Singulair for 8 Month Old with Allergies?

Here is my experience with Singulair:
My son was put on it at about 3 for asthma AND allergies. He also took a nightly dose of Zyrtec. Once he started this it was like night and day with his symptoms. He rarely ever had a problem with his asthma after that. So I really do think that the Singulair worked. HOWEVER.....
Last year in Kindergarten he began developing really bad seperation anxiety. He had had this for a long time in pre-school so I had thought it stopped. I wasn't sure what borught it on and was very frustrated. Something made me google Singulair and found that this could very well have been the problem. Many parents experienced behavior problems with their kids on this-especially seperation anxiety! So I took my son off it immediately. His sep anx went away and he did not suffer any asthma issues like he used to. So, could his problem have been from the Singulair-who knows. I am thinking yes but my doc said only a small % of patients get those side effect. As for his asthma-I do belive that he has been outgrowing it. His allergies do seem a little worse this fall than before and would probably be helped by singulair-but they are not bad enough at all to try it. And his lungs are very clear.
So I guess my advice would be unless it is asthma I would not use singulair. With the asthma it is better off not to risk a life threatening attack than to have a behavioral issue IMO. But for just allergies- Try Zyrtec first. My son is also on a nasal spray called Veramyst that helps a lot also-it is approved at 6 months old so its safe.

One last piece of advice and this is HUGELY important in my opinion-take her to a pediatirc allergist. They will know so much more than your ped. One example: I recently took my son to his ped allergist after a summer of a crusty nose that would even bleed. His ped only said it was infected and to use neosporin. Well....his allergist took one look and became upset with me a little bit b/c here his nose was completley blocked and his passages were extremely swollen! I was so mad that my ped couldn't have figured this out! An allergist will also do the testing to figure out just what it is causing the trouble.

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Here's my story and what worked for us:
When my son Ben was 4, he was experiencing all kinds or respiratory symptoms that were keeping him awake every single night for months..we tried this and that...thinking it would just go away..his vocal chords were being strained and his voice becoming hoarse..not one to run to the MD, we tried several over the counter things and different possible remedies..with no success. Finally, we did go to the MD who was perplexed. He ruled out asthma, croup etc....but did agree there was definite inflammation. He handed me a script for steroids...and we left. Instead of giving him a steroid, I was determined to find out the CAUSE. I took him to a Naturopath who determined he was sensitive to chemicals in the home. I said, "What chemicals." She said, "I don't know exactly which ones or which combinations but things from bath, body, laundry, cleaning products etc..."
If we were able to remove the 'toxic' products from our home, he would be breathing just fine. Skeptical but determined to keep him off steroids if possible, we became customers with an ecofriendly manufacturer and we were able to replace all kinds of bath, body, laundry, cleaning etc..products in one shot. To my great surprise...it worked. Within 3 days of switching out our products to these new ecofriendly ones, he finally was sleeping thorough the night, not coughing, no sniffles etc.... If I hadn't seen it myself, I might not believe. But, it's my story and I'm sticking to it! (Ben will tell you himself!) If you'd like to learn more about the products we used and how simple it was to try out....let me know and I'll fill you in. Meds are great if we truly need them, but if we can avoid them for a much simpler solution, that's the route I like to choose. Doesn't always work that way, but this time it did... by the way, the MD who gave me the steroid script was upset that I didn't follow his orders (even though he admitted that Ben seemed much improved...so we changed docs..and fortunately haven't had to visit them very often!)
He's 11 and never has had a problem since.

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Meds change brain waves in developing children. They should not be used as an everyday thing. Asthma meds, reflux meds and all those have heavy metals/toxins. The real reason your daughter has these ear infections and asthma is an allergy to milk/soy. If you are breastfeeding take it out of your diet. All cheese, yogurt, milk, soy and processed products with such things in them. Become a label reader. I have seen this time and time again!! Remove the offender and your daughter will heal. It's that simple. Drs don't know or care about that. Give it 2-3 weeks try and then try wheat products (gluten). Protect her future auditory processing skills for academics and leave her with clear ears, not stuffy ones. Another great resource is NAET treatment to actually eliminate allergens. www.naet.com

My sister has just informed me that after 8 years of her son needing to be on allergy meds and inhalers, she switched to eco-friendly cleaning products, laundry detergent, fabric softner, etc for the past 2 months. Her son is allergy free and no longer on medication! Def. something to look into! I only had allergies to fabric softner and can use eco-friendly as it is derived from natural sources. Feel free to msg. me and I can give you info on where we are shopping for these items! I hope I can help your daughter!

My 8 yr old has taken it since he was about a year old. He takes it for asthma not allergies though. If your daughter has allergies that badly why not go to a pediatric allergist and find out exactly what is bothering her and see if you can't help minimize her contact with it. My boys both have horrible dust mite allergies so we have no carpets in our home, they have protective covers on their mattresses and pillows, bedding is washed at least weekly if not more, they shower every night, we use clorox allergen spray, etc
My younger son's allergies were well controled w/ zyrtec when he was was small this spring they were very bad and they allergist added flonase to his daily routine which greatly improved his symptoms. They don't have take blood to test for allergies. If you go to the allergist they can do a skin test its less painful then a blood draw.

Well, you've already spent a fortune on co-pays and humidifiers, and she's miserable still. I'd invest in a top notch, balanced supplement called Reliv Now for Kids - all my friends with little kids have gotten rid of the colds, the ear infections, avoided the ear tubes, put away the nebulizers and inhalers, and so on. I'm on the adult product and have no more allergies. It was developed by a world renowned food scientist who was one of the first to develop an infant baby formula. It's made here in the US under strict conditions, is research based, and is highly absorbable. It also has no warning labels (as kids' vitamins do). I'd be happy to give you more info and let you talk to other moms. One friend has been doing this for 18 years and her daughter, now 19, has never been sick again and never had to have the ear tubes. The AMA says we need to supplement and that liquid supplementation is best, so let's get the best you can get!

since your child has been on antibiotics i hope you are giving your child probiotics to replenish the friendly flora or you are going to end up with gut issues and more immune issues as most of your immune system is in the gut. ALso maybe look for a doc that isnt going to medicate your childs every single symptom. Maybe its all the medication messing with him?

We use lots of saline sprays at our house. Our pedi ENT suggested one called ENTsol that is a stronger saline spray. The kids don't mind the regular saline spray at all so we use that frequently to help keep the mucus coming out. The ENTsol we use at night and nap time because it dries up the congestion so they can breathe better. We also have a prescription for Patanase. I love it. It is a nasal spray to help with allergies. The best thing is that it helps right away so I don't have to medicate her every day. I just do a squirt in the morning on the days when she's starting to have a lot of the nasal problems. My kids have had personality change issues with most allergy meds and I haven't noticed any at all with this.

I don't have an answer for you but advice on Singulair. My friend put her 8 year old son on it and he started having mood swings, and getting very depressed. She heard it could be the singulair and took him off and sure enough it was! Be VERY careful. Do some research on it and there is a lot of things linked to it. I don't know first hand, but definately watch her. Good Luck.

My 6mo old was diagnosed by his ped. with allergies as well. The eye rubbing, face scratching, stuffiness (and sleepless nights) have gotten so much better with medication. He is on singulair and zyrtec daily. Our ped. did refers us to an allergist. We haven't been yet because they did not have any appts for 2 months ( I checked multiple pediatric allergists - they are all booked!) I would consider the allergist - if they can pinpoint what she is allergic to, you may be able to eliminate the source and not need medications; or one particular med may be better for her than others based on the results.
Good luck!

My son has the same thing, I'd say around 6 months or so we noticed he was chronically stuffed up, especially at night. Like your son, his allergies are primarily nasal, with occasional sneezing. He's 2-1/2 now, and has been on Nasonex spray for over a year now. After a few weeks of taking it, it made a world of difference, never stuffed up anymore. It's mild so technically my pediatrician said it's safe to take every day indefinitely but I'm actually experimenting right now, and took him off a week ago to see if his allergies have improved at all with time so we'll see what happens. Would love if you would post what your pediatric allergist has to say after your appt! If his allergies continue to act up I'll be looking to see one too.....good luck

it works wonders my son is 9 months and is on it i had the same problem.. and his ear infections led into having tubes put in his ears. Try giving her a warm bath in the evenings with baby lavendar... my son was put on singulair because when the pollen got high his face would swell up.. My son does fine on singulair it wont hurt her it will make her better.. it may not work right away but give it 48 hrs you will notice a difference. I had to get my son onsomething when he was all plugged up because it was horrible. trust me mix it with her drink she'll never notice and if it helps give her the singulair an hour b4 bed thats what my peditrician told me to do for my son.
Wish you the best of luck
Sincerly,
S. & my son Joshua

My son who's now 9 y/o/a was on Singulair w/pretty decent results when we lived up North.

What is her diet? She does not have a shortage of drugs- so really they just keep treating the symptoms- and suppressing the symptoms is not the answer.
If you are nursing then look to you diet. If heaven forbid you have her on formula then check with Weston Price for what will give her nutrition. Manufactuers who think that they can make something is a lab better than nature's food- well doesn't work. Really.

Symptoms are the bodies way of trying to tell you something- all these drugs at this young age- well what do you think of that? Have you read all the contra indications? Yikes!

Don't treat the symptom, treat the cause.
best, k

I saw you're going to see an allergist, but until theyn, talk to your dr about zyrtec. My kids take it only when needed so it's not something we do every day.

We had a lot of "colds" with my second until he got put on singulair around that age and it did wonders. He doesn't take it every day, just every day during allergy season. It's to the point now (at age 3) that he feels the allergies coming up and asks for "gross nose medicine" (it got that name because when he doesn't take it he gets a really gross nose).