Wellness Wednesday – Staying healthy with Allergies and Asthma

10 Apr Wellness Wednesday – Staying healthy with Allergies and Asthma

Spring is in the air where we live which means allergies are in full swing!!

Living in a farming community on the edge of a hay field and across from a potato field, with two dogs in the house means we have to stay on top of our allergy symptoms before they turn into full-blown sinus infections and asthma attacks.

The farms in the area are beginning to be tilled and prepped and we live in a really windy area so all of that dust and pollen gets thrown into the air. 

We also have our two hypoallergenic dogs that live indoors and wander into the fields during the day and bring all those fun allergies inside with them! I’ve found a great solution for the dogs; more on that in a minute…

As for my seasonal allergy sufferers we have found that they MUST take an allergy pill Every. Single. Day.

Without fail! 

Or we end up with asthma and full blown croup symptoms. All of my kids have been croup sufferers. The doctors would always tell me that kids could only get croup once and then they would develop immunity to it. 

So when I would bring my kiddos in 2, 3 and 4+ times with croup symptoms they finally decided to test them for asthma. My little Lacey gets so bad that she’s almost been hospitalized a couple times. Her doctor finally saw her in a full blown attack, luckily, and documented it in her chart so that if she has symptoms of croup at all we show up on the first day at the doctors office and she gets a steroid shot.

It can get really bad. My son, Dallen, also has a terrible time with allergies and asthma, although as he’s gotten older he’s grown out of much of it.

We also made the decision when he was about 6 to start allergy shots as recommended by his allergist.

We faithfully drove the 30 min to the office, waited our turn, and had Dallen get the allergy shot. Then waited for the 30 required minutes in the office for a reaction and drove the 30 min home. It was about 2-3 hours total depending on the wait time in the office to receive the shot after school.

We did that for THREE YEARS! With FOUR kids in tow…

All while my youngest Allie was little and incredibly needed and fussy and before she was strong enough to walk or even walk very far from her ehlers-danlos syndrome.

I was determined to fix whatever needed to be fixed, even if inconvenient, so he could have the best possible experience in life….

Although, I have mixed emotions about the shots. I think they may have helped some with my sons allergies but it did not cure them. 

At least not for him. 

He still takes an allergy pill every day and at our house, we rotate the allergy pills. We’ve found that once we finish a bottle, we switch brands or our bodies get used to them and they stop working. 

We also have prescriptions for all the allergy medicines with Decongestants in them for when they are really terrible. 

My daughter was one sinus infection away from scheduling sinus surgery two years ago but we figured out some things that really seem to help keep them at bay.

Number one being an allergy pill every day, no exceptions.

My two sufferers are really good about remembering to take them because they are so miserable and sick without them. We’ve tried taking Singulair but my kids have a rare reaction to it and end up having severe night terrors so it just doesn’t work for us.

Second, we have a couple different nose sprays on hand. Flonase is the one we give to the kids when a sinus infection is coming on. Flonase is supposed to be a preventative, but it’s difficult for my kids to remember to use it. I like ipratroprium when my allergies are bad, it seems to work the best for me.

I have had a kenalog shot the past two years and loved it but they will only let you have this 3 times total so I’ve been looking for other options.

My  kids also use albuterol inhalers and Budesonide when they have their allergic cough come on. This was really hard to get and incredibly expensive in inhaler form, around $300 to $500 depending on insurance and dosage. My kids tried all of the medications for asthma and this was the one that keeps them out of the hospital and breathing well.

Anyone else suffer from allergy coughs? They are awful! 

They usually last about two weeks and they cough constantly, although these have become less and less as the kids have gotten older. 

We’ve tried a netti pot at our house but it is hard for my kids to use. I don’t like all the preparation I have to do the water before using it, since we have well water I like to be careful.

The thing I have found to be the most helpful recently is a saline sinus nasal spray. It’s quick, convenient and easy to use and keeps the sinus’s clean and rinsed of all the allergies every day. It’s medication free and over the counter and Costco has 3 bottles for about $12. You can also find them on Amazon here »

Sinus rinses happen every day during spring where we live, and especially during harvest season in the fall.

I’ve also found that we have to keep our air filters washed and clean, our house dusted and our dogs vacuumed!!

YEP,  you read that right. I found this great little attachment that hooks right onto my Dyson vacuum.  It allows me to vacuum off my dogs with their long hair and with it all those yucky allergens and loose hair they bring into our home every day.

And the dogs LOVE it!

 I’m not kidding, I was really worried they would run away from the sound of the vacuum or just plain old hate it. Especially our little yorkie, but he just rolls over and lets me vacuum him off. 

Which is great! 

There is a little extra hose attachment you might have to buy, depending on your Dyson model, which I am waiting to arrive but until then I just hold it onto the hose part of the vacuum and it seems to work great!

Who thought of this? Seriously!! 

You can buy the Dyson brand here or I bought the off brand which was less expensive here. With the extra hose attachment piece here if you need it.

I also love that it helps to keep the dogs smelling fresh. I don’t like walking into a house and having it smell like a dog lives there, so I constantly keep our home vacuumed and use baking soda in the carpet weekly to help keep the smell at bay as much as possible.

We also schedule our dogs for a haircut every 6 weeks and we keep their hair pretty short.

We have considered not having pets inside. At this point, our two furry friends are family and help with nighttime anxiety at our house with some of my littles, so inside they stay.

What do you all do to help your allergy sufferers stay comfortable during allergy season?

XOXO,

Susan

Disclaimer
CraftyWildflower.com does not provide professional medical advice to any of our visitors. These posts are just our family’s story and what we have been through. Always consult your physician or a health professional regarding any allergy treatments for you and your family.