by: Jaye K. Myers, MD – Children’s Medical Group, Richland, MS
With the welcoming of warmer Spring weather often comes the unfortunate partner of seasonal allergy symptoms. As we move into allergy season, there are some important things to know about treating allergy symptoms.
If your child suffers from the runny nose, nasal congestion, or watery eyes that are typical as
the pollen count goes up, there are some things you can do to help. The mainstays of treatment for allergy symptoms are nasal steroids or antihistamines, or oral antihistamines.
Nasal steroids include such medications as Flonase, Nasacort, Nasonex or Rhinocort. These
medications may take a few days to start working, but they tend to give the best, most
consistent relief of allergy symptoms when used regularly. Astepro is a nasal antihistamine
spray. It can provide more acute relief of symptoms, so is useful in children who don’t tolerate
daily nasal sprays, but need something intermittently.
If your child does not tolerate nasal sprays, you can use oral antihistamines to relieve symptoms. These medications include Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra and Benadryl. The first three of
these have the benefit of once daily dosing and are not typically sedating, allowing children to
continue their usual daily activities.
Of course, if you are unable to control symptoms with these tips, or have any further questions about seasonal allergies, we are always available to evaluate and treat your child. You can call for appointments or make an appointment online at childrensmedicalgroup.net.
Get ready to get out and enjoy the beautiful Mississippi Spring weather!