that is 1000mg of vitamin C. Then, if I still get stuffy, I do the saline nose spray, which is just a salt water, or you can put warm salt water in a pot and (with your head over the sink, pour it into one nostril. It will flush the sinuses and the stuffies and the irritation and run out the other nostril. Repeat on both sides. My brother in law swears by it, and he has been stuffy for probably 20 something years with nasal pollups, etc. I hope this helps!
Good luck!
-E. M.

Dear K.,
I just mentioned this in a different post.
Try Vick's Vapo-Rub.
Rub some on your son's chest under his t-shirt. It really does help with congestion and somehow the vapors reach the nostrils and it helps un-stuff them.
Some people can't stand the smell of Vick's but my kids always associated it with feeling better. If they had bad chest colds, I even rubbed some on their backs. It's worth a try. It's not expensive and it's external as opposed to something they have to ingest. My daughter was the absolute WORST when it came to taking medicine of any kind. Vick's did the trick for her.
There is a bad bug going around and it takes forever to go away.
I don't know how open your son is to trying different things, but Chinese hot mustard or a little bit of mild horseradish will clear a stuffy nose faster than anything!

Simply Saline is what my pediatrician recommended. It works great and it's completely safe. They have to mist it up their nose, (which he may think is gross at first!), but my 7 year old has been using it off and on for about a year now, and it works great. Also, if he uses it after a shower, it works to loosen it up even better. The best thing is you don't have to worry about medicating since it's just saline.

Hope this helps!

I concur it sounds like possible allergies. Take him to the doc and get him checked out. They can do blood test and scratch tests to find out what he's allergic to. Rather than treating the symptom, find the cause and treat that. Once you have discovered the cause, you can work to eliminate the cause and / or work with a homeopath instead of OTC meds.