Allergy to Antihistamine?

This sounds exactly like my son! He became hypersensitive too, hysterically crying at every little thing. I even took him to a child psychologist, but by the time we could get the appointment I realized that he had started a new nasal spray and quit giving it to him. It took a few days but he was back to normal, the psychologist even told me he was a perfectly normal child-whew! He has not had a problem with allergies yet since this episode but I just plan to suffer through it with no medication. The allergist and pediatrician both said to consider it an allergy to nasal spray and to not give it to him again.

My son changes into a different person over Zyrtec. No other anithistamines do this, but the Zyrtec is horrible with him. It makes him have a rage like temper. He is otherwise and extremely mild mannered child. I will never it to him again.

Different sinus meds cause different reactions. Sudafed works well to clear up symptoms, but is kind of like taking speed----increases alertness, causes increased heart rate, etc. Benadryl usually causes drowsiness, and newer meds don't do either. Talk to your dr. or pharmacist about what you gave him, and ask about other options.

It is very common in kids for antihistamines to cause this. Kids are not small adults, there bodies are not fully developed and medications react different in them. It is not an allergy. An allergy would be a rash, trouble breathing, etc.

J.,
Your son is having what is called a "paradoxical reaction" to the antihistamine medication. That means its effect on him is the opposite effect that it has on most people. The antihistamine will still work to clear your sons allergies, but the side affect will be over alertness. Whereas in most other people the side affect is drowsiness. This is generally a common issue with children and nothing to be concerned about. It does mean that for allergies, if you don't like the hyper-active behavior that comes with an antihistamine you will need to find another way to treat his allergies.

Dear J.:

You may want to read the info on this page. It worked for me and my child.

http://ndinutraceuticals.com/allergy_products_antigens.html

Good Luck

Kim

I have heard of this before. My kids don't have it but antihistamines can cause "excitability" according to the package. Mention it to your doctor and see what she/he says.

The same thing happened to my son when I gave him Benadryl with dye in it. He became obsessive and didn't sleep for 24 hours. It was awful. Now I give him local honey mixed with lemon juice and do a nasal rinse during allergy seasons. Just make sure you buy honey that is from your area. Hope this helps

my child is the same way. everyone says "oh give her a benadryl it will make her fall asleep." ha! i avoid benadryl at all costs b/c she turns into a maniac. we do use a prescription antihistamine that doesn't seem to have as bad of an affect on her.

according to the drs it's not an allergy. there is just a small percentage of the population that has the "opposite" reaction to "drowsy" medicines.

Antihistamines cause paradoxical reactions in many children. (That means they cause excitabilty.) Depends some on the particular drug. Did you talk to your pediatrician? That's always your best bet.

Yes, this is absolutely possible and I have heard of kids reacting badly to them before. Keep him off of it unless it's absolutely necessary. Maybe you can try again in a few years.

I'm so late on responding to this, but wanted to suggest maybe seeing a naturopath for allergy issues. Like other moms said, I rememeber our pedi warning us the first time she okayed us giving our oldest benadryl that some kids have crazy hyper reactions to it.
I started seeing a naturopath 2 years ago & it has changed my life!! No more seasonal allergies! And she cleared my newborn's allergies to breast milk after I'd completely changed my diet, etc. No more meds for my kiddos when it comes to allergies! The allergies are eliminated in a non-invasive way and don't recur.
I have some wonderful ladies in the Heights that I see if you're interested: www.heightsofhealth.com

This is a very common reaction to antihistamines. If they do not make you crash, they make you bounce off the walls.

There is also a good possibility that he is sensitive to some ingredient in the antihistamine and not the antihistamine itself. The great thing is, there are tons on the market and you can try other ones to see which work best with his system. Ask your Dr. to give you some samples of other antihistamines and maybe take him to an allergist to help you narrow down the right one even further.

I am allergic to anything with a clear gel (like ultra sound gel, vapo rub)- that includes antihistamine gels like the benadryl insect bite gel. But just plain old benadryl is fine. But it sometimes makes my kids hyper instead of sleepy.
You just have to play around with it. THere are lots more additives in medicines than we realize.

Good Luck!

Antihistamines are very drying and can easily cause the symptoms you are describing. I recommend taking 1/4 dose and seeing how that d\effects the allergy. I take 1 tsp pf Benadryl instead of 4. It dries me out so bad I get stressed out just trying to breathe.

Talk to the pharmacist, they are experts in medications and may be able to give you recommendations about what to use next.

Was it just one type of antihistamine? Or does he react that way to all antihistamines? You may want to try others, like Benedryl, claritin, Zyrtec etc. or ask your pediatrician what other options as far as anithistamines there are. I can't take sudafed at all, I have a bad reaction to it. It makes my hearts race, makes me agitated and I can't sleep, but there are other brands of decongestants I can take.

They affect my son the same way. I never give him antihistimes anymore. Some kids react badly to them, and they really aren't good for you (they are vaso constrictors and raise your blood pressure). Hope this helps you.
K.

yeah, my normal, beautiful kid busted her head against a wall on Claritin....I have never given that to her again....also, I have never given her several of the new antibiotics that she had adverse reactions to....I Only give her Benedryl (at night) if the allergies are out of control..you have to respond to your child...all medicine is not safe for kids.