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Chronic nasal congestion in 4 yr. old

My 4 yr. old has had chronic nasal congestion for 2 years now.  We've had adenoids removed due to recurring sinus infections.  Shortly thereafter - snoring began w/ an obstructive sleep apnea dx.  We then has his tonsils removed (extremely large and we were told was the cause of the OSA).  Since then, snoring is gone and no sinus infections, however, his nose is constantly stuffy.  He's still having to breath through his mouth.  I had allergy testing done - positive to peanuts, cats, & dogs.  We don't have pets and I've taken everything out of the house w/ peanuts.  He tested negative for indoor and outdoor allergies.  He's been on nasonex for months and I've even tried daily zyrtec to no avail ... still stuffy.  Out of desperation, I gut out wheat, gluten, and dairy ... still stuffy.  Any ideas?  I don't know what to do or who to see next ... pediatrician?  ENT?  Allergist?  I'm at a loss and very frustrated as I feel this is affecting his quality of life.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Avatar universal
I know this thread is a year old. It it came up in my search. Do you have an update? Has anything worked? My 4 yo son is going through this right now.
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Avatar universal
My son feels much worse again. The nearest appointment is a month away even though he cannot sleep night after night. This is very typical for Canadian system, you can die while waiting for a specialist's appointment. I am fed up with this. I will go to Europe to seek treatment. For now I will try sinupret , homeopathic remedies, which mainstream docs don't take seriously
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Avatar universal
It has been three months since I posted last time. My son's condition seems to be better now;  the surgery helped to unblock his nose partially. It took some time before I could see the effect. He does not breathe completely normally, but he no longer has apnea. When he gets cold, I use netty pot, it really helps, but make sure the solution is not cold.    Regarding homeopathic remedies, in Europe there is homeopathic medicine in tablets, many moms report significant improvement but I tried them and did not see any change. If adenoids are so large, as my sons, I think it is too late for homeopathy. it is better to do the surgery,
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Avatar universal
How do you get your daughter to take the herbs? I took my son to a homeopath who gave us all this stuff to take but I can't get him to take it. I put it in non-dairy chocolate pudding, apple sauce even his favorite squeeze snack. He wouldn't take it. He's fairly picky but I think I do a fairly good job of giving him healthy food but I'm at a loss here. Any suggestions?
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Avatar universal
How do you get your daughter to take the herbs? I took my son to a homeopath who gave us all this stuff to take but I can't get him to take it. I put it in non-dairy chocolate pudding, apple sauce even his favorite squeeze snack. He wouldn't take it. He's fairly picky but I think I do a fairly good job of giving him healthy food but I'm at a loss here. Any suggestions?
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Avatar universal
My four y o son went the same route: first family doc simply dismissed my worries (runny nose in babies is nothing to be worried about, he said), when he developed apnea we went to ent doc, then standard treatment - anti allergy testing and sprays which did not help, meanwhile he was getting worse by the day, then removal of adenoids and tonsils even though he never actually had strep infection.    Two months after the surgery he developed pneumonia and his nasal congestion retuned with vengeance.
It helpes to wash his nose with netty pot using a homemade saline and soda solution but when his nose is blocked completely it is impossible, the solution simply does not get through
I am stunned that doctors here, in Northern America are so helpless with this problem, I am so desperate that I am going to take my son to Ukraine, my country of origin for treatment, I know they have a lot more options for children suffering from chronic rhinitis, if you ask somebody to translate for you Russian-language medical sites you will see how much more can be done for children there , including mini-creo surgery for enlarging nasal passages, but that's like the last option, before many other therapies are tried. I am not anti-westerner, or anything like that but the truth is, doctors here simply do not have a good tradition of treating this problem which causes children so much suffering,  when I return in a couple of months I will tell u what kind of treatment he received.  

The same treatment might be available in other European countries, more likely in Germany; a lot of drugs and med equipment that are used in Eastern Europe are produced in Germany
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Avatar universal
He may have a food allergy, like tomatoes. I used to have the same symptoms, and finally discovered it was my allergic reaction to tomatoes and chile. when I quit eating them my symptoms disappeared, the worst being the coughing and throwing up.
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Avatar universal
did you ever determine what was wrong with your child?  Our 4 yr old breaths through his nose and sounds like his nasal passages are congested, but he's not constantly coughing or running fever.  thanks
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Avatar universal
I have been dealing with the same issues with my 4 year ols son.  He misses a lot of pre-school cause of this as well.  He has had his tonsils (which were very large) and adneoids removed.  He has been on every med combo as well, but he is the same!  He coughs so bad he gags and sometimes throw's up.  It is sad how he is used to being like this.  I just asked the ped. last week how he is going to go to kindergartin, and she said she will write a note, but i want answers and help for him!  
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Avatar universal
I totally understand where you are coming from, have you had any luck? I'm so depressed my 4 year old daughter is going through the same kind of thing.  She has thick long mucus that is constantly present.  Even after suctioning her nose, using salinex, nasonex, constantly blowing her nose and even removing her adenoids and tonsils (last week) she's the same.  Always mouth breathing, constantly stuffed, and like you I know it affects her quality of life as well as my family's at home.  I've tried naturopathic solutions, homeopathic solutions and antihistamines.  I have hit rock bottom and don't know what else to do.  I am open to suggestions, please help.
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Avatar universal
I absolutely agree with taking the homeopathic route. My daughter started the nasal congestion constant night coughing just before turning 3. The dr. tried her on several different allergy medications to no avail. Went to an ENT who barely examined her and wanted to take out her adenoids even though the xrays showed nothing wrong. Started to get skeptical of drs at that point. After about 8 months of no sleep and fear I was doing more harm than good with all the medication, I took her to a homeopathic who  detoxed her with herbs. Within 3 weeks she was completely better. We're having a little trouble with her this allergy season, but it is so much more manageable than it was last year. The homeopathic theory is that allergies are very often problems/imbalances in the gut and if you can fix the gut, you've got a good shot they'll go away. We also take her to the chiropractor. Good luck.
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Avatar universal
given the surgeries and all the meds you have tried w/o full success, I would ditch on the Western Medical model at this point and consider taking your child to see an alternative practitioner -- a DOM might be a good place to start. My daughter has a similar condition and I've found the Western doctors/allergists to be utterly useless in the long term. It's always some band-aid Rx they recommend instead of truly trying to get to whatever is the root of the problem. The absolute best results we've had have come w/diet modification and craniosacral therapy. If you're not getting the results you want from the Big Pharma supported mainstream medical docs, you might consider looking into a DOM, homeopath, osteopath, anthroposophical doctor or other that might be able to provide a more comprehensive and holistic approach to your child's congestion problems. Good luck!
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Avatar universal
I would go to an allergist. If he already had T&A removed I assume you had an ENT do that. My daughter had a wonderful allergist who has worked with us to stop coughing and deal with congestion. the ENT for t&a dealt with my daughter as just a surgeon it seemed, and some pediatricians have dismissed constant coughing as "normal".
Keep trying a mix of meds - before her adenoids were removed she took benedryl, dimetap, sudafed all winter as well as nasonex, singulair and pulmacort or advair. (now she doesnt need the otc meds.) the singulair helps our family with less congestion and the inhaler (pulmacort/advair) stops the coughing.  We just tried a new inhaler and in one week the coughing returned until she switched back to the old med.
zrytec took a week to work - started the second time while on prednisone to counter act the zombie feeling, and claritin does nothing for her, just primatine works best for her dad. so keep trying various combo's with a helpful doctor.
After she was born I had to do a "candida / celiac diet" to calm my daughter - no wheat or sugar was very hard but worth a peaceful daughter. It is hard  - my daughter making noises clearing the mucous all the time caused issues with some teachers. The teachers and my daughter needed to be educated on how to deal with this as a Medical and social issue.
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