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Redditors with Allergies and/or Asthma, I need your help. What are the best medicines to help my daughter? : AskReddit

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I have never been much of an allergy sufferer, but my daughter has allergy/asthma problems in a bad way.

She is 7 years old, and as of her most recent doctor's appointment she is on: Singulair Albuterol Inhaler Albuterol Nebulizer Flovent Steroidal skin cream(allergy induced eczema) The medicine that I am most skeptical about is the singulair.

I don't really notice a tangible effect as far as preventing breathing problems or eczema, so I am wondering if I am giving her a really expensive sugar pill. Does anyone know where I can find non-biased information comparing Singulair to Zyrtec, Claritin, Benedryl and the like?

(Yes, I have googled it, but I mostly come up with ads and overseas pharmacies and the like.) Also, does anyone have any suggestions for non-pharma means of helping her out long term?

I am not looking for alt-medicine per se, more for lung strengthening excersizes, or some kind of approach to make her life easier. Before it comes up, I would ask her doctor these questions, but the office is decorated in pharma advertisements.

Doesn't exactly give me confidence in their objecivity.

Prayer. Believe in Jesus because He believes in you. Somehow failing that...

The purpose of Singular as you probably know is to make it easier/less painful to breathe.

It's palliative so it would be hard to notice any tangible effect, especially since it's taken in concert with all those other things.

You could get her to stop taking it but the two options is that nothing changes or that she gets worse which doesn't seem like a choice, really. As for some non-spurious information on the internet...

That's a tall order but I'd start at WebMD.

Http://www.webmd.com/asthma/default.htm http://www.webmd.com/allergies/default.htm Also, I do wish the best to you and your daughter.

Crap. I've been praying to satan this whole time.

If only I had chosen properly. Actually, I didn't really know the purpose of the Singulair.

The doctor has been giving her that for about a year now, initially to relieve the eczema, and now for the added benefit of improving her asthma problems.

What has me skeptical is that the asthma progressed while she was on that particular medicine. Since you sound pretty well informed about it, is Singulair similar in function to the other allergy meds I listed(Zyrtec, benedryl, claritin)? Thank you for the info and the well wishes.

Zyrtec, benedryl, claritin - are all antihistamines which means they will relieve the itching, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, and to some extent - the asthma - by blocking histamine production.

They're a little different.

Claritin goes by loratadine as a generic, is over the counter, and has limited impact on drowsyness.

Benedryl makes most people very sleepy.

I have no experience with zyrtec but they all do the same thing. Singulair does something else (I don't know exactly what but I don't find it beneficial) and I think you're right to be skeptical about it.

I think it an awful drug and is known to cause behavioral problems (see my other note in here about that).

THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE take the doctor's prescribed medication but make sure your child gets exposure to the general world around them- plays in the garden, plays with animals, other children - GETS EXPOSED TO GERMS while she is young so that she can slowly build immunity again.

Her body needs to re-learn whatis right and wrong and not to overreact.

Take it slowly though.

But little bit of exposure ata time is GOOD.

She gets plenty of germ exposure.

I don't typically use anti-bacterial cleaners unless there are no other options, and I send her outside as much as possible.

I don't know if it is too late for her in that respect, although we weren't exactly shut ins at an early age either.

I know, every asshole has his/her own story of how they (or someone they know) fixed some problem using X.

Well here's mine.

For consideration only.

Best to assume that YMMV. My daughter had mild asthma but 6 years ago it started getting worse.

The Dr's were ramping up the drugs but we didn't feel it it was even beginning to manage the problems.

LSS we cut out milk products and noticed immediate improvement.

Within a year there were no symptoms.

She eats cheese now but still doesn't drink milk. Suggest to try an elimination diet.

Good luck.

We did observe at a younger age that milk triggered her eczema.

I guess that I didn't really think of trying to find the same types of triggers for asthma.

Thanks!

I second that. Elimination diets have cured a lot of my ailments. I reduced my asthma significantly by becoming vegetarian (down by 90%).

Several years later i read a study that said that proteins in meat trigger asthma. Then by cutting out wheat and dairy i cured it altogether (along with basically every other ailment i had).

So, being slightly sarcastic, but more so curious...what the hell do you still eat?!

Its tough. Lentils, beans, nuts are good...

Vegetables are great.

I dont have much in the way of fruit. For example, last night i made a spicy lentil and bean dahl with tortillas made from chickpea flour.

Very nice and filling. Eating out is a bitch. But given how i feel superhuman a lot of the time now its so worth it.

I imagine that you feel pretty comfortable in Indian restaurants though. This may be an avenue for us to try.

I am not entirely sure that I/She can hack it though. Props to you for the self discipline.

Thank you :) It is quite tough but the key is to have a variety of dishes and ingredients so it doesnt feel like you're cutting stuff out, you're just changing your diet to something new. Give it a try for two weeks - thats how long it took for me to notice a big difference - and see how you go.

Are you going to your daughters pediatrician or an allergist/immunologist?

Also, are her allergies environmental or food based?

Is the asthma triggered by the allergies or exercise induced?

If it's allergy related, have you discussed immunotherapy (allergy shots) with her doctor, they can take like 9 months to over a year to see any effects from it, but from what I've heard they can give some significant relief from the allergy symptoms and the asthma. I have pretty much the same stuff as your daughter (only I'm significantly older.) Flovent didn't really work well for me, so I take Symbicort now which works substantially better, but it might be an issue with her being so young. In regards to the non-pharma means, sometimes a humidifier can help but it's pretty tricky since it's clearly a medical condition.

And even though the doctor's office has pharma ads in there, you need to realize their number one priority is going to be making your daughter healthy, but if it really bothers you that much you can always try and switch to a new doctor. Edit: Also, have you seen a dermatologist for the eczema?

I used to be on Elidel and fluocinonide (and still am with the fluocinonide) which helped greatly for that.

But it's important with those issues to see a specialist because they have significantly more experience diagnosing and treating it.

I am currently taking her to her pediatrician, although I think it is time to go to an allergist again.

I haven't heard anything about immunotherapy.

I wil have to ask them about that. She has both food and env allergies.

She had an allergy test conducted by the previously mentioned allergy doctor.

She came back allergic to damn near everything including peanuts.

I have serious doubts as to the accuracy. Up until a couple of months ago, it was all allergy induced.

Now we have progressed to exersize induced as well. The pediatrician discussed both meds, and chose the flovent.

It is too soon to tell if that is helping or not. I am trying to take the doctor at face value, and don't believe that they would do anything malicious.

But we just keep piling on medications every time we go to the doctor, and life isn't getting any easier.

I am trying to decide if I am just frustrated or have a legit gripe with the doctor.

I wouldn't be surprised if she was allergic to most everything on the test especially since it's what happened with me, the only difference being I'm allergic to soy instead of peanuts. Did the allergist ever do a pulmonary function test (the thing that measures how hard you blow)?

I'd probably try and get the allergist to handle the asthma medication, especially considering the relation to the allergens.

No offense to pediatricians especially since they provide a vital service, but it's hard for them to be able to fully manage all of these ailments, at least with a specialist they spend all their time dealing with that one area so it's much easier for them to manage it effectively. Basically, I think it'd probably be best to keep the pediatrician you have for the yearly physicals and for sudden illnesses, but get a dermatologist to manage the eczema and the allergist to manage the asthma and allergies and hopefully it works out better.

One thing I forgot to mention before, from what I know, Zyrtec is supposed to be a little more effective than Claritin, but definitely just buy the generic cetirizine.

And if she ever gets any eye symptoms, generic Zaditor (ketotifen fumarate) works wonders, don't waste any money on that Visine garbage.

No, the allergist didn't really address the asthma as it was a much more minor problem the last time that she saw them.

I will make sure that they do that test. The reason I have doubts on the testing is that we have always had peanut products around(she doesn't eat them obviously) and that hasn't caused a problem.

Also, she grew out of her egg allergy(according to subsequent testing for the purposes of getting a vaccine), and I thought that wasn't supposed to happen with food allergies. I asked another poster, but is Singulair of a similar function as Zyrtec? Thank you for all of the information, it has been most helpful.

It's probably not a severe allergy, but it can still cause issues.

I can tolerate moderate amounts of soy, but soy milk and tofu are the worst for me.

It's not like the traditional anaphylaxis that you see on tv where you instantly can't breathe, but it's still dangerous because one day it could be that severe.

I have to carry an Epi-Pen around with me just in case, and it's kind of a pain in the ass, but I guess carrying a large pen-shaped object in my pocket is a small price to pay for potentially saving my life.

Basically what I'm trying to say with that is even though it's not what you really would classically think of as a peanut allergy, there's a chance it could still have serious effects.

She might be able to tolerate some amount of peanuts today, but next week it might end up sending her to the hospital. From what I understand, the Singulair acts to reduce bronchoconstriction, thus making it easier to breathe.

Zyrtec is an antihistamine and will reduce the itchy eyes, skin irritation, sneezing, runny nose, etc.

They're pretty much different drugs all together and as far as I know (not a doctor) can be used together especially as they target two different symptoms. Also, I've heard it's not uncommon for people to outgrow some food allergies, I believe my nephew grew out of his egg allergy but still is very allergic to peanuts. Edit: In regards to another poster's bee pollen suggestion, I'd recommend doing that under the supervision of a doctor with the immunotherapy, there's a chance for some serious adverse reactions and it definitely helps to be in a medical facility and being monitored by trained medical professionals.

I do have an Epi in the house, as well as one at school.

I still excersize caution with peanuts, because I don't want to risk it.

I suppose I assumed that peanuts was always a violent type of reaction.

Singulair is a leukotrine inhibitor, in layman terms it inhibits part of the inflammatory pathway.

It is supposed to be especially good for allergically mediated asthma but that does not mean it is a magic bullet.

There are many patients on whom it simply just doesn't work.

Your daughters asthma may be activated along a different pathway.

Note it is different than an antihistamine like Zyrtec or Claritin.

Singulair will not likely have any effect on a regular allergy flare up.

And the two different classes of drugs are not interchangeable.

Benadryl is the ultimate relief but it will also make you very drowsy.

Should only be reserved for days when nothing else is working. I second that Symbicort might be better than flovent if symptoms are not controlled, as it is a combination drug, containing both a steroid like your Flovent and long acting bronchodilator.

This combination is good for difficult to control asthma.

Another combination alternative is Advair. If you find her symptoms are accelerating, immunotherapy might be the ticket.

Is there a good way to objectively measure the effectiveness of the singulair?

Would one of the breathing strength tests(forgot name) show whether the medicine is working, or is lung capacity not the right measurement to take for that? I will talk to the allergist about Symbicort.

I don't know exactly why the pediatrician chose Flovent, but I know that Flovent and Symbicort were discussed.

I had asthma and terrible allergies in my youth up until I was around 17 or 18.

(27 now). I was on a litany of inhalers, took steroids like prednisone, and received allergy shots every other week and those did help.

You can't beat a fast-acting inhaler when you need one. My mother changed what she fed me after I was diagnosed with all of these allergies;

Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, red peppers and spinach became a staple and those began to help it go down (based on her recollection) I also started taking bee pollen in small doses to build up an immunity (think iocane powder ala The Princess Bride).

Some people consider that to be the same as any other homeopathic treatment but over the years I attribute my getting over allergies to it.

I used to have terrible, stay at home in the air conditioning type allergies when I was younger but now suffer maybe 1-2 days a years with symptoms of it just on really bad ragweed days.

The albuterol seems to be the thing that helps the most. Just the word prednisone brings up bad memories.

She had to be on that for a week or two to beat back her eczema.

It worked wonders but she was a freaking nightmare to deal with emotionally. In Re bee pollen: Im willing to try about anything.

I will have to research that one.

I guess I fared better than most on prednisone, either that or I was too young to remember. I asked my mom about this and she also brought in a bunch of house plants to filter the air and make fresh oxygen during the daytime.

My allergist recommended doing it so she did.

I did a little research and came up w/ the following site It's a good source on exactly what kind of plants are recommended.

Teach her to breath slowly, deeply and evenly.

You can do this by maintaining the same count for each of inhale, hold and exhale.

The inflammation will calm if you don't stimulate it. Another important thing, especially if she gets some bronchial congestion/bronchitus, is that lying prone increases symptoms.

Lying on several pillows such that your torso and head are on a slight slope can mean the difference between sleeping at night and struggling to breath. A bathroom full of steam can help, as can a trip to the beach (this was my parents last resort before going to the emergency room for that shot that stang like a motherfucker and always did the trick).

It was a 20 min drive. I've had the most luck with albuterol inhalers personally.

Flovent I was never consistent enough with.

One of the fancy new ones gave me weird headaches.

Hey! I have asthma.

I was diagnosed when I was six months old and had it pretty severe until I was 16 and changed my medication.

I currently take Singulair, Advair, Albuterol nebulizer treatments and Xopenex inhalers.

I personally believe that what helped me the most is the Advair but since I started taking Advair and Singulair at the same time and it helped me, I haven't tried quitting one or the other.

I do have patients that swear by Singulair so it is not neccessarily just another pill.

I really think it depends on the person and what reacts their asthma as to what medication can help. Also, I just wanted to let you know, I hate how albuterol makes me feel.

I used to have to take treatments before I went to sleep and it would make me hyper and restless with my heart racing a mile a minute.

If your daughter has that same problem, I would suggest talking with her doctor about Xopenex.

It is AWESOME! It works just as good as albuterol (IMO) and doesn't cause that crazy feeling.

Although, since it is a relatively new drug, it is VERY expensive.

I don't know what you are willing to pay but I treat myself to the Xopenex nebulizer treatments if I am sick.

;)

Is Advair an inhailer? We had her on the Xopenex for a while, but I couldn't keep up with paying for it.

Even with insurance, it was cost prohibitive.

I feel for her too though.

I used to have to get albuterol once in a while for recurring bronchitis, and that feeling really does suck.

Advair is a steroidal inhaler that you take once a day to prevent asthma attacks.

It is not a bronchodilator so once an attack has started then it won't work. I started using it along with the singulair and I really noticed a huge difference in how often I needed my albuterol.

I didn't rely on my nebulizer treatments near as much. Oh, once my asthma was under control I started running and swimming a lot more.

My theory is that by increasing your lung expansion daily your bronchioles can increase in diameter.

To me this helps when you have an asthma attack and the inflammation and mucous production occurs then you have more room to work with for gas flow. I don't have scientific evidence for this I just thought that it helped me so maybe it can help your daughter.

Get her to run when her asthma is under control.

Advair sounds somewhat similar to the Flovent then.

I am going to have a discussion with the allergist about which combinitation of medices will be the most effective. Luckily, when she doesn't feel bad she is a naturally active child.

I

Careful with the Advair.

I've been on it since it came out, but if you ever stop taking it, your Asthma will hit you like a freight train. Advair only works if you take it consistently.

There is also no generic version. Albuterol is great, but has been discontinued due to issues with the environment.

It's a shame for me because it was the best that worked for me.

Now I'm on Xopenex and I'm not a big fan.

Albuterol is back out in its commercial form with a different propellant.

It is marketed as Ventolin HFA. That is another rant entirely.

I used to be able to by albuterol OTC for myself when I had bronchitis issues, and it costed me a whole 4-5 bucks.

But now because of an obscure EPA rule change, it was re subjected to patent simply because of a change in propellant.

Infuriating.

Yes. I tried Ventolin HFA too.

The reduction of power totally kills the inhaler.

And like you said, there is a new patent so it's no longer generic.

I've had asthma since I was 5, and I've had my own specific problems and triggers (for asthma it was mold, pet dander and dust).

Long term wise, the steps below have helped the most. Step 1 - Isolate allergens for patient determine triggers for attacks (food, environmental, etc...) Step 2 - Take care of allergens in the home.

She will need at least one place where she isn't affected greatly by her allergies.

This is especially important for where she sleeps. No/only hypoallergenic pets Dust and vacuum all the time Change the filters in the central air system Do not open windows consider an additional air purifier mattress pads/covers to control dust/mites in mattress no down filling in anything (especially her pillow) Step 3 - Exercise Cardio is the single best thing in the world.

She has to build up her lungs to compensate for her disability (and it is one, as she'll reach that point in gym class where she can't go on).

Building cardio, and keeping at a healthy level will take work and medication.

She'll probably need her rescue inhalers every exercise time.

This is important to remember when she's in school or extra-curriculars.

I've also heard from an eczema patient that scaling back as much as possible on steroidal creams to what is absolutely necessary would be best for the long term.

She recommends Luxiq foam because it's easy to apply and is a non-steroid.

Thank you for the info.

I am going to have to check out the Luxiq.

I haven't even heard of that one before.

Seconded. I've had asthma since I was about 12 (I'm now 16) and doing all of the above has helped a lot. Admittedly, my asthma was never very bad, but it always opened me up to catch bronchitis and pneumonia literally EVERY winter.

My asthma only acts up on different triggers.

Mine are pollen and cold air.

Cold air is one that people don't often think about, but (at least for me) sharp breaths of cold air left me feeling dizzy and out of breath.

The only other medicine in the way of inhalers is Preventol, but I think that's just a substitute for Albuterol. Oh, and again, I'm 16...

Just speaking from personal experience.

Protopic is the best eczema medicine.

I know from experience. As for asthma, my brother had it when he was much younger.

The asthma / breathing specialist my parents took him to gave him a few tests like the one where they test how hard and long you can blow (insert joke here) and gave him singulair, an albuterol inhaler, and an emergency inhaler.

He had to go to the doctor and use one of those special breathing smoke machines a couple times.

I am not sure if protopic is one that we have tried yet or not.

We finally got the eczema under control with triamcinolone.

Man, that stuff works wonders.

For now at least, as almost everything worked for a little while.

I used to have bad allergies (dust, pet dander).

They were so bad at times that my eyes would water, swell shut and I'd sneeze upwards of thirty times in a row.

My mother made me go to an allergist and get a test and then shots every 1-2 weeks for years.

It never got better, in fact it usually got worse for days after getting a shot.

Then I got older and moved out, got a cat and didn't clean my house ever.

Now I'm cured. tl;dr quit quarantining her and give her dirt and germs and animals.

I'm 32 and have had Asthma/Allergies since I was 7.

I have many of the common allergies plus odd ones.

My major allergies are seafood, iodine, penicillin, flu shots. As far as medications go, it's majorly YMMV.

And since everyone's Asthma is different, it's important to get to know yours (for example, I can breathe cold air easily but have a very difficult time with warm/hot air.

This goes against one of the most common symptoms). However, there is one key part of Asthma that's the same for almost everyone.

And that is control. Asthma has a mental side.

When you are having issues or an attack, the absolute best thing one can do is remain calm.

This is difficult for children to do.

If you get worked up, it just exasperates the attack.

But I swear that there is a mind-over-matter side.

I feel I have found mine and have seriously willed myself through attacks. As for alternative means... When I was younger, my doctor prescribed me to play the sax.

I suppose it helped build lung strength, but I couldn't tell. Now-a-days, I breathe in hot tea occasionally.

This does feel good. I never saw any improvements with air purifiers, ionizers and the like.

And I've tried them all.

Humidifiers can help though.

I have asthma and have had allergies all my life.

Here is what works for me. Stop drinking milk.

Period. Find another way to get the nutrients and calicium.

Orange juice and other things have calcium in them now, so you can find a way around it.

But stop drinking milk.

Immediately. I use Advair for my asthma.

I use it the prescribed two times a day and it has changed my life.

I can use stairs, run, and do other things I never could before.

I hope that something like this works for you as well as it did for me.

For allergies, I use Tylenol Severe Allergy.

It makes you somewhat drowsy, but it's great for preventing an endless cycle of sneezing and runny nose.

Like I said, it works for me.

Buy the expensive air filters for your air conditioner and vacuum.

They are totally worth it.

The Filtrete Air Filters for $20 a pop are the one's I'm talking about.

Don't skimp. They work and are worth it.

Get rid of the carpet in your home.

It's a disgusting allergen trap that cannot be cleaned regardless of what you do to it.

This is almost as crucial as the milk.

Get rid of the carpet.

Make indoor pets become outdoor pets.

Even if they are as clean as can be, they still attract and stir up allergens in the home.

Put the pets outside as often as possible.

Make the bedroom the clean room.

Wash your sheets once a week in hot water and clean the fan blades, blinds and curtains.

The bedsheets and pillowcases are especially important because that's where a person spends a lot of time with their face pressed against the fabric.

That room and that fabric need to be as clean as possible.

Finally, try to replace things in your home that have grown filthy with clean items that may actually be made to reduce allergens.

Replace pillows that are over a year old with new allergen resistant pillows.

Replace old mattresses if they are older than five years.

I wish your family a lot of luck.

It's a real drag being asthmatic with allergies, but by following sensible tactics you'll have more good days than bad days. P.S.

And stop drinking milk!

It's the WORST thing a person with allergies can consume!

P.S. And stop drinking milk!

It's the WORST thing a person with allergies can consume! This is only true if the person is specifically allergic to milk.

Not true. Regardless of the person, milk increases the production of phlegm and mucus, which can result in asthma attacks, upper respiratory infections and dehydration.

That's why several singers never drink milk and try to stay away from dairy products.

Milk does not increase the production of phlegm (which is a mucus). http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/phlegm/AN01455 http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2007/11/28/2102703.htm I have had severe oral allergy syndrome (OAS) with asthma and eczema since birth.

I can tell you many things which I can't eat because they trigger asthma attacks.

Milk is not one of them.

Sorry. The second dude sounds like a quack, and the first guy doesn't address allergies.

I can't believe that the second doctor suggests that all food allergies "hit you like a Mack truck".

That suggestion must be based on the idea that a food allergy always affects the stomach, or gastro-intestinal tract.

Some food allergies only hit the skin, others only the eyes, others only the lungs, etc.

The allergic properties of milk can manifest themselves in several areas of the body without any sign of stomach distress.

I actually know people who can't drink milk because they get hives.

My symptoms: I endlessly sneeze.

Neither one of us experience an upset stomach. Simple point.

If you are allergic to milk, it increases mucus production.

If you are not allergic to milk, it still thickens the mucus you have.

These are two very bad things for an asthmatic person with allergies. Adult humans are the only adult mammal that consumes milk.

Some of our bodies are not tolerant of it, and people with asthma, allergies, or other upper respiratory issues are frequently, if not always, advised to stop consuming milk. I suggest strongly that the OP does the same. And here's my own website of quacks to back me up. http://www.naturalnews.com/010443.html

I suffer from severe asthma and respiratory problems.

While I do use Albterol inhalers and nebulizers for asthma attacks, I use Advair as my pre-ventative inhaler. The Advair is the most important meds I take;

It is so helpful.

I used to only use the rescue inhalers because I didnt seem to have that many problems for awhile, but then for a whole month I had a hard time breathing.

I would wake up in the middle of night and be unable to breath.

I started taking my Advair again and all has changed.

I can finally breath again and havent needed to use the rescue inhalers at all since.

Hookworms. they secrete immunosuppressants that inhibit the abnormal overreaction of the immune response associated with allergies/asthma.

They cost between 500-1000 bucks for a sample to infect a host.

Helminth treatment.

Helminth treatment.

First, swimming helps athsma alot, i've had it as a little kid and it cured me so quick i dont even remember having it.

I have bad allergies too, normally i take some Loratadine medicine, but takes long to take effect.

There are some especialists in allergies that could see her, but you should know that doing sports will help her inmune system get much stronger.

So send her swimming and maybe some other sport and dont expose her ALOT to things shes allergic to.

Also one spoon of honey a day can take allergies away, it worked for someone i know.

Hmm old-school oral tolerance treatment, since honey contains all kinds of pollen..

I developed asthma/allergies around age 12 which seems to have progressively worsened over time (I'm 29) but I've never had eczema.

I take advair twice daily, a 20mg (double OTC) dose of generic 24hr claritin and have fast acting hfa inhalers all over the house.

I find this combo has the fewest side effects for me with zero drowsiness and lets me live a pretty normal life.

Zyrtec & Benadryl knock me out about 30 minutes after dosing which is handy if I'm ever having trouble sleeping but I avoid them when I want to be functional.

I suppose that's kind of like helping the symptoms.

:) Non-pharma measures include changing the AC/heating filters with the pricier asthma/allergy sufferers special version quarterly, regular vacuuming and avoiding products with perfumes & dyes, particularly clothes detergents & softeners.

The perfume part sucks because it means my wife can't wear most any lotion or perfume without setting my asthma off.

I never complain about it but she is a pretty good nurse so she picks up on my breathing changes often before I do so she just stopped wearing most of her favorite girl products.

:-P Probably the best thing I ever did for my asthma & allergies was to move.

I used to live in the central valley in CA and just figured that watery eyes, a runny nose & a couple of minor asthma attacks per day was normal.

I noticed once I moved close to the coast that it dropped to maybe one or two minor attacks per week and very little in the way of allergy symptoms.

After adding in the drugs, I can actually go on a 5 mile run outdoors with no concerns about needing a trip to the ER with breathing problems.

Instant reaction when I get back to the valley though. I think it came down to determining what my particular triggers were & avoiding them along with trial & error to determine which drugs worked best for me with fewest side effects.

I would also expect that the particular triggers will change over time along with which drugs work/don't work.

Again, just in my own experience, I used to be allergic to shellfish and discovered recently that this is no longer the case and can eat a shrimp cocktail or do oyster shots all day long without trouble.

I used to be able to tolerate smoke (cigarette, campfire, bbq, etc.) and this is no longer the case and smoke is now one of my most potent triggers.

I hear some people luck out and grow out of childhood asthma/allergies but for me, it's an annoying ongoing battle.

Singulair is the medicine of the devil.

I took it for about a week last year and it lead to uncontrollable rages and nonstop irritation (I'm generally calm but I threw a cell phone into my macbook pro's display in a rage and shattered it - cost big bux to fix it).

If your daughter develops behavioral issues - try dumping that one.

In fact, I'd dump it and see if she gets along without it.

I manage fairly well with just albuterol for crisis and a bit of flovent when the pollen flies. Benedryl is old school anti-histamine.

It makes (most) people sleepy (it makes me hyper).

Loretadine is fairly cheap, longer lasting, and doesn't make me hyper or drowsy. Where do you live?

I'd give serious consideration to moving to a climate with fewer allergens.

I grew up in Michigan and had a fairly sickly childhood.

I went to college in New Mexico and it was like being reborn - I was never more healthy.

I'm living in the pacific NW and it sucks - I'm going to move soon to get off the drugs. Flovent can be evil if you get too much.

Constantly experiment to find the minimum effective dose.

It causes agitation and unsatisfiable appetite if I get too much. BTW I developed asthma at age 2 and I'm 45 and still tweaking my meds (although I find I can ditch them when I'm in the desert). Also - swimming is a GREAT thing for an asthmatic to do.

If there's a swim team around and you're in a warm climate - sign her up.

The downer is that many indoor pools are actually really bad for asthma because of the chlorine in the air.

We received no warning about behavioral issues and the Singulair.

I don't really see a difference except when she is taking albuterol a lot.

My main concern is that it doesn't seem to do anything to help her. We live in a farm town far west of Chicago, so I am sure that is a contributing factor.

If I could sell my house, I would move in a minute for a multitude of reasons.

Mostly the weather here in general. She enjoys swimming, but it would have to be indoor because of the climate.

I might give it a shot anyway, and just change facilities if she has breathing problems.

Oh farms are bad for me - probably for her too. The following warnings for Singulair were issued just this month: The following information has been added to the "Precautions" section of Singulair's label: "Neuropsychiatric Events Neuropsychiatric events have been reported in adult, adolescent, and pediatric patients taking SINGULAIR.

Post-marketing reports with SINGULAIR use include agitation, aggressive behavior or hostility, anxiousness, depression, dream abnormalities, hallucinations, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, somnambulism [sleepwalking], suicidal thinking and behavior (including suicide), and tremor.

The clinical details of some post-marketing reports involving SINGULAIR appear consistent with a drug-induced effect.

Patients and prescribers should be alert for neuropsychiatric events. Patients should be instructed to notify their prescriber if these changes occur.

Prescribers should carefully evaluate the risks and benefits of continuing treatment with SINGULAIR if such events occur." http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=16 is a good resource - most googling will get you pharmaco propaganda.

Boards like this are users comparing notes.

Seems like from the comments on the board, there are mixed reviews on Singulair in general.

I have noticed that here too.

That's what is making these decisions so difficult for me is there are so many options and treatments with asthma, it is hard to know what to do.

I have never had these issues(other than some bronchitis), so I can't even truly perceive how she feels.

And any time I ask her how she is doing, she says "Good" or "Fine", not the most helpful answers.

You could look into "Oral Tolerance" treatments, or injections.

The Doctor injects small amounts of allergens over time, or you daughter eats the allergen in the form of a pill. The dose must be EXTREMELY small when starting out, or it could cause a serious toxic reaction to them. Apparently, some peanut allergy sufferers have been successfully treated by this method. But talk to a doctor.

I will have to bring that up with the allergist.

I am liking all of these suggestions because at least I have something to bring up with the doctor other than the typical medication out the wazoo angle.

Check this out: NAET .

I am sure it will seem like a crock to most of you, but it is very powerful. An example: One of my family's closest friend was severely allergic to shellfish and citrus fruits (he went into anaphylactic shock after eating lobster once and nearly died).

After being treated with this technique, he has no problems eating oranges or crab legs etc.

The technique is not limited to food allergies either, as far as I can tell it can be applied to nearly anything you may be allergic to. Even if it seems "too good to be true" at first (even I was skeptical), wouldn't your rather help your daughter without hopping her up on steroids and medications that she will most likely become dependent on to function? Just a thought :)




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