Holistic Allergy Treatment for Kids
- Posted on: May 14 2019
Kids can have runny and congested noses just like adults. In fact, because their nasal airway is naturally much smaller, they are more symptomatic than adults when they have allergy issues.
Allergy Medications are not well tolerated, safe or effective
The difficulty with kids is that traditional allergy medication may not be well tolerated, safe, or effective. Decongestants are not considered safe in the pediatric population, especially under 2 years of age. Antihistamines are very sedating in kids which can affect their brain function and awareness. Antihistamines also tend to thicken the nasal secretions and may precipitate sinus infections. Nasal sprays are poorly tolerated and the use of steroids under 2 years of age has not been demonstrated to be safe in long term studies. It is important to recognize also that allergy medication does not prevent allergy. It lets the allergic reaction occur and then tries to reduce the symptoms. As such, it does not prevent the escalation of the child’s allergy. This escalation, called the “allergic march”, involves having increasing allergens that the child is sensitive to as well as advancement to involve symptoms in the lungs and skin such as asthma and skin rashes.
Allergy Testing and Holistic Treatment
Allergy testing is typically not well tolerated for children under 3 years of age. In many cases the testing whether by blood or skin may be negative. The reason the testing is negative at a young age is that the allergy is initially localized to the nasal and sinus lining and is not yet systemic.
With all of these hurdles to treatment in the pediatric population the best approach is the most holistic approach. In our office we formulate allergy drops for our pediatric patients. There is no age too young to treat with allergy drops. Under 3 years of age we formulate the drops by simply covering the bases of the most common local allergens. Representative allergens from each major category – Trees, Weeds, Grasses, Animal danders, Dust mite, Molds – are included. There is cross reactivity so this balance of allergens covers the spectrum beautifully to stimulate the child’s immune system to have blocking antibodies to prevent the allergic reaction. The drops are sweet tasting and they are simply placed under the tongue of the child once a day by the parent. Since it is not a medicine, there are no side effects to worry about. By 6 weeks in to therapy the child is making antibodies and benefits from the therapy. Usually by 6 months the child has had a dramatic reduction in allergy issues. A course of 36 months is recommended. Many times, if the child has been asymptomatic for some time, the drops can be discontinued.
In children over three, we use the same approach but since our skin testing technique does not use any needles we can usually do some skin testing to increase the specificity of what we place in the drops.
Schedule A Consultation
If your child is suffering from allergy symptoms, consider a consultation to initiate the safest and most effective form of allergy prevention with allergy drop therapy. Contact us at 512.601.0303 to schedule an appointment!
Tagged with: Allergy drops for kids, Allergy testing
Posted in: Allergies, Pediatric ENT
