Re: Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

[Guest guest]

My son uses Allegra and Nasalcrom.

And a half dose of Triaminic nighttime when he is having noticible problems.

- in Mobile, AL

Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

Thanks.

Michele

" Ms. Michele "

[Guest guest]

Now we use Claritin.

Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

Thanks.

Michele

" Ms. Michele "

[Guest guest]

Yes, we use Zyrtec

_____

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

isoaa@...

Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 3:22 AM

Subject: Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

Thanks.

Michele

" Ms. Michele "

[Guest guest]

>

> Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

> Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

>

> Thanks.

>

> Michele

>

> " Ms. Michele "

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sharolyn....does Chlorphenaramine make your child drowsy or hyper?

I tried this once and I think it made my son hyper and so it was BAD

at bedtime :0 !

I may try it again though.

> >

> > Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

> > Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

> >

> > Thanks.

> >

> > Michele

> >

> > " Ms. Michele "

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Michele

We give Astelin in the am.

At nightime it is Nasonex, Astelin, and Ah-Chew tablet which is a

DECONGESTANT/ANTIHISTAMINE/ANTICHOLINERGIC chewable tablet.

(Note on AhChew from the CVS website: Decongestants relieve nasal

stuffiness. Antihistamines relieve runny nose, sneezing, itchy nose

and throat and itchy, watery eyes. Anticholinergics have a drying

effect on mucous secretions.)

>

> Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

> Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

>

> Thanks.

>

> Michele

>

> " Ms. Michele "

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We use Dallergy, Astelin, and Nasacort for one boy,

Allegra, Astelin, and Nasacort for the other (per Dr. G)

Caroline

> From: sharolyn68 <Sharolyn68@...>

> Reply-< >

> Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:03:38 +0000

> < >

> Subject: Re: Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

>

>> Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

>> Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

>>

>> Thanks.

>>

>> Michele

>>

>> " Ms. Michele "

[Guest guest]

We do Triaminic Nighttime, although they apparently are no longer making a

liquid version (thanks to illicit meth labs). They make a children's

meltable strip instead, but I think the ingredients are different from the

liquid version.

We also do Nasonex, but none of the other allergy meds mentioned.

Kristy

Re: Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

>

> Do most of you use Zyrtec, Allegra in addition to the

> Nasalcrom and/or Astelin?

>

> Thanks.

>

> Michele

>

> " Ms. Michele "

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

Here's more...

Chronic sinusitis: defective T-cells responding to superantigens, treated by

reduction of fungi in the nose and air

Archives of Environmental Health, July, 2003 by P. Dennis

CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS (CRS) affects approximately 37 million Americans, or

1 in 6 (16.3%). It is more common than arthritis (12.47%), orthopedic

impairment (12.14%), or hypertension (11.44%). CRS costs patients and

insurance companies over $2.4 billion per year for medication,

hospitalization, and surgery. In excess of 200,000 sinus surgeries are

performed every year in the U.S. Many patients remain refractory to surgery

and antibiotic therapy, despite the more than 46.9 million prescription and

nonprescription medications ordered annually) Antibiotics are not effective

in treating CRS because they target bacterial super-growth and not the

underlying fungal problem. In the most recent decade, the rate of CRS

occurrence has been increasing steadily, (1) but the pathogenesis of chronic

sinusitis has not yet been determined. The standard school of thought is

that fungus allergy is involved in fewer than 10% of cases, (1) likely

because fungi are visible endoscopically in the nose in less than 10% of

cases studied. However, fungi are present microscopically in 93% of cases

examined by culture. (2) By definition, all CRS patients also have secondary

bacterial infections. It is likely that the immune reaction to microscopic

fungi causes mucosal pitting and mucous stasis, both of which lead to the

development of secondary bacterial infections. (2)

In 1999, researchers at the Mayo Clinic demonstrated a causal connection

between fungi and CRS. They found that 93% of all CRS cases also met the

diagnostic criteria for allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS). It was postulated

that an immune reaction to fungi in the mucosa is likely responsible for AFS

and most CRS. (2) This fact was confirmed by Braun et al. (3) in 2003. In

addition, immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated hypersensitivity was not present in

the majority of cases studied, regardless of whether nasal polyps were

present.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for this great post Caroline. In addition to the stress, I

think alot of us as parents are also ill, immune-compromised,

allergy-ridden , etc. So we have a double problem....being

chronically ill and being mentally stressed by caring for an ill

child. The overall stress we place on our bodies in an effort to

cope with both of these things is enormous, and builds over the

years. I have reached my brick wall and need to see a specialist.

Thought I would share with you all to PLEASE DO A SELF CHECK and

make sure you are doing OK....it is so easy for us to ignore

ourselves.

>

> Michele,

>

> We all have rough days...

>

> You know, I think sometimes we forget to remember ourselves in

this mess,

> but it takes its toll us on us as well as as our kids... I

remember this

> study on aging and stress that was done a few years ago and they

had chosen

> a mom with a child with autism as the " stress model " for the

article... I

> think it was in TIME... not sure, though. I think the article

below

> probably came from this study.

>

> Sorry it's so long, but I'm posting it anyway because it shows

that the

> stress we feel is very real and it affects how we function.

During the

> times when my kids are doing reasonably well I'll realize that I

feel so

> much more under control... so much calmer... almost sedated...

compared to

> how I feel constantly when things are more " off " . Some days I

think it's a

> wonder we do as well as we do, because dealing with is pretty

hard to

> bear, and the more affected a child is, the more difficult it is

for the

> parents (times infinity).

>

> I think that's one reason we this group works... it enables us to

draw

> strength from one another when our load is heaviest and provide

strength

> when we are able. Some days it's one way for us, some days it's

the other.

> My personal theory is that by being here for one another we can

slow down

> those telomeres at least a bit!

>

>

> NEW YORK TIMES

>

> Too Much Stress May Give Genes Gray Hair

>

> By BENEDICT CAREY

>

> Published: November 30, 2004

>

> Some stressful events seem to turn a person's hair gray overnight.

>

> Now a team of researchers has found that severe emotional

distress - like

> that caused by divorce, the loss of a job, or caring for an ill

child or

> parent - may speed up the aging of the body's cells at the genetic

level.

>

> The findings, being reported today, are the first to link

psychological

> stress so directly to biological age.

>

> The researchers found that blood cells from women who had spent

many years

> caring for a disabled child were, genetically, about a decade

older than

> those from peers who had much less caretaking experience. The

study, which

> appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also

suggests

> that the perception of being stressed can add years to a person's

biological

> age.

>

> Though doctors have linked chronic psychological stress to

weakened immune

> function and an increased risk of catching colds, among other

things, they

> are still trying to understand how tension damages or weakens

tissue.

>

> The new research suggests a new way that such damage may occur and

opens the

> possibility that the process can be reversed.

>

> " This is a new and significant finding, " said Dr. Bruce McEwen,

director of

> the neuroendocrinology laboratory at Rockefeller University in New

York.

>

> He said the research provided some of the clearest evidence

yet " of the

> price in wear and tear on the tissues that everybody pays during a

stressful

> life. "

>

> " And we know as we get older, " Dr. McEwen continued, " we have a

greater

> tendency to put on fat, to develop heart disease and diabetes. "

>

> In the experiment, Dr. Elissa Epel and Dr. Blackburn of

the

> University of California at San Francisco led a team of

researchers who

> analyzed blood samples from 58 young and middle-aged mothers, 39

of them

> caring for a child with a chronic disorder like autism or cerebral

palsy.

> Using genetic techniques, the doctors examined the DNA of white

blood cells,

> which are central to the body's immune response to infection.

>

> The scientists focused on a piece of DNA, called the telomere, at

the very

> tip of each cell's chromosomes.

>

> Like the head of a split matchstick, the telomere shrinks each

time a cell

> divides and duplicates itself.

>

> Cells may reproduce themselves many times throughout life to

repair and

> strengthen their host organs, to grow or to fight disease.

>

> A chemical called telomerase helps restore a portion of the

telomere with

> each division.

>

> But after 10 to 50 divisions or so - the number varies by tissue

type and

> health, and biologists still do not understand the system well -

the

> telomere gets so short that the cell is effectively retired and no

longer

> able to replicate.

>

> People born with a genetic disease called dyskeratosis congenita,

which

> causes accelerated shortening of telomeres, die young, usually by

middle

> age, most often as a result of complications from weakened

immunity.

>

> Change in telomere length over time, in short, is thought to be a

rough

> measure of a cell's age, its vitality.

>

> And when the researchers compared the DNA of mothers caring for

disabled

> children, they found a striking trend: after correcting for the

effects of

> age, they calculated that the longer the women had taken care of

their

> child, the shorter their telomere length, and the lower their

telomerase

> activity.

>

> Some of the more experienced mothers were years older than their

> chronological age, as measured by their white blood cells.

>

> " When people are under stress, they look haggard, it's like they

age before

> your eyes, and here's something going on at a molecular level "

that reflects

> that impression, said Dr. Blackburn, a professor of biochemistry

and

> biophysics.

>

> The researchers also gave the women a questionnaire, asking them

to rate on

> a three-point scale how overwhelmed they felt by daily life, and

how often

> they were unable to control the important things in their lives.

The women

> who perceived that they were under heavy stress also had

significantly

> shortened telomeres, compared with those who felt more relaxed -

whether

> they were raising a disabled child or not.

>

> " Some of the women who had a lot of objective, real stress also

had a low

> perceived amount of stress, and the next step is trying to

understand what

> it is that promotes this kind of resilience, " said Dr. Epel.

>

> She said the group had plans to test the effect of meditation,

mindfulness

> training and yoga on both perceived stress and telomere length.

>

> A form of counseling called cognitive therapy, in which people

learn to

> temper their responses to stress, could also help, psychologists

say.

>

> Personality and upbringing almost certainly account for some of

this

> difference, however. In 2003, researchers who followed some 850 New

> Zealanders from birth to 26 reported that variations in a single

gene helped

> predict which children would later become susceptible to

depression, after

> stressful events like divorce or unemployment.

>

> Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have shown, in

monkeys,

> that warm and attentive rearing of offspring can protect young

animals from

> precisely this genetic variation, promoting resilience in

genetically

> vulnerable individuals. Cold or abusive rearing, psychiatrists

say, can have

> the opposite effect.

>

> " All of these factors intertwine to make up how a person handles

stress, "

> said Dr. Glaser, director of Ohio State University's

Institute for

> Behavioral Medicine Research, who with his wife, Dr. Janice

Kiecolt-Glaser,

> has documented the effect of stress on immune function. " We now

have

> evidence, from a broad range of fields, from studies of wound

healing, of

> inflammation, of vaccines, and now of cell age that really make

the case "

> that stress can cause real harm.

>

> Experts caution that the telomere study needs to be replicated and

that no

> one has yet shown convincingly that psychological stress

significantly

> shortens people's lives. And it is far from clear exactly how

fretting over

> a child's learning disability, say, can cause a parent's telomeres

to

> shorten before their time. Although researchers know that

emotional strain

> of this kind prompts the release of stress hormones, like

cortisol, which

> over time can damage cells, no one knows how these hormones or

other

> stress-related toxins affect telomeres.

>

> " Right now, that is the black box, " said Dr. Blackburn, " and

that's what

> we're going to study next. "

>

[Guest guest]

,

You're so right about many of the parents being ill, and I think what you

are doing is very wise... we definitely need to take time to look after

ourselves. It's not a selfish thing to be concerned for our own health...

on the contrary, it's what we NEED to do so that we can be " all there " for

our children.

How many of you have even had a physical in the last year or two (don't

answer me... please just do it if you haven't!). I think in caring for our

kids we tend to put ourselves last on the " to do " list... and never get to

the bottom of the list.

Caroline

> From: meljackmom <meljackmom@...>

> Reply-< >

> Date: Sun, 01 Oct 2006 14:55:53 +0000

> < >

> Subject: Re: Nasal Sprays and Allergy Meds

>

> Thanks for this great post Caroline. In addition to the stress, I

> think alot of us as parents are also ill, immune-compromised,

> allergy-ridden , etc. So we have a double problem....being

> chronically ill and being mentally stressed by caring for an ill

> child. The overall stress we place on our bodies in an effort to

> cope with both of these things is enormous, and builds over the

> years. I have reached my brick wall and need to see a specialist.

> Thought I would share with you all to PLEASE DO A SELF CHECK and

> make sure you are doing OK....it is so easy for us to ignore

> ourselves.

>