Fighting allergies without shots

Tissue?

My Daughter, Samara, has acute environmental allergies- dust mites, grasses, weeds, molds, pollens,dogs and cats, to name a few. Before we discovered this, we thought she suffered from chronic colds. The poor girl blew her nose constantly, even in her sleep and she had permanent dark circles under her eyes.

Living in Southern California makes keeping these allergies at bay particularly challenging. Her allergist recommends shots- once a week for nine months- to help her system build up a tolerance. The shots are a diluted cocktail of all the things she is allergic to. Some people have had great success with this but we know kids who don’t seem to have benefited from it all. Samara has panic attacks when she gets shots. She literally has to be held down by me and two nurses when they are administered. I can’t imagine putting her (or me) through that on a weekly basis. So, what to do?

Control the immediate environment

I have removed all feather pillows,comforters and cushions from her room and replaced them with non allergenic alternatives

I put dust mite covers on her pillows, mattress, and comforter.

I removed as many  dust gathering items from her shelves as I could.

I steam cleaned the throw rug in her room- the best solution would be to get rid of the rug all together but she is attached to it , so for now I will just keep it as clean as possible.

I established a “no shoe” policy in her room.

I bought a blueair 402 air purifier for her room ( available at Bed Bath and Beyond- don’t forget your discount coupon- they are expensive). 

I dust often with my microfiber cloths and my spiffy new microfiber slippers and I wash all her bedding and stuffed animals in hot water once a week. 

Eliminate foods that aggravate her allergies

Apples, oats and milk all potentially aggravate Samara’s allergies. We have cut them all out completely, with the exception of milk. I am having a hard time finding a substitute that Samara enjoys. She was ok with rice milk for a couple of days until she realized it was a permanent switch. She has never liked soy. 

Build her tolerance with honey.

At the suggestion of my cousin Annie Barnes, I started giving my daughter a teaspoon of local honey every morning. Local honey contains pollen from the same sources that bother Samara. Straight exposure to this  pollen triggers allergies but exposure to that same pollen in the honey is thought to have the opposite effect.  In honey the allergens are delivered in small, manageable doses and the effect over time is very much like that from undergoing a whole series of allergy immunology injections. I found some delicious honey at our local farmer’s market and Harry the honey many was quick to confirm Annie’s suggestion. 

Medicate

This is my least favorite option but on occasion, when the weather gets really hot and the air is thick with pollens, we reach for the Astelin or Zyrtec. It takes the edge off of things and keeps Samara’s sinus from getting infected. 

It has been about three weeks since we put all these measures into place and I am happy to report that Samara is breathing easier. She is not sniffle free but she is sleeping really well and her “chest cold” has disappeared. Granted, we are not in the peak of allergy season but for now, we have decided to try and manage things without shots. 

Picture credit ( first photo)

http://www.cluelessemma.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/03/allergies.png

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