My granddaughter is allergic to many pollens, dust, mold, animal dander, and all of the foods that you list that your daughter is allergic too. She was diagnosed prior to age 1. She didn't eat those foods until after she started school and her mother introduced them one at a time over a period of time. She is now 9 and able to eat all of the foods except for peanuts and soy. For this reason I recommend that you limit the foods to which she tests allergic. However, I wouldn't make not eating them stringent. Just avoid them. Explain to her that if she does accidentally eat one of those food it'll be OK. Ask her to tell you when that happens so that you can keep a diary about what happens when she eats the food.
The only food allergy which my granddaughter's allergist was concerned about was the peanut allergy. It seems much more likely to cause anaphalactic shock than other allergies. Peanuts are not the same as a tree nut. Ask your doctor to be specific about nuts. My granddaughter is now part of an experimental study to see if her system can be made less responsive. Thus far she is up to consuming 4 grams (approx 2 peanuts)/day without any negative reaction.
My granddaughter is also asthmatic and has eczema. Her nose is nearly always stuffy/runny. She took the antihistamine, Singulaire, until a couple of years ago when she switched to Zyrtec. There are, no doubt, side effects to antihistamines but the good result of their use far outweigh any possible side effects.
I have had chronic allergies since I was a young adult and I can tell you that I was miserable until a non-sedating antihistamine came on the market. Your daughter has added serious reasons, in the asthma and eczema, for needing the antihistamine. Asthma, if not kept under control, is life threatening. Your daughter may not mind having a red, blotchy skin now but she definitely will as she gets older. And if the eczema is not kept under control now she may also have scars.
I agree that managing your daughter's anxiety is of equal importance to the rest. Since you've tried eliminating foods, have not seen an improvement, and have the added symptom of anxiety I would try the medication regime. It may take several months for either method of treatment to show obvious success.
It is quite possible that the naturpath's method of treatment would eventually work but at what cost? It is very difficult for a school age child to change their diet to be so very much different from the diet of their friends. Social growth is also important. She needs to feel self-confident and appropriately in control of herself. Having asthma, eczema, and food allergies takes away much of this. And, I don't think they really know how these 3 things relate to each other.
As you said, eliminating the food to which she was allergic hasn't, thus far, shown any improvement in the other areas. Ha it shown improvement in the way that she digests her food and how she feels in general? If so emphasize that with her while finding ways for her to be in control of what she eats. Provide yummy alternatives. Limit how much the rest of the family also eats. Have her choose foods for specific meals. Perhaps give her a list and let her choose one food from that list for dinner each night.
The treatment for eczema includes keeping her skin moist, applying cream, medication when it's out of control. Focus on that instead of the food.
Same with the asthma. My daughter has never had a food related asthma attack. That doesn't mean your daughter hasn't or won't but it's safe to wait and see while you have control of other causes for the asthma. This is where the antihistamine comes in.
By taking the antihistamine, your daughter's system in better able to protect against an attack of any kind. And if an attact still ocurrs it will be less serious, giving you time to add more antihistamine. My granddaughter does get hives from time to time and I just give her a fast acting antihistamine, such as Benedryl.
She's had an epi-pen since she was a baby and never had to use it. I finally realized that because we now know that anaphylactic shock can occur everyone with the possibility of going into shock has a pen. When I was younger, having a pen indicated that one was in serious danger of death. It doesn't mean that any longer. It means we err on the safe side. The epi-pen is to be used for an exteme allergic reaction. i.e. anaphylactic shock.
I have gone into anaphylactic shock twice; once from numerous bee stinks occurring at once and the second time while in the doctor's office. Both times they were stopped with an oral antihistamine. Now a days I'd be prescribed an epi-pen after each of those episodes. I was told to stay away from bees but I've had subsequent stings with no negative results.
Re; the inhaler. Don't wait until she has an exteme reaction. Once she has difficulty breathing and/or wheezing, her chest feels tight to her, that sort of mild symptom, give her the inhaler. We learned the hard way that failure to do so may cause you to end up in the ER because she can hardly breathe at all.
So.....my recommendation based on my own experience with allergies and experience with my granddaughter's allergies is to give her the clarinex, keep the inhaler and epi-pen handy and down play the food elimination.
If you do feel uncomfortable with using the clarinex, talk some more with the allergist. Talk with the pharmacist. Get all of your questions answered in a scientific way. Weigh the possible negatives with the quality of life and health that you want for your daughter.
Children use a spacer with the inhaler which makes it very easy to use. They must use an inhaler because it is portable and one never knows when it'll be needed. My daughter uses her inhaler most often when she's away from home. A nebulizer is helpful for use at home. My granddaughter uses a nebulizer when the inhaler doesn't open her airways enough. The nebulizer is more efficient at getting the medication into the lungs..
