There’s nothing worse than watching your little one struggle with allergies season after season. This article will help you understand your kids’ allergies a little better so you can find the best medicine possible to get them feeling better again.

What are allergies?

At the most basic level, allergies are just your immune system’s response to substances (like peanuts and pet hair) that your body thinks are harmful. That being said, these substances are actually harmless to most people.

When your body senses a harmful object, it creates antibodies that flag that object as harmful. This is what’s happening when you experience an allergic reaction.

Unfortunately, most allergies can’t be cured, but luckily there are several ways to make the symptoms of allergies much more manageable!

Causes

The cause of an allergic reaction is essentially your body making a mistake and incorrectly labeling something that’s harmless as dangerous. After your body makes antibodies for a particular allergen, the next time you come into contact with the allergen those same antibodies release chemicals called histamines that lead to all the uncomfortable symptoms of an allergy attack.

Although everyone has different allergic responses, there are some common triggers of allergic reactions such as:

• Foods: Unfortunately for peanut butter lovers, certain foods such as peanuts and other tree nuts often cause allergic reactions. Other foods such as dairy products like eggs and milk, weat, fish (especially shellfish!), and soy are other foods that people are allergic to.
• Medications: Medicine works differently in each person’s body. Some medications that are known for triggering allergic reactions are penicillin and penicillin-based antibiotics.
• Plants: Some poisonous plants such as poison oak can be really dangerous for people who are allergic to them because of the extreme allergic reactions they induce.
• Bugs: Aside from being pesky and bothersome, the sting of certain insects such as bees and wasps can also cause allergic reactions.
• Allergens in the Air: Often the hardest allergens to avoid are airborne allergens like pet hair, pollen, mold, and dust because they travel in the air and are almost possible to eliminate completely from your home.
• Materials: Certain materials such as latex are known to trigger allergic reactions.
  

Symptoms

Much like the causes, the symptoms of allergies vary greatly for each person. The symptoms of an allergic reaction can range from being a little annoying to potentially fatal, so it’s important to be able to spot them early in your kid.

A few common signs of an allergic reaction include:

• Constant sneezing
• Itchy, runny, or stuffy nose
• Itchy, red, swollen, or watery eyes
• Hives
• Tingling in the mouth
• Swollen body parts around a stil or the mouth if related to a food allergy
• Chough, tight chest, shortness of breath
  

The most severe allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis. The reason anaphylaxis is so serious is because it can send you into a state of shock and ultimately can be fatal, particularly if your throat closes and you can’t breathe. Some signs of anaphylaxis are:

• Drop of blood pressure
• Going unconscious
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Extreme shortness of breath
• A quick but weak pulse
  

If you see your kid experiencing any of the symptoms of anaphylaxis, call 911 or take them to the emergency room immediately. If you have access to an EpiPen or its equivalent and know how to use it, give your child a shot immediately.

How can I treat my kids’ allergies?

For less severe allergic reactions, there are several medications that you can give your kid to get rid of those pesky allergy symptoms.

What is an antihistamine?

Histamines are the chemicals that your body releases which cause annoying allergy symptoms such as a runny nose, itchy eyes, or hives. An antihistamine is a type of medication that reduces your body’s histamine production or blocks it completely.

Medicine

One great antihistamine medication that’s made specifically for kids is Genexa’s Kid’s Allergy oral suspension medicine.

This medication temporarily relieves symptoms of hay fever and other upper respiratory allergies including runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and itching of the nose and throat.

Genexa also makes a homeopathic non-drowsy allergy remedy specifically made for kids called Kids’ Allergy Care. This is a great, organic decongestant that comes in the form of chewy tablets (for all those little ones that don’t like liquid medication!).

Things To Watch Out For

When you’re going to find the best allergy medicine for your kid, there are a few things to watch out for that will make the decision a little easier.

Is the brand reliable?

When choosing an allergy medication for your child, keep in mind that you’ll most likely be giving them this medication a few times a year.

For this reason, it’s important to look for a reliable medicine brand such as Genexa that makes real, clean medicine with the active ingredients your kids need, but without the artificial inactive ingredients they don’t.

Expiration Date

Although it sounds obvious, make sure you check the expiration date of the allergy medicine (and all other medications!) before giving it to your child, even if you’re buying it in the store. Expired allergy medication isn’t dangerous, but the farther past its expiration date that it is, the less effective the medicine will be at treating your child’s symptoms.

Who is the medicine marketed for?

Make sure you know whether you’re buying allergy medicine marketed specifically for kids or if it's a generic medicine for both adults and kids. Although most over-the-counter allergy medication marketed toward adults can be used by kids, it’s really important to pay attention to the packaging so you can give your kid the correct dose.

Medication that’s not specifically marketed as “for kids” will have dosing directions for adults. Giving your kid an adult dose of allergy medication can lead to far more dramatic side effects.

Drowsy vs. Non Drowsy

This one sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget to check if medication is drowsy or non-drowsy. More often than not, it will say somewhere on the packaging if the medicine is drowsy or non-drowsy by using those terms or other phrases like “for bedtime” or “for nighttime use only”.

Although the ingredients that make medicine drowsy are not harmful for kids, it’s important that you’re giving them to your kid at the right time of day so they’re not falling asleep during class or while you’re at the grocery store.

Conclusion

Allergies can be bothersome, especially for little ones, but for the most part they are not a serious health issue. That being said, it’s important to find a good medicine that can get rid of their symptoms. These symptoms can include runny or stuffy noses, itchy eyes, or hives.

Although it might seem like there are a hundred options for allergy medication on the shelf at the store, there are a few tips to keep in mind to find good allergy medicine for your kids.

Look for reliable brands such as Genexa that make clean medicine specifically for kids, which means real medicine that works, with no artifical dyes, synthetics, or artificial flavors -- yes please!