3 Yo's Nose Constantly Stuffed Up!

A good pediatrician should be able to help sort this out. For now, I would keep the cats out of her room and wash the bedding and try benadryl to see if it makes a difference. My daughter is allergic to cats. It is worse if she touches them, but even being in the house a while will get her nose stuffy and dripy. But, then again it may not be the cats,so make an appointment with the Pediatrician.

Could be allergies. You could try 24 hour Claritin, or Zyrtek or Benedryl

Go see a pediatric Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and let your pediatrician know of your concerns, perhaps they can refer you to a specialist.

You could also have him tested for allergies. It could affect his eyes, ears, throat and chest.

Good luck

Arizona has one of the best teaching centers for homeopathy. I suggest you take her there and get her treated. Homeopathy will give a permanent cure whereas MD medicine will only treat the symptoms.
And here is the most important piece of advice I can give you. The cats MUST live outside or you will make this child into an asthmatic.
Cat lovers often reject this advice so I'll make it clearer. It's the cats or your child. Who will you choose to really care for.

My guess would be some kind of allergy. About 3 weeks ago was when a lot of the fires in AZ started. I know that you are in Phx, far away from the fires, but your daughter may be picking up on some of the smoke that the rest of Phx doesn't notice- I'm pretty sure the million+ acres of forest burning has affected the air quality throughout all of AZ. I know that my allergies have been much worse since the fires broke out even though I can't detect any noticeable smoke. I could be wrong, just an idea. Good luck, I hope she can breathe soon.

You should start with your Pediatrician to see if she has a cold and what medicine you can use for that. Then you should take her to an ENT to see why she is stuffed up if the Dr. is not sure. My ENT is Dr. J. Gaven Gonzalez on Baseline Road: ###-###-####. My insurance requires me to see a regular Dr. first and then the Dr. has to authorize a "Referral" to an ENT, so check with your insurance company first. In my experience, regular Dr.s don't know as much as ENT. Also, you may want to subscribe to www.pollen.com. They can send a daily update with the allergy that is most prevalent in your area, so you can see what she may be allergic too. She may have a cold, but it is good to be aware about allergies. Grasses are high right now. I am allergic to cats and once I get a reaction it doesn't go away for a long time unless I take some medication, even if I am removed from the area with the cat. I would try keeping the cats out of her room for awhile to see if that helps. I hope you find out what it is.

Another possible reason could be dryness. Is the air inside her room too dry? If yes, did you try adding a humidifier? Perhaps that may help relive the stuffiness.

Our allergist just discovered a cat allergy in our 4 yo, which had previously not been there. I say see the pediatrician, and they may refer you to an allergist. We knew immediately that there was a new allergy, as our son started getting the "allergic shiners" under his eyes, along with the stuffy/runny nose. We have shut the cat in a room (she will have a new home next week) and his allergies improved immediately. For now, close her door and do not allow the cats in. See if things start to improve. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I would probably take her into her ped because it could be allergies, especially this time of year they are very common. It could also be enlarged adenoids. Her pediatrician can refer you to a pediatric allergist who will be able to do a skin test for allergies and if enlarged adenoids are a concern, the allergist can forward you to an ENT specialist (that is how it worked for our little one).

Could be allergies. They are often worse in the morning after a night of lying down and filling up the sinuses and even the throat with post-nasal drip. I'd keep the cat out of the room at night but this can also be due to something in the air. Climate change has increased the amount of pollen that different plants produce, and when those things blow open in the spring (different times for different plants/trees and in different parts of the country), there is a huge abundance of things in the air that weren't there 5 years ago. It could go away on its own.

You can do a whole battery of tests with ENTs, and you can start with drugs to treat symptoms. But you can also do some home remedies that treat the cause, through nutritional supplementation if you choose the right product. Depends where you want to put your energy and your money.

You should probably go through your pediatrician, and then go through the pediatrician for a referral to an allergist. Unless you think your pediatrician is doing a terrible job, they are pretty well able to handle mild allergies--but if you suspect other things besides the cats or if doing the things below don't help, then allergy testing is the better way to go, and a referral from your pediatrician will get you in much faster than you just calling up an allergist on your own, usually.

Keep the cats out the bedroom, and preferably out of the main area she plays is every day, if possble. If she has contact with the cats or the cats' area a lot during the day, make sure to bathe her at night before bed, including washing her hair, and make sure to try to keep on top of the cat hair (I know, I know, it's a neverending struggle against pet hair, LOL).

You can also talk to your cats vet about options. Bathing the cats more often (say, once per week) may help, and there may be other options available. The majority of people who are allergic to cats are allergic to an enzyme (aka a protein) in the cat's saliva and/or the dander; since cats lick themselves all over, pretty much all the hair will be causing problems to someone who is allergic.

Also, another poster said that the cats will make your child asthmatic. You might want to read up on it a little bit before you get rid of your cats. Here is an article that may be of interest:
http://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/20070928/cat-allergy-lin...