[flvegnewbie]

Wow! That was a mouthful!!

Anyhow, I thought I would post this here since it is child related. My son has horrible coughing spurts during our fierce allergy seasons here in Florida, which unfortunately is about every 5-6 mo. or so.

He was prescribed allegra for his allergies in the past, and he took it for about 3 years but it eventually got to where it wasn't helping him either. I seriously think his body got immune to it. So this time around I would really like something more natural that I can give to him just when the symptoms flare up.

Any help you can provide would be really appreciated!

TIA,

Michelle

 

[flvegnewbie]

Well since I haven't had any posts & there have been like 30+ people read this thread, there must be a few other parents looking for a more natural remedy too (or I guess maybe some people are like me, and just was curious as to what I posted?).

So, I thought I would "bump" this at least once to see if maybe someone who hadn't seen it might have an answer for me!

If I do end up finding something at my HFS & it is working, I'll be sure to come back here & post the info. for everyone else!

Thanks,

Michelle

 

[missbelgium]

Since allergies are a complex process which has to do with the immune system wrongly marking certain substances as "enemy" substances, I don't think there are "simple" herbal solutions out there at all.

I have however heard of successful homeopathic treatments. Not over the counter or anything, but with a real, good homeopath. It may take a few years to work it all out and it will probably cost some money (I doubt if most insurances cover this kind of treatment) but I have heard first-hand accounts of people who got relief for their kids through homeopathy. (Our pediatrician is a regular ped who reschooled as a homeopath and some of the people I met in the waiting room spoke very highly of her regarding allergies).

You may want to look into that.

 

[IamJen]

For my fall allergies, nettle leaf (made into a tea) worked well.

 

[Snow White]

You could try cutting out dairy and see if it makes a difference. That's what I did when I went from plain old hayfever to getting asthma everytime I got a cold. My allergies didn't disappear, but they did improve tremendously. Turns out I was allergic to milk without knowing it though.

 

[flvegnewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by missbelgium

Since allergies are a complex process which has to do with the immune system wrongly marking certain substances as "enemy" substances, I don't think there are "simple" herbal solutions out there at all.

I have however heard of successful homeopathic treatments. Not over the counter or anything, but with a real, good homeopath. It may take a few years to work it all out and it will probably cost some money (I doubt if most insurances cover this kind of treatment) but I have heard first-hand accounts of people who got relief for their kids through homeopathy. (Our pediatrician is a regular ped who reschooled as a homeopath and some of the people I met in the waiting room spoke very highly of her regarding allergies).

You may want to look into that.

Thanks for taking the time to post. I guess I didn't make it clear in my original post that he does have allergies associated with the outdoors more than anything he eats, it always seems to flair up during the changing of the seasons & the rest of the year he doesn't seem to have any problems. At least that's what his pediatricain has decided? Sorry about that.

Your right, I'm pretty sure that our insurance wouldn't cover a homeopath.

Thanks for your suggestions & taking the time to post!

Michelle

 

[flvegnewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IamJen

For my fall allergies, nettle leaf (made into a tea) worked well.

Nettle leaf, I have heard of this. I will defiantely check into it, although getting him to actually drink it might be a different story??

Thanks a bunch!

Michelle

 

[flvegnewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snow White

You could try cutting out dairy and see if it makes a difference. That's what I did when I went from plain old hayfever to getting asthma everytime I got a cold. My allergies didn't disappear, but they did improve tremendously. Turns out I was allergic to milk without knowing it though.

Your absolutely right about the dairy.

He does seem to have more mucous when he does get to coughing, whenever he's eaten cheese or has eaten cereal with milk.

So we've been working on that, and he's gotten to where he eats his cereal with soy now & has cut his cheese down by about 80%. It's taken quite a bit of persuading from me but after he went without any dairy for a week, he was able to tell a difference, I guess he finally realized that sometimes I do know what I'm talking about!

That's another problem I have with his pediatrian, like I posted to "missbelgium", his ped. intially came to the conslusion that it was just seasonal allergies, but we've noticed a HUGE improvement since his diary comsumption has dwindled down. Not saying that this is the actual cause of his coughing fits, but I definately think it has been a big contributor.

His is not year-round, thankfully. But we notice it gets really bad during seasonal changes. I've also noticed when the weather starts turning cool in the Fall, it flairs up again, then in the Spring, it's when everything starts to bloom. So it has to be connected with the changing of seasons.

Thanks a ton for posting the info. on the dairy!

Now, he's starting to realize that it's as bad for him as I've been telling him all along.

Michelle

 

[IamJen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flvegnewbie

Nettle leaf, I have heard of this. I will defiantely check into it, although getting him to actually drink it might be a different story??

Thanks a bunch!

Michelle

NP..wrt drinking it, I must admit to using a good bit of sugar. You can also just mix it in some other liquid. The tea just felt good.

Ditching dairy (fluid milk in particular) was a big help to me as well. I used to get sinus infections ALL the time. I've not had one since leaving milk behind, and only 2 or 3 colds in 7 years. Also, I don't have any medical evidence, but I think it helped with seasonal allergies as well. My suspicion is that maybe my nose, etc. were already irritated from the dairy, and now that they're healthier, the allergy symptoms aren't so bad.

Regardless, I can sympathize with your kiddo. I actually had to miss school a few times in late elementary/Jr. High because the sneezing/runny nose/yada yada was so bad. Blech.

 

[Bonoluvr]

Michelle another thing that has been found to help is if there is a local bee keeper honey producer in your town or area, to eat the honey and that helps the body to develop immunity to the particular allergens in your area.

of course if you are strict vegan this will not work

 

[karenlovessnow]

I thought this was somewhat interesting:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/heal.../allergies.htm

 

[flvegnewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karenlovessnow

I thought this was somewhat interesting:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/heal.../allergies.htm

Thanks for the link!

Michelle

 

[sugar magnolia]

Quercetin and stinging nettles worked for me. Dr Andrew Weil recommends it on his website, which is very informative on alternative medicine.

 

[IamJen]

Thanks for the link karen. I'm stashing it away for next spring.

 

[Marie]

My son has seasonal allergies and anything with herbs makes them worse.

 

[sluagh]

I've heard about some very positive results from people who give their children a little local honey mixed with vinegar once a day, but be aware that some children with very severe allergies can become ill from eating large amounts of honey (this happened to my father as a boy).

 

[DLS]

For airborne allergies, try using an air purification device. Wein Products has a miniature personal air purifier that is worn around the neck. And BioAllers has a line of homeopathic remedies to combat allergy symptoms. Allergy Helper from Continental Vitamin Company has an herbal combination formula that is good for relieving allergy symptoms. Decongest Herbal Formula from Zand is a good allergy-fighting product.

Also avoid any foods that contain artificial color, especially FD7CYellow No.5 dye, many people are allergic to food colorings. Other food additives to avoid include benzaldehyde, eucalyptol, monosodium glutamate, BHT-BHA, benzoates and annatto.

 

[Marie]

Yeah.. air purifiers help.. duct cleaning helps a lot too.

 

[Dirty Martini]

I've read that adding bee pollen to foods (like smoothies) will slowly build up your immune system so that you don't release as many histamines. HOWEVER, it must be locally-acquired pollen, so that you build up resistance to the pollen that's around you.

If you're not allergic to pollen, I suppose this won't help. And, I'd be afraid of eating too much.