Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Unconventional food allergy strategies

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.

Thanks, Howlerkarma - that's a great summary and a prudent reminder about the potential masking effects.

Cookie, you got a much better answer from Howlerkarma than I can re-invent but both b then z and z then b have been effective for my children under the different situations.

Thanks HK...

I agree we are very happy with Zyrtec and once a day (he is a very small 14 year old) is working for him at home. I had never heard that younger kids might need two doses.

..it is only when you add the cat...(and he has no food allergies)...and at that point we want fast acting. His pediatricians have been fine with that for a long time...we only visit for 3-7 days at a time mostly long weekends. So he gets three additional Benadryl doses once every two months. That doesn't feel excessive to me. And 14 year old desperately wants the cat to like him...luckily she is mean.

Signed, not a cat person at all

My mom is allergic to cats and would take Claritin two to three days in a row before visiting my aunt who was a crazy cat lady. She tried to visit mostly at a restaurant in her town and minimize her time in my aunt's house. I am surprised my mom doesn't have an epi pen for all her allergies. Some of them are quite severe.

Howlerkarma, that is a helpful explanation and clearer (more accessible) than what I had come across previously.

My initial post brought up two separate issues - using zyrtec daily as a preventative therapy and using zyrtec as an add-on therapeutic. I was confident of the efficacy of the later (in certain instances) but was wondering about the former. Although my older DS has been taking zyrtec daily for 7 years, it wasn't to prevent reactions due to his "traditional" food allergies so I wasn't sure about having my younger DS take it daily to help prevent allergic reactions.

Your latest post plus one of your previous ones set out the reasons very well and may help someone else approach their doctors with the right set of questions.

Thanks-- but let me reiterate that our strategy is probably not the correct one under all circumstances, and we see a very fine board-certified allergist, with whom we work closely.

Still, all of this stuff is a work in progress all the time. That allergy bucket/cup thing is all too real, unfortunately. So is the allergic march. A lot of clinical practice in this area (not the pharmacology, of course, but the bigger-picture stuff touched upon) is hypothetical at best, unfortunately.

There's no way that H1/H2 receptor therapies are anything like a magic bullet for preventing serious systemic responses to life-threatening allergens. HAVE to say that. I know that everyone who has participated in this thread thus far is well aware of that, but over the years, I've heard some pretty wacky ideas, and that's definitely one of them that I hear a lot.

My daughter and I both take high doses of cetirizine daily, and we've both anaphylaxed pretty floridly while doing so in spite of that "protection." It can definitely happen, and exposure to an allergen that you have life-threatening history with is just not a good idea without specific, expert medical guidance. This stuff isn't even a DIY project for someone like me; I treasure our partnership with our allergist, and we are VERY compliant patients.