Thank you, ndw - those are nice, clear explanations. Looking over my posts, I realized that I have probably been unclear and created some confusion given that I am posting about three allergic kids with divergent medical histories and different reaction profiles.
I also want to add that reviewing medical research should be coupled by conversations with medical professionals. In certain specific situations, adding Zyrtec after Benadryl has been highly effective for my younger DS and his doctor concurs. Please check with yours. I am talking specifically about situations where epinephrine is not indicated and you can see some effects of the benadryl but it is not fully effective. For example, the hives improves substantially but not completely and returns too quickly. Doctors routinely prescribe higher dosages of benadryl than instructed on the bottle and that can help sometimes. However, adding Zyrtec provides a much more powerful boost. I have seen it in action twice. Again, please check with your own doctors.
