Saturday, February 02, 2008

One Full Medicine Cabinet

Cara had her appointment with Dr. Hoontrakoon @ Premier Allergy & Asthma yesterday. They did a little test where they marked up her back with pink & purple marker numbering from 1-10. Then came the sample, concentrated allergens. The technician just dipped this plastic doodad in the samples and pressed it up against Cara's back. No pricks or surface scratches like I was fearing, this was totally painless for Cara. We were left for 15 minutes while the allergens did there job, watched some Shrek on the office computer and played with toys. Dr. Hoontrakoon came back in with the results...Cara does, indeed, have allergies. She is allergic to: Mountain (Western) cedar tree pollen, and Mugwort in addition to Russian thistle. Generally speaking, she is allergic to a lot of common trees, weeds and grasses here in Colorado. Her allergist also thinks that, down the road, Cara might develop childhood asthma. We will just have to wait and see as she learns to walk, run and becomes more active.

We left the office armed with samples--we love free--of Nasonex spray and Zyrtec syrup. We are going to try both drugs for a week to see if there's difference in Cara's nasal stuffiness and cough and if so, we will get an Rx for the Nasonex and also pick up more Zyrtec since it's now over-the-counter (and cheap, only about $13)! I just know that our local Target pharmacist is going to smile when she sees us coming. We are going to be frequent customers, no doubt. Good thing that we love our local Target pharmacy (I'm crazy about those color coding bands) and it is very convenient.

If the Nasonex & Zyrtec aren't doing the job, the allergist will see what else is out there that might work. If at first you're still miserable, try, try again.

I gave Cara her first dose of both drugs today. She took the Zyrtec like a champ but the Nasonex, an entirely different story, man oh man! Let me give the run down on the procedure for administering this dosage. First, one must pin down a very wiggly 18 month old in order to put in saline drops and use a bulb syringe to suction out nose goo. Next, one can release said child for a few minutes allowing the child's nose to dry out. Minutes later, child must be restrained again to allow for each nostril to receive one spray of Nasonex, at preferably, a 45% angle. Let me just say that this is easier said than done, but I think I've developed a technique were I can straddle Cara, hold her head with one hand, hold down her hand with a couple of fingers and activate the spray with two more fingers. I swear though, moms need at least 6 fingers on each hand! I'm hoping that this will get easier over time...please tell me it will! Even if this is my fate for the next several years, it will be worth it if Cara can breathe easier and sleep peacefully without waking herself up coughing. Oh my, could that mean that I just might get a full night of uninterrupted sleep? That would be pure bliss! Crud, I probably just jinxed myself by talking about it. Oh well...

4 comments:

Judy said...

Mountain Cedar is a biggie around these parts - for three days, we've had the "cloud" of pollen - counts above 22,000 (yes, as in THOUSAND)...just nuts. Glad you got some answers though!

Tyler's really good with the bulb. We put saline drops in his nose about 3 - 4 times a day and suction it out, and he always tells me, "I'm a bwave boy, mommy!" Be consistent - she'll come around.

Anonymous said...

Nose drops for kids is really something they DO NOT like - but it is more annoying than hurtful for them and as Cara gets older nose drops will just be another routine to do that makes her feel better when she gets a cold or allergy...I remember gargling with warm salt water when I had a stuffy nose from a cold and I hated doing it - but it really does help.

Yes, Zyrtec is now over-the-counter allergy med., I have allergies but stick to the older ones such as Chlortrimetan beause I can get 100 for them for under $5.00 at Walmart - but with little ones a doctor's choice is the best way to go. My sister had allergies when a child and I didn't have any...I developed pollen and dust allergies in my early 20's. My sister out-grew them or something because she doesn't have allergies anymore...I do and - always will have according to my allergist.

Mary

Anonymous said...

Too bad you can't do what I do with my kitten. I wrap her up in a blanket like a burrito,scruff her, and put drops up her nose and antibiotics down her throat.

Anonymous said...

Hey cos-I'm so glad you have found some relieve for Cara. I hope she will outgrow the allergies...I know most that have them as kids do. Unfortunately for me I got mine as an adult too. :(

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