Nothing seemed to help my severely allergic child with flu and cold season.  From the minute he stepped into preschool to this year..(he's in second grade now).. it's been one cold/flu after the other from November to March.

 

It seems that this year he got stronger.  This winter he was actually able to fight some of these things off.

 

However, it is difficult to know if any of these medications actually work.  Sometimes I wonder, you know?  I guess that is natural to question.

 

I was just so desperate as a mom I followed what my pediatrician and allergist suggested.

 

I remember being very hesitant to put him on it in the beginning because it is a steroid.  My pediatrician told me that the dose is very small and would provide a greater benefit than a risk.

 

I hope that helps.

 

 

I too am an asthmatic, and from 2000 to 2006 lived in Texas (where my allergies and asthma seemed to be the worst).  I found that if I could keep my sinuses clear, it seemed to help my asthma as well.  I cut out milk (went to soy..since dairy products increase mucus production, which is also what allergies and asthma do) cut back on icecream....and noticed a big difference.  (I did not cut out cheese, yogurt, etc. just milk).  Also, on the days that I felt the worst (especially the asthma) I went to the allergy and asthma website www.aaaai.org and hit pollen count on the search.  They not only tell you the overall count for trees, weeds, grass, and mold, but they also tell you the specific amounts of each tree...etc.  Through tracking this over a period of weeks, I determined that the mold claudosporium was the worst for my asthma.  Then a google search of that pointed out that it is known for causing pulmonary problems.  Now I use an air purifier (expensive, since the cheaper one did nothing ) to remove the majority of mold in the air in my home, and notice a big difference.  I only use my inhaler about once a week now, used to use it daily and take meds like Advair, and for a while singulair (which increased my blood pressure while I was on it).  The website I got my air purifier off of was www.shaklee.net/kellycox and they have a 60 day trial period, where you can use the air purifier and then send it back if you are not satisfied.  I have kept mine.  Taking a good multi vitamin can help to avoid some of the colds......but since we are exposed to them everywhere we go in public...some colds are inevitable.  A warning about steroids, they may help the lungs a lot, but they weaken the immune system while you are on them (I often got a sinus infection while on prednisone....for asthma recouperation.