I have always been one of those rudely skeptical people when it comes to allergies. See, even now ... I feel the need to put the word allergies in italics. Like they aren't real. Like maybe the people who say they have allergies are just making it up. I think it all started when I was a teenage babysitter and the parents would tell me that the thick green snot their kids were spewing all over the place was just allergies and that there wasn't any reason they needed to send me home and cancel their golf luncheon with their friends from the country club. Then amazingly about 48 hours later I had green snot spewing out of my nose too.
For the last two years I have suspected that maybe Chase suffers from allergies (see, no italics there -- we're talking about my kid now). My stubborn self didn't buy him anything for it the first year, but last year he had nasal sprays and the occassional dose of Claritin. It helped, but I was still pretty set on not medicating him to his eyeballs and making him into a Zyrtec Zombie.
I know that some of you have used Zyrtec successfully. And some of you have given it to your kids successfully. That's great and I am happy for you and your noses. Unfortunately my teenage babysitting experiences were only justified more when I spent time with one particular kid who never seemed to be ill at all, whose mother kept him on Zyrtec 365 days a year, and who took it at 11 pm ever night, therefore not being able to wake up enough to function until about noon the next day.
Last year I was sick a lot. I think it was because I was in the elementary schools weekly and my boys were back in school after a year of homeschooling. The three of us brought home enough germs to go around. I spent all of February and March very sick. I shared with Brian. We both went to the doctor and he prescribed antibiotics, cough meds, decongestants, and pain pills. (that's how bad we were!) He also prescribed Zyrtec, Allegra D, Claritin, and enough bottles of nasal spray to last until I am so old I won't care if I have snot running out of my nose any more. We gobbled up the real medicines and let the allergy medicines sit there, unopened. We were definitely sick and didn't need allergy medicines at the time, but my skepticism was lessening and I was thinking I might want to hold on to those allergy medicines just in case.
Last night I decided to try out my Zyrtec. I have had a stuffy nose and runny/watery/itchy eyes for a few days without any other symptoms (no fever, no aches & pains, etc). I took it at 7:30 last night. It's now almost noon and I feel like I am still asleep! And my nose is still stuffy. And my eyes are still runny/watery/itchy. So I guess I will keep being a skeptic. But if you have any advice for me ... anything that you think might help me, please feel free to comment. Tell me to try the Allegra D. Or tell me it's just another cold and that allergies don't really exist. What's your opinion/experience?!?
PS I can guarantee you that if you are reading this blog I was not talking about your kid earlier. The Zyrtec Zombie's mother doesn't know how to read. ha ha ha Just kidding, but she doesn't read my blog anyway.
3 comments:
I am a mom that has one of those kids with ALLERGIES! They are real and are very bothersome not only to the child but to the parent! After YEARS of me complaining and wanting #2's doctor to send him to an ALLERGIST, instead of just giving us meds to make it better for the time being, he did and it was the BEST thing he could of done for #2! The testing wasn't great BUT we know that #2 is allergic to numerous things and we have him on the right meds around the clock all year long and they make things bearable but not rid of them. We are now on the allergy shots, (this is week 5), and he is so so. Here in NC "Fall" alergies start in August and will go until we have a good HARD frost- hence why #2 is suffering so bad right now. Nose spray is great =) I am still wiating for the day when #2 can breathe through his nose ALL the time and we don't hear heavy breathing b/c he can only get enough air through his mouth! I could go on forever but please let me say that one dose of allergy meds will get you nowhere-you have to continally take them especially this time of year!!
Lance has a huge allergy problem and I have allergies, but I'm still a skeptic like you. Lance takes Nasacort every night and that seems to do the trick. If it's really bad I will give him some Claritin because it's not supposed to make him drowsy. If it's a bad night and I just want him to shut up and go to bed, I give him Benadryl. That knocks him out cold. I am a bad mom because I send Liam to school with a terrible cough and tell him to tell everyone it's allergies. It's not, he was tested and has none.
It took me almost 24 hours to feel normal again and my nose was stuffy the entire time. I just don't know what to think of these "allergies"!!!
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